Morias Encomion. Stultitiæ Laus. Des. Erasmi Rot. Declamatio, Cum commentariis Ger. Listrii, & figuris Jo. Holbenii. E codice Academiæ Basiliensis. Accedunt, Dedicatio Illustrissimo Colberto. Præfatio Caroli Patini. Vita Erasmi. Catalogus operum Erasmi. Vita Holbenii pictoris Bas. Opera Holbenii. Epistola Ger. Listrii ad Jo. Paludanum. Præfatio Erasmi ad Th. Morum. Epistola Erasmi ad Mart. Dorpium. Epistola Erasmi ad Th. Morum. Epistola Th. Mori ad Mart. Dorpium. Index rerum & vocum. [Device]
[80], 336, [12] p.: illus. (incl. add. engr. t.-p. and port.); 182 mm. (Octavo.)
General Note
The signatures contain the letterpress text and all illustrations - including the full-page added engraved title-page and portrait, blank on their versos.
Contents
[Add. engr. t.p., t.p., dedic.] - Praefatio Caroli Patini - Vita Des. Erasmi Rot.; In obitum Erasmi Epitaphium Julii Cæsaris Scaligeri - Index Omnium Lucubrationum Des. Erasmi Rot. - [Verses by Seb. Feschius Basil.] - [Port. of Holbein] - Vita Joannis Holbenii, Pictoris Basiliensis - Index Operum Joh. Holbenii - [Divisional t.p., 'Morias Encomion'] - Gerard. Listrius Rhenensis Joanni Paludano ... - Præfatio. Erasmus Roterodamus Thomæ Moro ... - [Text] - Erasmus Roter. Martino Dorpio ... - Erasmus Roter. Thomæ Moro ... - Viro undecunque doctissimo, Martino Dorpio ... Thomas Morus ... - Index Rerum ac vocum quæ hisce commentariis explanantur.
Responsibility Note
No illustrations carry signatures - apart from the added engraved title-page, which is signed as drawn by H. Holbein and engraved by 'C.M.', the portrait of Erasmus facing the opening page of the 'Vita Des. Erasmi Rot.', which is signed as painted by H. Holbein, and the two portraits of Holbein preceding the 'Vita Joannis Holbenii', which are signed 'H. Holbein'.
This edition is dedicated to Joanni Baptistæ Colbert by Carolus Patinus.
References
The illustrations are described in C. Müller, Die Zeichnungen von Hans Holbein dem Jungeren und Ambrosius Holbein, vol. 3, pt. 2A (1996), 50-66; E. Michael, The Drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger for Erasmus' Praise of Folly (1986). General studies of Holbein include E. Michael, Hans Holbein the Younger: a guide to research (1997); Hans Holbein d. J.: Zeichnungen aus dem Kupferstichkabinett der Offentlichen Kunstsammlung Basel [exhibition catalog] (1988).
A study of Erasmus and the arts was E. Panofsky, 'Erasmus and the visual arts', in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 32 (1969), p.200-227. More general accounts of his impact include R.J. Schoek, Erasmus of Europe (2 v., 1990-3); J. McConica, Erasmus (1991); C. Augustijn, Erasmus (1991); D. Erasmus, Collected works, ed. W.K. Ferguson (86 vols., 1974-).
Summary Note
The text had first been published in 1511, and had soon been translated into Czech, French, German and English (The praise of folie, 1549).
The first two words of the title are printed in Greek letter. The text itself is in Latin, with occasional quotations in ancient Greek and Hebrew.
The text is a mock encomium, a praise of folly by Folly herself, in which the author satirises conventional pieties and abuses of power in western Europe by mocking the pretensions of rulers, theologians, philosophers, monks, lawyers, teachers, poets, scholars - and painters (Erasmus takes up a somewhat iconoclastic attitude to images). Erasmus contrasts practices of his own day with the ideals of the New Testament. The work was written during one of Erasmus's stays in Britain.
Hans Holbein the younger and his brother Ambrosius made drawings in the margins of the 1515 edition of Erasmus's Encomium (the copy survives at Basel). The drawings were probably made soon after 1515; but this publication of 1676 appears to have been the first in which they were reproduced. The printing of the illustrations with the letterpress however was poorly planned and executed. Some etchings overlap the letterpress; others had to be printed sideways-on; and several were printed separately, pasted in and folded as plates.
Reproductions
An electronic version was published in 2004 (Wolfenbüttel: Herzog August Bibliothek).
Provenance
The front pastedown carries the bookplate, 'Ex bibliotheca Theodori Karajan.' The verso of the front loose endpaper is inscribed in ink, 'Den 17 october 1844. Bei Kuppitsch in Wien ... TheodorGeorg vonKarajan'.
Copy Note
The verso of the front loose endpaper is inscribed in ink (by T.G. von Karajan?) with a quotation from 'G.F. Waagen, Kunstwerke u. Künstler in Deutschland. Leipzig 1845' (or '1848'?).
Binding Note
White vellum; spine inscribed in ink, 'Erasmi Laus Stultitiae. Basil. 1676.'
Europeans - Christianity - Social life and customs - Religion and society - Europe - History - 16th century
Satire - Essays - Europe - 16th century
Pictorial works - Switzerland - 17th century