Politicae Imperiales — Alcuin’s Rhetoric & Dialectic — Douai, 1564

A Renaissance printing of medieval instruction in rhetoric and dialectic, attributed to Alcuin, the scholar associated with Charlemagne’s court. Edited by Matthaeus Galenus and printed at Douai by Iacobi Boscardi in 1564, Politicae imperiales et vere heroicae institutiones rhetoricae & dialecticae brings the study of argument and language into the world of imperial government.

A substantial addition to a library concerned with early printing, intellectual history, and the education of rulers.

Details: 168 pages with charts; approximately 6½ × 4¼ inches.

Condition: Lacks covers. Title page shows wear and a vertical tear rising approximately one-third of the page from the lower left. Early ink ownership inscription, slight edge wear, and minor internal staining. Auction catalogue describes the text as otherwise complete; no independent collation is represented.