DU VERDIER (Antoine). *Les Omonimes*, a satire on the corrup - Lot 64

DU VERDIER (Antoine). *Les Omonimes*, a satire on the corrupt morals of this century. Lyon, Antoine Gryphius [at the end: Printed by Pierre Roussin], 1572. Quarto pamphlet of 8 leaves, red morocco leather, Jansenist, interior lace, gilt edges (Trautz-Bauzonnet). A very rare first edition of this satirical poem criticizing the mores of the time and the civil wars. In it, the poet lambasts religious men and accuses them of drunkenness, simony, and betraying the sacred texts; he protests against the scandals of the Church, attacks judges, wayward law students who become poor lawyers, and denounces the brutality of the nobility and soldiers, etc. The composition of this poem is remarkable, with each pair of lines ending in homonymous rhymes, thus creating wordplay. A writer from the Forez region, Antoine du Verdier (1544–1600) is considered, along with La Croix du Maine, the first French bibliographer. He was also a former soldier: at the time he composed this poem, he was still—though not for long—a member of a small company of men-at-arms assembled by a seneschal of Lyon, Guillaume de Gadagne, under whose banner he fought during the civil unrest. (Baudrier, vol. VIII, p. 359; Ducimetière, *Mignonne...*, no. 56.) A fine copy, from the libraries of La Roche Lacarelle (1888, no. 212), Marigues de Champ-Repus (1893, no. 116), and Raphaël Esmérian (I, 1972, no. 62). Minor restoration at the lower corner of leaf C3. Slight discoloration on the covers, minimal scuffing on the corners, raised bands, and headbands.

Estimate:£2,572.14

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