SPANGENBERG (Cyriacus). 2 works, 3 bound volumes. -... Lot 21

SPANGENBERG (Cyriacus). 2 works, 3 bound volumes. - HENNEBERGISCHE CHRONICA. Der uralten, loblichen Grauen und Fürste[n] zu Henneberg Genealogia, Stammenbaum und Historia ihrer Ankunfft, lob und gedenckwürdigen Thaten, Geschichten und Sachen warend unnd gründliche Beschreibung. Getruckt zu Straßburg, anno M.D.XCIX [1599]. [On the colophon:] Gedruckt zu Straßburg, durch Bernhard Jobins (seligen) Erben, anno M.D.XCIX. In-folio, (8 of which the second blank)-287-(21 of which the last 3 blank) pp. title printed in red and black ink, gothic characters; stiff vellum with overlays, smooth spine with title in ink, blue speckled edges (antique binding somewhat later). FIRST EDITION. Woodcut illustration: von Henneberg family coat-of-arms on title, coat-of-arms of the dedicatee, Sophie de Brunswick-Lunebourg, widow of the last Count of Henneberg; with a typographical mark on the recto of the last printed leaf. FINE STRASBOURG PRINTING. Bernhard Jobin (d. circa 1593), settled in this city in 1560, where he first worked as a type engraver, before starting to print himself in 1566. From his presses came mainly scientific, historical (illustrated) and musical works, as well as a number of placards and news sheets (Zeitungen). HISTORY OF THE PRINCELY FAMILY OF THE COUNTS OF HENNEBERG. Of ancient Franconian stock, this family was linked to the great German lineages such as the Brandenburgs, and in the 14th century its representatives were elevated to the rank of princes of the Empire, but it died out in 1583. Although it goes back to the fabulous genealogical times of the High Middle Ages, the present history adopts a modern scientific approach based on research into the archival and book sources available at the time. Provenance: library of the Ministry of the Navy of the Russian Empire (title stamp "госуд[арственный] адмирал[тейский] департамента" affixed between 1805 and 1827). - ADELS SPIEGEL. Historischer ausfürlicher Bericht. Gedruckt zu Schmalkalde, bey Michel Schmuck, 1591-1594. 2 volumes in-folio, (12)-462 + (5)-490-(7) pp., titles printed in red and black ink, Gothic characters; saddle-skin, spine ribbed with title in later ink, large cold-stamped decoration on covers including a central medallion surrounded by a multiple framing of fillets and roulettes with vegetal motifs and medallions with male profiles, blue edges; worn bindings with snags, worm work affecting binding and introductory and end leaves, first leaf of first volume detached (period binding). FIRST EDITION. Woodcut illustrations: 41 vignettes, including 3 to the titles. With a typographical mark on the last leaf of the first volume. ILLUSTRATION AND DEFENSE OF THE NOBLESSE, probably commissioned by Protestant chivalric circles in southern Germany, at a time when the controversies surrounding the status of the nobility had redoubled over the course of the century. Relaying the criticisms of urban elites and jurists against the traditional positions of the nobility, who were portrayed as ignorant and excessively pretentious, humanists published virulent works, such as the freethinker Sebastian Franck (the "Vorred vom Adler" in his Chronica, Zeitbuch unnd Geschichtbibell, 1531), or Nikodemus Frischlin in 1580 with his Oratio de vita rustica. In response to these anti-nobility attacks, Cyriacus Spangenberg composed the present "Mirror of Nobility" (Adels Spiegel), in which he develops a theory that is both conservative and innovative: according to him, while nobility is not of natural origin, as all men are sons of Adam, it is nonetheless legitimate, as it was instituted by God to help rulers - although he goes so far as to assert that a certain physical and intellectual superiority could be transmitted hereditarily. Taking into account the arguments of his opponents, Cyriacus Spangenberg distinguishes between a "nobility of virtue", based on Christian principles and therefore accessible to people of merit, notably intellectuals, and a "political nobility", which finds its existence only through external confirmation (inherited social position or status granted by authority). However, he considered that this "political nobility", though superior to the "nobility of virtue", should integrate the principles of the latter, through education. In his view, it could therefore be inherited, or received from the prince for particular merits, notably services rendered to the fatherland (war, piety, intellectual field). The Adels Spiegel also includes lengthy