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Augustinus, De civitate Dei cum commento sacre pagine professorum ordinis predicatorum Thome Valois et Nicolai Triveth (Venice: Ottaviano Scoto, 1489) .

Although the colophon mentions only the name of Ottaviano Scoto, this book (like catalogue n° 13) was printed for Scoto by Boneto Locatelli. The edition of Augustine's City of God includes the commentary on the work by Thomas Waleys, O.P. (fl. 1314-1350) and its continuation by his Dominican confrère, Nicholas Trevet. The work of Waleys and Trevet is the only commentary on the City of God that appeared in print in the fifteenth century; it is one of the few—or perhaps the only—extended commentary on Augustine's work written in the Middle Ages. The commentary is continuous through Book 10 of the City of God, with scattered glosses in Books 11-22.

Thomas Waleys attended the episcopal school at Lincoln and went on to study at Oxford and the University of Bologna. He preached against the party of Franciscan Spirituals, and, in 1333, at Avignon against the notorious sermons of Pope John XXII on the beatific vision (1331-1332), which most Dominican theologians judged to be heretical. The continuator of the commentary, Nicholas Trevet (ca. 1258, still living in 1334), joined the Preachers at Oxford and later studied at Paris. He also wrote commentaries on Genesis, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, and on the tragedies of Seneca.

In this volume, Augustine's text is blocked in large print in the center of the page, surrounded by the commentary in smaller type, a typical manuscript format. Alphabetical text markers in Augustine's text correspond to their fellows in the commentary. An engraving on fol. 1v shows Augustine writing in the top panel; in the lower panel Abel the peaceful shepherd sits in front of the city of God, and Cain with his ax sits before the city of man.

References: Goff A-1245 (the Notre Dame copy is not cited); GW no 2889; Kaeppeli nos 3137 (Trivet), 3891 (Waleys); Masin 13-14 no 7.

Catalogue No. 32
Call Number: Rare Books B655 .C499 1489      Catalog Record

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