[MARTIAL d'AUVERGNE] - Lot 84

[MARTIAL d'AUVERGNE] LIII arrests d'amours. Arresta amorum. Accuratissimis Benedicti Curtii Symphoriani commentariis ad utrusque iuris rationem, forensiumque actionum usum quàm acutissimè accommodata. Le tout diligemment reveu & corrigé en une infinité d'endroits outre les précédentes impressions. Rouen, Mallard, 1587. In-8: 899pp, 29f; engraved title. Copy a little short of margins. Handwritten bookplate Maureau. 18th century glazed fawn calf, ornate ribbed spine, red title-piece, cold fillet framing the boards, gilt roulette on the edges, red edges. The Arrêts d'Amour develops the fiction of a judicial court: the Parlement d'Amour, which judges the 53 causes relating to love and disputes between lovers, after the parties have made their case. An interesting combination of law and literature, the Arrêts d'Amour is cited as a reliable source on the social and amorous practices of the early Renaissance, with the author poking fun at both the absurdities of gallantry and the French legal system. The work remained popular until the 18th century (Brunet III, 1484).