Gower, John (1325?-1408) De Confessione Amantis.

Description:

Gower, John (1325?-1408) De Confessione Amantis. London: Imprinted in Fletestreete by Thomas Berthelette, the XII daie of Marche, 1554. Folio, third edition, title printed within woodcut compartment, text in two columns, black letter, bound in full crushed brown morocco by Riviere & Son, ruled in blind and gilt, gilt tooling to spine and boards, edges gilt over marbling, neatly rebacked; ex libris Matthew C. D. Borden (1842-1912),with his bookplate inside the front board; two faded ownership inscriptions to title, 18th century marginal notes, some slightly cropped, short paper restoration to upper blank margin of title and second leaf, 10 3/4 x 7 3/8 in.

Confessio Amantis (The Lover's Confession) is a Middle English poem by John Gower of 33,000 lines. In it, an elderly man's confessional to the chaplain of Venus creates a frame for a collection of shorter narrative poems. In the prologue, Gower explains that he writes at the request of Richard II. Gower's is one of the great works of late 14th-century English literature, along with those of Chaucer, Langland, and the Pearl poet. The form of Middle English employed by Gower in the Confessio is a direct precursor of modern English and thus helped lay the foundation for modern English literature.

*6, A-Z6, Aa-Hh6, Ii5 (lacking final blank, Ii6).
http://estc.bl.uk/S120946
Estimate $8,000-12,000


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