Henricus Zoesius,
Commentarius ad Institutionum Ivris Civilis Libros IV
(Cologne: Johannes Wilhelm, 1671).

Zoesius (1571-1627), a professor at Leuven in Flanders, penned this commentary on the Institutes, the introductory handbook of Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, whose volumes of Roman law students pored over for centuries in European law schools.

This is excellent example of an alum-tawed pigskin binding, a specialty of early modern German binders. Brass tools were used to impress intricate designs in the leather, in what is here “blind” tooling, without gilding. At the center is a stamped design surrounded by Biblical iconography and text. Under one image is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase, “tu es Petrus, et super,” referring to a Biblical passage, “you are Peter, and on this rock I shall build this church.” The figures paneled around the center are Christ, St. Peter, and St. Paul, in a repeating pattern.

The book also had an ecclesiastical owner. A bookplate reads, “Ad bibliothecam archi-episcopalis presbyterorum & alumnorum collegii,” which may identify a seminary library that was connected to the cathedral of Freising in Bavaria. Canon law in the period drew on Roman law so it is not unusual to find this secular law book in a religious educational setting.