GARCIA DE RESENDE Livro das obras de Garcia de Reesende [sic], que tracta da vida & grandissimas virtudes & bo[n]dades, magnanimo efforço, excelentes costumes & manhas & muy craros [sic] feitos do christianissimo…

Anselmo, Bibliografia das obras impressas em Portugal no século XVI, n° 383 ; USTC, n° 346675 ; Barbosa Machado, Biblioteca Lusitana, 1747 : II, p. 328 ; Palau, n° 262163.

Second edition of the works of Garcia de Resende. A major work in 16th-century Portuguese historiography, the main text of which is the panegyric biography of King John II of Portugal, who reigned from 1481 to 1495.

Garcia de Resende (c. 1470–1536), secretary and chronicler to the royal household under King John II and subsequently King Manuel I, provides a first-hand account of court life and its customs, and recounts the major political events of the reign whilst extolling the sovereign.

“Resende’s devotion to the great King together with his wide knowledge, his intimacy with the Sovereign,who reposed entire confidence in him, and his life at court, give his chronicle a special interest and charm. There is no possible doubt that he was a plagiarist: he openly made use ofthe manuscript of Ruy de Pina’s chronicle, which was not printed until 1792. A comparison of the two chronicles shows, however, that while Pina begins with Dom João II’s elevation to the throne in 1481, saying nothing about his youth, Resende’s Life begins with an interesting study entitled Appearance, virtues, hahits and practices of King João II, and contains a further twenty chapters about Dom João, from his birth until the death ofDom Affonso V. From there onwards Resende not only followed in the footsteps of the Chief Chronicler, but shamelessly copied from Pina’s manuscript. He sometimes changed a few words, but often did not even take the trouble to make these slight alterations and calmly repeated what his predecessor had written verbatim et literatim.” (Early Portuguese books 1489-1600 in the library of his majesty the King of Portugal, 1932, n° 59, édition 1545).

The Crónica de D. João II, although largely based on a work by Rui de Pina (c. 1440–c. 1523), contains personal anecdotes that lend it particular interest. Much of his work offers an insight into the social life and customs of the time.

In the miscellaneous writings that follow — moral and historical pieces — he reviews, with wonder and pride — though not without a touch of social criticism — some of the defining events of the era in which he lived, and provides a wealth of information on India, Africa and the Portuguese discoveries, as well as passages in verse devoted to the Jews of Portugal. Originally published separately, their circulation was interrupted before they were incorporated into this 1554 edition, with its own title page and pagination. The first text leaf, in verse and set in two columns, is framed by a woodcut border; a coat of arms engraved on wood appears at the end of the colophon.

This 1554 edition, printed in two columns, opens with a title page adorned with two woodcuts (a globe and the royal arms) taken, in reverse, from the title page of the first edition.

This rare volume was long considered to be the first edition, as the original edition, published in Lisbon in 1545 by Luiz Rodrigues, is untraceable; only four copies are known to exist (the USTC – no. 343303 – lists only the copy held by the British Museum; the other three copies are in the National Archives of Portugal, the Évora Library, and the Royal Library).

Stains and soiling (particularly on the last five leaves); minor repairs to a few leaves; some leaves uniformly darkened. Wear to the hinges; split corners.

Provenance: Antonio Dias de Linas (?, contemporary signature on the verso of the last leaf).