Untitled - Monoskop

LAW AND POLITICAL THEORY
Magdalen with the woman who anointed Christ's feet in the house of Simon
and with Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus (CP 1518, 2). Replies to
Lefevre's arguments by John Fisher, printed like Lefevre's book by Henri
Estienne, also advertised the possession of privileges (CP 1519, i, and
CP 1519,8). Lefevre's Commentarii initiatorii on the four gospels had a privilege
(CH 1522, 2) and so did his translation of the four gospels into French
(CP 1523, 2). The first French editions of new books by biblical scholars in
neighbouring countries also obtained privileges in a few cases: Petrus Gillius
of Albi edited the Tertia quinquagena or discussion of fifty points of interpreta-
tion in the Bible by Antonius Nebrissensis (CP 1520, 14), of which the first
edition had appeared at Alcala in Spain in 1516, four years before. Conrad
Resch, who had close connections with Basle, published Erasmus' Paraphrasis
in euangelium Matthei (CH 1523, 4) and his work on the Lord's Prayer
(PA 1524, i), within months of the first editions, printed at Basle by Froben.
From 1517 onwards the utterances of Luther began to cause alarm in
orthodox circles in France. The Moralia ofJerome de Hangest, a prominent
Paris theologian, dealt with the doctrine of free will, evidently with this in
mind, though Luther was not mentioned by name; this came out in 1519,
under a 'package' privilege covering Hangest's works obtained earlier by Jean
Petit (CH 1515, 5 (4)). Conrad Resch, always in close touch with new
publications in the German-speaking countries, printed the treatise De primatu
Petri by Luther's principal opponent Johannes Eck, displaying a privilege
from the royal chancery as well as the papal privilege granted to the author
(CH 1521, 4). Two books by another Paris theologian, Josse Clichtoue or
Clichtove, Antilutherus and Propugnaculum ecclesiae, came out with privileges
(PA 1524, 10 and PA 1525, 8). One of his colleagues in the Faculty of
Theology, Pierre Cousturier or Sutor, in his De tralatione Bibliae, opposed all
new translations of the Bible and especially translations into the vernacular
(PA 1524, 14). The same year, the astute Jean Petit judged it opportune to
publish an enlarged edition of the Catalogus haereticorum of Bernardus Lutzenburgensis
(PA 1524, 7). The increase in religious controversy does not
appear, however, to have made much difference to the proportion of new
books in the 'religion' category which were granted privileges.
LAW AND POLITICAL THEORY
Canon and Civil Law, with political theory (usually the domain of lawyers at
this period) account for fifty-seven books published under privilege. If
privileged editions of Coutumes, Ordonnances and Styles are added, numbering
forty-eight in all, the total is 105, the largest category after Religion.
The texts required for the study of Civil Law, and the standard commen-
taries on them, were in print before any general use of the privilege-system
grew up. The Corpus juris civilis, like the Bible, could be printed by anyone,
171