69 - MAIMBOURG (Louis).

MAIMBOURG (Louis). History of the Iconoclastic Heresy and the Transfer of the Empire to the French. Paris, Mabre-Cramoisy, 1686. In-4, engraved frontispiece after Chauveau, [28]-492-[2] pp. Marbled havana calfskin, decorated ribbed spine, title label, wide lace border on the covers with gilded coats of arms in the center, gilded roulette on the edges, gilded edges (contemporary binding). Worn caps and corners. Black ink stains on pp. 14–15. New edition of this historical and religious work, first published in 1674, devoted to the Iconoclastic Controversy that tore the Byzantine Empire apart in the 8th and 9th centuries and to the transfer of imperial dignity to the Frankish rulers, until the coronation of Charlemagne in 800. A valuable copy bearing the coat of arms of François de Clermont-Tonnerre (1629–1701), bishop and Count of Noyon since 1661, Peer of France, Councilor of State, and future member of the Académie française (1694). Born into one of the great families of the French nobility, this prelate played an important role in ecclesiastical life during the reign of Louis XIV. This is a particularly interesting provenance for a work devoted to the history of religious controversies, published by Louis Maimbourg (1610–1686), a former Jesuit and Church historian who taught the humanities before becoming a polemical preacher. In the midst of the Counter-Reformation, he engaged in fierce controversies with the Jansenists, challenging in particular their translation of the Bible.