106

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

De Vero Anno quo Aeternus Dei Filius Humanam Naturam in Utero Benedictae Virginis Mariae Assumpsit.

Frankfurt: Typis ac sumptibus Joannis Bringeri, 1614.
Second enlarged edition; quarto, title page, single preliminary leaf signed "):(", followed by A2, consistent with other copies; old German library stamp to title, margin of text leaf [page 33] and blank verso of final leaf; bound in full polished sheepskin, antique style and nicely executed with gilt ruling on boards, gilt lettered and decorated spine and remnants of ties; text leaves browned as usual for copies of this edition; uncommon at auction, one or two copies come up for sale every decade or so; 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.

"Kepler's De Vero Anno, or The True Year in which the Eternal Son of God Assumed Human Nature in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, must be regarded as a landmark book in the history of historical chronology, especially when it comes to the intricate (and ultimately aporetic) discussion surrounding the year and date of the birth of Jesus Christ. Some of its astronomically motivated conclusions--like that of linking the journey of the Magi to a series of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in 7 BCE or that of redating the death of Herod the Great on the basis of a lunar eclipse in 4 BCE-- have exerted an influence that is manifest even today, from planetarium shows on the 'Star of Bethlehem' to scholarly debates surrounding the Second Temple and New Testament chronology. Above and beyond its continuing relevance to the questions it addresses, the work should be of interest to researchers into early modern intellectual history for the light it sheds on Kepler's thought and use of sources, the context and motivations underlying his ventures into the tangled web of historical chronology, his dispute with opposing scholars such as Seth Calvisius and Helisaeus Roeslin, and the reception of his work among denizens of the Republic of Letters." (Quoted from C. Philipp E. Nothaft's review of Otto Schönberger and Eva Schönberger's 2016 Itinera Classica translation of Kepler's text.)

  • Notes: Ex libris Professor, Astronomer, Historian & Bibliophile Owen Gingerich.
  • Condition: [-]1, ):(/A4, B-Y4, Z2.

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October 23, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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