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Divi Thome Aquinatis Enarrationes, quas Cathenam vere Aureum dicunt. In quattuor Euangelia, ex vetustissorum codicum collatione quantum licuit emendate ac in lucem edite opera Nicolai Higman (Paris: Jacques Kerver, 1537); Diui Thome Aquinatis, ordinis praedicatorum . . . in beati Pauli apostoli epistolas, commentaria . . . (Paris: Ambroise Girault, 1538) .

This book binds together two separate folio volumes that constitute a library of Thomas Aquinas's commentaries on the New Testament. The first volume (340 + 3 fols.), printed by Jacques Kerver (active 1535-1585) at the sign of the two roosters on the rue St.-Jacques, contains Nicholas Higman's edition of Thomas's "Golden Chain" of continuous commentary on the four Gospels (see catalogue n° 71). The text is printed in two colunms, with the scriptural texts in larger letters followed by Thomas's readings in smaller print. At the end of the running commentaries on Matthew, Mark and Luke are tables indicating the folio numbers where Thomas treats the Gospel pericopes for the temporal cycle of the liturgical year; a global index for all four running commentaries for both the temporal and sanctoral sequences follows Thomas's commentary on the Gospel of John.

The verso of the title page, curiously, bears a dedication by the famous Parisian publisher and printer, Iehan Petit I (active 1492-1553). Indeed, according to Adams (see below), another publication of Higman's text of the Catena aurea printed at Paris in the same year bears the device of Petit, and has exactly the same foliation and signatures as Kerver's volume. Apparently this is another example of the Petit family sharing print runs with other printers (see catalogue n° 60 and n°61). Otherwise, Kerver's printing is not cited in any of the standard reference works.

An ex-libris and signum manuale on the title page indicates that in the sixteenth century this book (presumably both volumes) was owned by a Brother Helias Boxtel of the Seminary in 's-Hertogenbosch (the Netherlands).

The second volume bound in this book contains Thomas's commentaries on the Epistles of Paul (13 + 300 fols.). It too is printed in double columns, with the scriptural texts in larger and Thomas's readings in smaller print. The commentaries are preceded by extensive alphabetical topical tables printed in three columns. The title page is printed in red and black and bears the elaborate device of "the honest man" Ambroise Girault (see catalogue n° 48), whose office "under the sign of the Pelican" was also on the rue St-Jacques. This printing of Thomas's commentaries on Paul is not cited in any of the standard reference works.

References: Adams 1: 51 no 1476 (Petit's Catena); IA 3/3: 383 (Jacques Kerver).

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