Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España

Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España – Vicent Garcia Editores – RES.BXVI 115 – Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse - Bibliothèque d'Etude et du Patrimoine (Toulouse, France)

Seville (Spain) — August 8th, 1549

Penned by the greatest polymath of the Spanish Renaissance: the first "travel guide" through royal Spain and a central source for its medieval history, written by Pedro de Medina

  1. A codex containing the great deeds and events of Spanish history was printed on August 8th, 1549

  2. Splendid printed graphics illustrated the events described by the author Pedro de Medina (ca. 1490 – ca. 1528)

  3. Here the greatest polymath of the Spanish Renaissance created the first travel guide to imperial Spain

Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España

Facsimile Copy Available!
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  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España

The Spanish polymath Pedro de Medina gave a book to the printer in 1549 that told of the great events and heroic sagas of the history of Spain. The Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España belongs among the most important historical sources concerning Spain in the Late Middle Ages. High-quality printed graphics illustrate the fantastic description. Having said that, the work not only contain fabulous legends, it simultaneously represent a scientifically verifiable compilation of geographic facts.

Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España

The great deeds and memorable events of Spanish history are recorded in a codex that was printed on August 8th, 1549. Since then, this work has belonged among the most important books of Spanish literary history. The events portrayed by the author Pedro de Medina are illustrated Splendid printed graphics. This unbelievably precious codex is the first historical and geographical universal representation of Spain. De Medina’s legendary descriptions inform us about the history of a country that is one of Europe’s most beloved holiday destinations today.

The Scholar Pedro de Medina

Pedro de Medina was born ca. 1493 in the Spanish city of Seville. He is considered to be the most famous and talented mathematician, geographer, cartographer, astronomer, historian, and polygraph of the Spanish Renaissance. The true polymath attained great fame through his popular 1545 work on navigation. His treatise possessed inestimable importance for navigation and geography as a whole. The genius de Medina’s accomplishments brought him into the highest levels of Spain’s politics. During his lifetime, he was active as an advisory member in the most important administrative authority in Spain and Portugal, namely the Casa da India.

An Inestimably Valuable Source

The Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España is considered today to be first travel guide to imperial Spain. Pedro de Medina’s intention was not to write a new history of Spain, like famous authors – Lucius Marineus Siculus and Diego de Valera inter alia – had already done before him. On the contrary, he precisely summarized the research of his predecessors. Additionally, he described his own discoveries on the peninsula and evaluated them. He reported on cities, holy sites, monuments, land formations, and natural phenomena. Equally so, he portrayed wondrous and heroic deeds, which occurred in the places described and were attributed to God or important Spaniards. The work not only remained a compilation of fantastic legends, but at the same time, represented one of the most important historical sources about Spanish culture and its population up the 16th century.

Codicology

Size / Format
416 pages / 31.0 × 22.0 cm
Origin
Spain
Date
August 8th, 1549
Language
Script
Gothic script
Illustrations
Colored title page. More woodcuts and engraved initials in the text
Content
Descriptive linking of major events and heroic sagas from Spanish history with their associated cities, sites and sanctuaries
Artist / School

Available facsimile editions:
Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España – Vicent Garcia Editores – RES.BXVI 115 – Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse - Bibliothèque d'Etude et du Patrimoine (Toulouse, France)
Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 2011
Limited Edition: 3160 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España

Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 2011
Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España – Vicent Garcia Editores – RES.BXVI 115 – Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse - Bibliothèque d'Etude et du Patrimoine (Toulouse, France)
Libro de las grandezas y cosas memorables de España – Vicent Garcia Editores – RES.BXVI 115 – Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse - Bibliothèque d'Etude et du Patrimoine (Toulouse, France) Photos with courtesy of the publisher

Publisher: Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 2011
Limited Edition: 3160 copies
Binding: Parchment on wooden board. Presentation dust jacket cloth lined with gold engraved leather spine containing facsimile.
Commentary: 1 volume
Language: Spanish
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Numbered by notary and signed by the printer-publisher. Specially made laid paper. All folios are cut according to the original.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
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