Histoire du cardinal Ximenès

First edition, rare, decorated with a frontispiece portrait by Delinck and illustrated with 6 title headpieces and 6 tailpieces by Sébastien Le Clerc. Printer's device on title page, with the fleur-de-lys of Florence.
Contemporary brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Head and tail caps and joints restored at head and foot. Corners worn.
The work appeared barely a few days after the Histoire de Ximenez by Marsolier and whose comparison sparked controversy until the 19th century. While Fléchier's work tends to illustrate the Cardinal's saintliness, that of Marsolier, more critical, addresses "libertines, to that party of philosophers who were beginning to raise their heads". Religious reformer and politician, Ximénès (Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros) was appointed Grand Inquisitor of Spain and governor of Castile; he showed much temperance in his administration of the inquisition and his policy towards the Moors. Originally a Franciscan monk, not forgetting his origins, he strove for a profound reform of the clergy towards greater morality. He died in 1517, after having distinguished himself on all fronts, education, politics... He is one of the major figures in the history of Spain of this end of the 15th century.