Renouncing the Jewish Faith

Gedruckt zu Coln: durch Gerwinum Calenium / und die Erben Johan Quentels, Im Jar M.D. LXXVIII [1578]. 215 by 170mm (8½ by 6¾ inches). 4to. 691, [1] pp., illustrations. Title page in red and black. In German. Inscriptions on front free end paper of three previous owners, dated successively [15]89, 1603, and 1608. Ink stamp on title page: ​“Franziskaner Kloster Dettelbach.” Manuscript inscription on title page: ​“Biblioteca Conventus Detelbacensis F.F. Mino. strictoris observatio.” Minor amount of underscoring and manicules throughout, mostly between pages 514 and 544. Woodcut initials. The illustrations are woodcuts on pages [4] and 19. Good. Bound in full alum-tawed pigskin over beveled wooden boards. Blind stamped decorations on both covers feature allegorical portraits and motifs. Brass clasps intact and fully functional. Faded manuscript title label at head of spine. Old ink inscription on spine in third compartment. A piece of the front cover has been torn off revealing the wood board; there is some spotting and soiling to the cover. A water stain on the front free end paper.

First edition of the collected sermons by Jakob Feucht (1540–1580) who was an ardent supporter of the Counter-Reformation, renewal of the Catholic Church, and the reforms of the Council of Trent. Printed by the Catholic printer Gerwin Calenius, in association with the heirs of Johann Quentel–descended from a family of Lutheran and French protestant printers–who took over Quentel’s business after his death in 1551. The sermons are split into eight sections outlined in a table of contents on the title page verso. Topics include salvation, interpretations of the sacraments, divine punishment, communion, indulgences in female monasteries, reasons to convert to the Catholic Church, and a narrative of two men who renounced Judaism and converted to Roman Catholicism.

The first sermon in the volume is dedicated to Friedrich von Wirsberg who, as Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, prosecuted Wilhelm von Grumbach, a nobleman who challenged the authority of the bishops, and in 1560 expelled Jewish people living in Würzburg. The sermons on Communion are dedicated to Marquard von Berg, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. In his preface, Feucht notes that it is not only people of high social and religious standing that he hopes to reach, but also common people. This is perhaps best seen in the final entry which narrates the conversion of two Jewish people–Joachim Buechel of Wonfurt in the diocese of Würzburg and Abrahe Blin of Marckelsheim in the diocese of Strassbourg–who renounced the Jewish faith and eagerly took up Roman Catholic doctrine. At a festival on November 26, 1576, the two men approach Feucht and declare their intent to be baptized.

The narrative proceeds as a series of questions and answers in which the two men perform their renunciation of Judaism, giving seven reasons based on readings of the Jewish religious texts. Through the dialogue, it is revealed that the two converts are well-read, skilled in the Hebrew language, and worked as teachers. The provide seven reasons for their conversion, citing Jewish texts while professing their belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They even cite a text they call the ​“Sefer Cabola,” perhaps a mangled reference to the Sefer Yetzira, and Kabbalists to argue for the truth of the Holy Trinity. Feucht and the religious authorities are convinced that the desire for conversion is sincere (they initially suspect that the men are poor and looking for charity) and they are baptized in the end.

A special title page announces that the narrative is instructive for Lutherans as well. Feucht was a theologian ordained in the early 1560s and began service as a priest in 1563 in Bamberg. He was appointed rector of the University of Ingolstadt (his alma mater) in 1571 and Auxiliary Bishop for Bamberg and Bishop of Athyra in 1572. He was a popular author, with 24 recorded editions published in his lifetime and twice as many published posthumously up until the mid-17th century. A rare edition. Only one location in the United States reported by OCLC WorldCat at the time of cataloguing. References: Kist, Johannes. ​“Feucht, Jakob.” Deutsche Biographie. https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz15915.html Citations: VD16 F 861