JIMÉNEZ DE RADA, Rodrigo

Very uncommon, good copy of the second edition of the Chronicle of the noble and eminent deeds of King Ferdinand III (c.1199-1252), son of Alphonso IX of L éon and Berenguela de Castile. First published in 1516 upon the accession of Charles I, the first Habsburg on the Spanish throne the work celebrated the consolidation and territorial expansion of the united crowns of Castile and L éon by the hand of the pious Ferdinand III, who joined the Order of St Francis and was canonised in 1671. The narrative begins in the C12, with the reign of Alfonso IX, and concludes with Ferdinand III s death. Central to the Chronica is Ferdinand s conquest of Andalusia, with gory narratives of his battles against the Moors and the sieges of C√≥rdoba and Seville. Written by Don Rodrigo Jim énez de Rada (1170-1247), Archbishop of Toledo, and terminated by Jofre de Loaysa, it was modernised in spelling and edited by Diego L√≥pez de Cartagena, who also translated numerous Latin works into Castilian. It is one of the many successful medieval vernacular chronicles printed in Europe in the sixteenth century. These patriotic texts, addressed to the wider public, narrated the history of nations through the deeds of their kings, whilst functioning as dynastic mirrors for princes for the ruling monarchs. As shown by the arms on the t-p, this edition was dedicated to Charles I s son, Philip II. USTC records no surviving copies of the first edition of 1547.