[Boniface VIII (1235-1303)]. [D'Andrea, Giovanni [c.1270-1348], Glossator. [Liber Sextus Decretalium]. [Venice: Andreas Torresanus de Asula, and Bartholomaeus de Blavis, 23 Mar. 1485]. 146 leaves without title page or pagination, hand-numbered in upper right corners. Main text surrounded by linear glosses in parallel columns. Quarto (in 8s) (7" x 9"). Collation: A-R8, s10=146 ff. Later vellum, lettering piece, endpapers renewed, first leaf skillfully reattached. Minor shelfwear, light wear to joints, boards slightly bowed, faint hand-lettered title to bottom edge. Hand-written index to recto of first leaf. Printed throughout in red and black. Attractive large printer device and "M.CCCCLXXXV/B.A." in bold hand to recto of final leaf. Brief annotations in fine early hand to several leaves, small later institution stamp to margins of two leaves. Minor worming to a few leaves, faint dampstaining to top edges of several leaves, browning to bottom edges of a few leaves, faint vertical brown stain through center of three leaves (from laid-in flower or acidic paper?), interior otherwise fresh. A very attractive copy. $9,500.

* With a register of titles and D'Andrea's Super Arboribus Consanguinitatis et Affinitatis. Attempts to codify the body of Canon Law began in earnest during the Carolingian Empire. These efforts reached fruition between 1020 and 1025 in the twenty-volume Decretum of Burchard, Bishop of Worms. The next great step was taken in 1234 with the Libri Quinque Decretalium (1253) of Gregory IX, which formed the basis of the Corpus Juris Canonici. The Liber Sextus of Boniface VIII (1298), the last great collection of the pre-Reformation era, consists of updates and modifications. It was followed by the Liber Septimus Decretalium (1317) of John XXII, the final official collection of Canon Law.
    D'Andrea was an Italian canonist and professor of canon law at the University of Bologna. He was an eminent figure who received the highest tributes from Arithemius, Baldus, Forster and Bellarmin. His principal writings circulated widely in manuscript and were among the earliest printed works on canon law. The gloss on this edition was first published in 1472. Not in The Canon Law Collection of the Library of Congress. The Catholic Encyclopedia (online version). British Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 21:1021. Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke 4876. Goff, Incunabula in American Libraries B999.