Mensis Januarius

Mensis Februarius

Mensis Martius

Mensis Aprilis

Mensis Maius

  Mensis Junius

Mensis Julius

Mensis Augustus

Mensis September

Mensis October

Mensis November

Mensis December

Peter Lambeck (1628-1680) (editor?)
Decimus Magnus Ausonius (c. 310-c. 395) (poet)
Ausonii Tetrastichon [Tetrastichs of Ausonius] (12 Months of the Year)
French: 18th Century
Black and white engravings
12.75 x 7.25 inches, platemark average approximate
16.75 x 10.5 inches, overall
$7,200, set of 12

Set of engravings each with a poem and illustration about one of the 12 months of the year.  They are called the Ausonii Tetrastichon because they are a series of tetrastichs -- four-line stanzas -- by the fourth century Gallo-Roman poet Ausonius.  Each depicts an allegorical figure with symbols from the poems.

The engravings are labeled in French as plates from Book I, with the name “Lambec” or “Lambecius” lower center, and therefore may be from a French edition of the Prodromus Historiae Literariae by Peter Lambeck (1628-1680), who was also known as Petrus Lambecius. This great work was the first comprehensive history of literature, arranged chronologically.  Originally published in Hamburg in 1659, it was expanded and reissued in Leipzig in 1710.

Ausonius (known in French as Ausone) wrote during the waning days of the Roman Empire in present-day France, and is considered by scholars today to be “arguably the best and certainly the most versatile Latin poet of the 4th century.”  Born in what is now Bordeaux, France, he started his career as a professor of letters and rhetoric at a school he started in 334.  Thirty years later, he was summoned by the Emperor Valentinian to tutor Gratian, the heir-apparent.  When Gratian became emperor, he made Ausonius prefect and then consul of Gaul.  After Gratian’s murder in 383, Ausonius returned to Bordeaux.   He interests literary scholars today as a transitional figure between the Roman and Christian eras.

Condition:  Generally very good with the usual light toning, soiling, wear, soft creases.

References:

Auméran, Yvette.  “Cités Gallo-Romaines Chanteés par Ausone.” La Gaule Romaine. 1 June 1999. http://scdinf.univ-lyon2.fr/celtes/celtique.htm#Table (16 June 2006).

“Ausone: quelques informations sur sa vie.” Bienvenue dans le Libournais.  http://perso.orange.fr/orvinfait/ausone%20infos.htm (16 June 2006).

Klingshirn, William E.  “Review of ...The Works of Ausonius.”  Bryn Mawr Classical Review 03.02.10.  Online at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1992/03.02.10.html (16 June 2006).

“Peter Lambeck.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. Robert Appleton Company: 1910. Online at New Advent.  6 October 2005.  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08756a.htm (16 June 2006).