Kimberly Reamer – Special Collections & The Gallery

New Exhibit Features Anti-Catholic Ephemera

*The papists bloody oath of secrecy, and letany of intercession for the carrying on of this present plot*. Robert Bolron, London: Printed for R. Taylor, 1680.

A new exhibit in the Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center Reading Room highlights materials from our Anti-Catholic Ephemera collection. This small collection dates from 1765-1952. It contains several pamphlets expressing anti-Catholic sentiment and denouncing Catholicism. Although they are not displayed in this exhibit, the collection also includes some materials relating to the Philadelphia Nativist Riots, in which Protestant nativist groups lashed out against Irish Catholic immigrants and burned several Catholic churches. In addition to materials from the Anti-Catholic Ephemera collection, several of the items in the exhibit are from our Rare Books collection.

Anti-Catholicism grew out of the Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century, and continues in some forms today. It was most common in countries that were majority-Protestant, such as Great Britain and the United States, and sometimes led to discrimination and violence. Catholics were often derogatorily referred to as “papists” or “Romanists,” and were suspected of remaining loyal to the Vatican rather than their countries. Anti-Catholic sentiment overlapped with movements such as nativism when majority-Protestant countries experienced an influx of Catholic immigrants.

Some of the items featured in this exhibit include “Let’s Test Catholic Loyalty,” a 1952 pamphlet produced by the Knights of Columbus as a response to Anti-Catholicism; Popish idolatry; a discourse delivered in the Chapel of Harvard-College in Cambridge, New-England by Jonathan Mayhew, 1765; and The papists bloody oath of secrecy, and letany of intercession for the carrying on of this present plot by Robert Bolron, printed in London in 1680. This document relates to the “Popish plot” and murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, an English magistrate whose mysterious death stirred up Anti-Catholic turmoil in England.

For more information about the exhibit or the Anti-Catholic Ephemera collection, stop by the Archives or contact us at archives@shu.edu or (973)761-9476.

Popish Idolatry: A Discourse — *Popish idolatry; a discourse delivered in the Chapel of Harvard-College in Cambridge, New-England*. Jonathan Mayhew, 1765

*The narrative of Mr. William Boys, citizen of London*. William Boys, London: Printed for Dorman Newman …, 1680.

*A discourse on the errors of popery : delivered in the chapel of the University in Cambridge, September 4, 1793, at the lecture founded by the Honourable Paul Dudley, Esquire*. John Lathrop, D.D.A.A.S. Pastor of the Second Church in Boston, 1793

"Carta em que um amigo sendo consultado por outro sobre a inteligencia da lei do primeiro de Agosto de 1774", Anti-Church Law Explained — “Carta em que um amigo sendo consultado por outro sobre a inteligencia da lei do primeiro de Agosto de 1774”, Anti-Church Law Explained. Lisboa: Na Regia Officina Typografica, 1774.

New Acquisitions in the Archives & Special Collections Center

The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center recently acquired two new rare books:

Ordo Romanvs De Officio Missae, authored by Georg Cassander (1513-1566), was issued with another of Cassander’s works, Litvrgica de ritv et ordine dominicae coenae celebrandae, and sold as a single volume. Working towards the reunification of Catholics and Protestants, Cassander sought common ground in the teachings of the early Church. In his writings, he draws upon the importance of the immutable texts of the Mass, and references ancient, medieval, and modern writers to state his case.

Georg Cassander. Ordo Romanus de officio Missae. Issued with Litvrgica de ritv et ordine dominicae coenae celebrandae. Cologne: Heirs of A. Birckmann, 1561. — Georg Cassander. *Ordo Romanvs de officio Missae*. Issued with *Litvrgica de ritv et ordine dominicae coenae celebrandae*. Cologne: Heirs of A. Birckmann, 1561.

Pacôme’s description of the Cistercian monastery at La Trappe, Description du plan en relief de l’abbaye de la Trappe, features etched illustrations showing exteriors and interiors of the abbey, scenes of daily life, agriculture, communal meals, and the journey of the exiled James II of England. The description was meant to accompany a sixteen-by-fourteen foot scale model of the monastery, commissioned by the Abbot to be presented to Louis XVIII.

Cassander, Georg (1513-1566). Ordo Romanvs De Officio Missae. [Issued with: Litvrgica de ritv et ordine dominicae coenae celebrandae]. Cologne: Heirs of A. Birckmann 1561.

Pacôme, Delorme, frère. fl. 1708. Description Du Plan En Relief De L’Abbaye De La Trappe. Paris: J. Collombat 1708.

Highlights from the Rare Book Collection: Aldine Press

These two volumes of the works of Cicero, which are part of the Tullio Ascarelli collection, are examples of books from the Aldine press. The Aldine press was founded in Venice by Aldus Manutius (Aldo Manuzio, c. 1449-1515). Manutius was educated as a humanist and sought to preserve classical Greek literature by printing many significant Greek works. He also printed notable Latin and Italian authors. Manutius is also known for his contributions to typography. His firm was the first to use italic type, and introduced books in the octavo format, which can be considered as the equivalent of the modern paperback. His goal was to print small, inexpensive books for scholars. Books published by the Aldine press can be identified by the unique printer’s device, which depicts a dolphin and an anchor. After his death, Manutius’ firm was carried on by his son Paulus, followed by his grandson, Aldus.

M.T. Ciceronis epistolarum ad Atticum, ad Brutum was printed in 1513, presumably under the direction of Aldus Manutius. Rhetoricorum ad C. Herennium was printed under the direction of Manutius’ son Paulus (Paolo) in 1559.

*M.T. Ciceronis epistolarum ad Atticum, ad Brutum // ad Quintum fratrem, libri XX.*

*Rhetoricorum ad C. Herennium libri IIII. incerto auctore*.

References:

“Aldus Manutius.” In The Columbia Encyclopedia, by Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University. 7th ed. Columbia University Press, 2017.

“Aldus (?1450 – 1515).” In Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance, The, edited by J. R. Hale. Thames & Hudson, 2006.

“Aldine Collection.” Stanford Libraries.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, and Aldo Manuzio, Andreas Torresanus, de Asula, Titus Pomponius Atticus, M Junius Brutus. M.T. Ciceronis epistolarum ad Atticum, ad Brutum // ad Quintum fratrem, libri XX. Venetiis : In aedibus Aldi, et Andreae soceri., mense Iunio 1513.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, and Paolo Manuzio. Rhetoricorum ad C. Herennium libri IIII. incerto auctore. Venetiis: Apud Paulum Manutium, 1559 [Colophon: Venetiis, apvd Pavlvm Manvtivm, Aldi filivm, M.D. LIX.].

Highlights from the Rare Book Collection: Directorium inquisitorum

The Directorium inquisitorum was written by Spanish theologian Nicholas Eymeric (c. 1320-1399), who was appointed grand inquisitor of Aragon in 1357. Intended to be a guide for inquisitors, the Directorium inquisitorum elaborates on hundreds of heresies and prosecution procedures, categories of offenses like witchcraft, as well as the belief system of the Inquisition. It also influenced later texts such as the Malleus maleficarum (Hammer of witches, 1486), and remained an important volume well into the 17^th century.

The text was first printed as early as 1376. This edition, printed in 1578, is the second Italian printing, and third edition overall. It includes commentary by Francesco Pegna (Peña, c. 1540-1612), an Aragonese canonist with connections to the Roman Curia.

Directorium inquisitorum R.P.F. Nicolai Eymerici, … ; Nicolai Eymeric; Frances Peña. Romae: In aedibus pop. rom., 1578.

Recent Finds in the Archives & Special Collections Center

The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center has in its rare book collection a copy of Gratian’s Decretum, with commentary by Bartholomaeus Brixiensis and Johannes Teutonicus Zemeke. This edition was printed in Strassburg by Johann Grüninger in 1484. It is one of the few examples of incunabula in our rare book collection. “Incunabula” are books printed in Europe prior to 1501.

Gratian’s Decretum was first published in the twelfth century as a textbook of canon law. Although the Church never formally recognized it as the official version of canon law, Decretum was widely used in the study of canon law from the mid-twelfth to the early twentieth century. Commonly referred to as the Decretum Gratiani, this text is comprised of excerpts from a variety of authorities, including church councils, papal letters, penitentials, Roman civil law, regulations of Germanic rulers, and the writings of Church fathers. Gratian’s goal was to resolve discrepancies among canons, and organize the vast amount of rules governing the Church into a comprehensible legal system.

Another notable find in the Archives is a proclamation by King George III. The proclamation is dated May 15, 1770. It appears to grant a parcel of land along the Hudson River in Orange County, New York to two disbanded non-commission officers, Archibald Brecken and William Arison, who had served in North America.

King George III was Great Britain’s longest-reigning monarch prior to Queen Victoria, ruling from 1760 to his death in 1820. During his reign he sought to root out political corruption in Britain and enforced unpopular taxes on the American Colonies, which eventually led to the American Revolution.

References:

Brundage, James A. The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014. Accessed June 8, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.

George III. Biography.com. Accessed June 8, 2017

“George III, king of Great Britain and Ireland.” In The Columbia Encyclopedia, by Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University. 7th ed. Columbia University Press, 2017.

Gratianus (12^th century). Decretum. With commentary by Bartholomaeus Brixiensis (c. 1200-1258) and Johannes Teutonicus Zemeke (d. 1245). Printed in Strassburg by Johann Grüninger, 4 Sept. 1484.