Vegetius Renatus, Flavius, et al | The "only ancient manual of Roman military institutions to survive intact"

Vegetius Renatus, Flavius, Tacticus Aelianus, Sextus Julis Frontinus, and Guillaume Budé

De re militari libri quatuor [Four Military Books]. Paris: Apud Christianum Wechelum [for Charles Perier], sub Pegaso, in vico Bellouacensi, 1553

Folio (300 x 200 mm), collation: a⁴ A-Y⁶ Z⁸. Wechel's woodcut Pegasus printer's device to title-page and final verso, woodcut initials, 121 full-page woodcut illustrations, 3 half-page woodcut illustrations, 28 letter-press typographical illustrations, this copy with the correct diver woodcut on p. 107 (some copies have diver on p. 106 incorrectly repeated); some browning, one or two stray spots, small area of dampstaining to lower margin. Mottled calf and tan patterned paper-covered boards, spine with raised bands in six compartments, gilt lettering-piece to second, gilt floral tool in others, top stained black, other edges speckled red, marbled endpapers; spine restored, some rubbing to extremities.

Fifth Wechel edition of Vegetius's indispensable martial text — the "only ancient manual of Roman military institutions to survive intact," edited by the great sixteenth-century French humanist Guillaume Budé and profusely illustrated (Watson).

The first book on the art of war, Vegetius's text discussing ancient Roman military practices and weaponry was used as a guide to siegecraft into the 19th century. The present edition was edited by Budé, who included Vegetius in this compendium with other ancient martial texts, all of which concern early military organization, strategy, and tactics, with critical accounts of military practices among the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The 124 woodcut illustrations depict military machinery and siege engines for storming castles. The woodcut vignettes on the verso of the title-page show a military conference outside of an army tent and a soldier loading a cannon, preparing the reader for the battle to come at the outset of the book. The work even boasts fantastical images and machines designed to be used underwater.

Vegetius's text has consistently been in print and has been translated into every modern language; it is our primary source of knowledge of Roman warfare. This example contains four sections that cover recruiting, the organization of the Roman infantry, threats in the middle of a campaign, attacking and defending fortifications, and naval tactics.

REFERENCES:

Adams V334; Brunet V:1162; Elie, Chrétien Wechel 192; Mortimer, French 16th Century Books 486-488; Murray, French Books 563; OCLC 82675873; PMM 10