Super Primo, Secundo et Tertio libro Codicis..

1487. Venice: Paulus de Castro, 30 June 1487.. Venice: Paulus de Castro, 30 June 1487. Early Printing of a Distinguished Commentary on the First, Second and Third Books of the Code Castro, Paul de [d.1439]. [Super Primo, Secundo et Tertio Libro Codicis]. [Venice: (Andreas Torresanus, de Asula), 30 June 1487]. [198] ff. Collation: a-e8, A-B8, C14, D10, E6, F-I8, K6, L10, M-O8, P6, Q-S8, T10. First leaf blank. Text in parallel columns. Folio (17" x 11"; 43 x 28.5 cm). Contemporary calf with elaborate blind paneling, blind tooling to spine. Some nicks, scuffs, scratches and minor worming to boards, light rubbing and wear to extremities, which are reinforced in places, minor worming to endpapers. Text in 66-line Gothic type on wide-margined paper. Early manuscript index to initial blank, occasional brief annotations and manicules throughout text in at least two early hands. Light toning, faint staining and light soiling and finger smudges in a few places, fore-edge of first 8 leaves neatly reinforced with tissue in places, minor loss to manuscript index and no loss to main text or other annotations. An impressive copy of a rare imprint. $20,000. * Commissioned by the Emperor Justinian in 530 CE, the body of writings known collectively as the Corpus Juris Civilis preserved and codified Roman law. It is divided into four parts: the Institutes, Digest, Code and Novels. The Code contains the legal system established during Justinian's reign. It is divided into 12 books. Book 1 deals with ecclesiastical law, the sources of law, and the duties of high officials. Books 2-8 deal with private law. Book 9 deals with criminal law. Books 10-12 deal with administrative law. The Code received a great deal of commentary during the medieval and early modern eras. Castro's scholarship was among the most important. One of the most eminent lawyers of the fifteenth century, Castro taught at the Universities of Florence, Bologna, Sienna, and Padua. Considered the peer and successor of Bartolus de Saxoferrato, his commentaries on selected books of the Code and other portions of the Corpus Juris Civilis circulated widely in manuscript and were among the first legal works that were printed. The Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue locates 1 copy of our 1487 imprint in North America (Harvard Law School). Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue ip00136000. (Inventory #: 82911)