Opera Urbani Regii by Rhegius, Urbanus (1489-1541), Ernestus Regius - 1562

Noriberage [Nuremberg]: Montanus & Neuber, 1562. Quarto in Sixes. This is the first and most significant edition of Rhegius' collected works. He was a student of John Eck and had become a celebrated court preacher in Augsburg. Initially, he agreed only with Luther's attack on indulgences though he limited this view to his circle of friends; however, he became convinced of Luther's views by 1525. He became Luther's major link to the Saxon theologians and a key figure in the Augsburg Confession and agreed to have it submitted to Charles V. His correspondence with Melanchthon on taking a conciliatory stance led to the latter's meeting with Martin Bucer on August 22, 1530, resulted in the relative peace among competing voices in the early German Reformation. Once he had those letters of compromise sent to Luther, he met with Luther personally for the first time which he recalled: "as the happiest day of his life". He also publicly praised Luther as a theologian without equal in any age (Liebmann, Maximillian). He soon became a key figure in both the territorial and the urban Reformation of northern Germany. He was perhaps the most moderating figure in the Lutheran movement though central to his thought was a pure gospel exclusive of the Catholic sacramental system. His catechisms, homiletical handbooks, and other theological works clarify his developing thought. He rejected the 1533 plea of Pope Clement VII for a council since he did not believe it would be free of Rome's influence if it were held outside Germany. He did not wish to make the issue of transubstantiation a major point of contention since he viewed finding harmony as essential among the Reformers. Since this first collection of his works became the essential work by Rhegius among continental theologians for the next several centuries, it is essential for Reformation studies. It also contains the first biography of the theologian though written by his son Ernst and considered more an object of filial duty rather than an objective history. As we have noted below, bound in a contemporary blind stamped alum-tawed pigskin over wood with both the original clasps. This binding has blind stamped iconography images of Adam and Eve, the Serpent in the Wilderness, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and various unidentified figures unidentified though having halos atop their heads while reading a book. Our copy collates the same as those in the U.S. located at Yale, Columbia, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Part 3 has separate title page: Monumentorum Vrbani Rhegij Latina oratione conscriptorum, Collation as follows: a-[b]6, A-4D6, 1-16:6, 17:3, Colophon; blank, AA-TT6. Title printed in red and black; "Opera" within engraved woodcut border; vine separates the title from imprint; initials and tailpieces throughout./ Includes bibliographical references as marginalia. Our copy is in pigskin [as the Folger copy] with both original clasps present (the Folger and Columbia have partial parts of clasps). All collate the same with the Columbia copy lacking the blank [after the Colophon] and the last leaf. Text is almost entirely in Latin with some German lines beginning at KK4 and at various points thereafter. [Cited in: Adams, H.M. Catalogue of books printed on the continent of Europe, 1501-1600, in Cambridge Libraries, R294. BM STC German, 1455-1600, p. 736].