37 - [HISTORY - AUDENARDE] - ROBYN Ludovicus / VANDER MEERSCH Désiré-Joseph

[HISTORY - AUDENARDE] - ROBYN Ludovicus / VANDER MEERSCH Désiré-Joseph A collection of two seminal monographs on the Reformation and the 16th-century unrest in Oudenaarde: - ROBYN Ludovicus, "Historie van den oorsprong, voortgang en ondergang der ketterye binnen en ontrent Audenaerde,...", Gend, by Franciscus Benedictus Bernaert, 1756. In-12°. Late 18th-century half-calf with root trim. Smooth spine. Title label in Lavallière morocco. Scuffs, rubs; top of the first joint and headband damaged. First edition of this religious chronicle written by the Dominican friar Ludovicus Robyn (1680–1743). Drawing on contemporary writings, the author chronologically traces the origin, development, and decline of Protestant movements (referred to as “heresies”) in Oudenaarde and its castellany during the “Century of Troubles.” Our copy also includes the sections devoted to the parishes of Asper, Zingem, and Renaix. References: Bibliotheca Belgica, R-188; de Potter, Geschiedenis van de stad Oudenaarde, II, 294. - VANDER MEERSCH, Désiré-Joseph, “Defensive Memorandum by the Magistrate of Oudenaarde on the Unrest that Occurred in That City in 1566; followed by Historical Research on the Maternal Origin of Margaret of Parma, born in Oudenaarde in 1522," Ghent, Michiels Frères Press, 1842. In-8°. Black glossy half-calf. Smooth spine adorned with the title in gold lettering running lengthwise and gold arabesques. Normal wear and tear. Rare foxing. Copy inscribed by the author to Kervyn de Volkaersbeke. First edition of this valuable diplomatic and archaeological publication. The scholar Désiré-Joseph Vander Meersch (1804–1875) unearths and scientifically annotates the memorandum drafted in 1566 by the city’s magistrates to exonerate themselves before Regent Margaret of Parma during the crisis of the Beggars’ Revolt and the iconoclastic rampages. Bound at the front of the volume is a letter from the author to Baron Kervyn de Volkaersbeke, dated June 5, 1853, from Oudenaarde. References: National Bibliography of Belgium, III, 498; Van der Haeghen, *Bibliotheca Belgica*, V, 122. An exceptional thematic and local combination of two complementary historiographical sources, indispensable for understanding the establishment of Calvinism, the political crisis of 1566, and the Spanish repression in the city of Oudenaarde. Provenance: from the library of Philippe Kervyn of Volkaersbeke (bookplate and dedication)