Beschreibung:

Commentarii rerum Gestarum in India citra Gangem a Lusitanis.
Louvain: Rutger Rescius, September 1539. Small 4to (192 x 135 mm). 22 ff. only. Modern green morocco, spine lettered in gilt. Condition: dedicatory leaves only, title backed with laid paper, ink stains to title, some soiling and browning at edges. Provenance: illegible witness imprint in Greek to title and in English to colophon. Acquisition : purchased from William Reese Company, 1998, $16,500. portugal’s foremost humanist narrates recent military feats by the ottomans in a dedication to pietro bembo, The introduction by De Goes focuses on the military campaigns of his contemporary Suleiman I (1494-1566), whose triumphs in the Mediterranean throughout the 1520's led to the great expansion of the Ottoman Empire. De Goes concludes his narrative with a description of the “Regis Manuelis,” his own kingdom, clearly drawing a parallel between Ottoman expansion and Portugal’s concurrent rise to power through colonization. Prince João sent De Goes to Antwerp in 1521 to take up the office of secretary at the Casa da India , the most important Portuguese commercial center abroad. On the advice of Erasmus, De Goes moved to Padua in 1534, where he made Bembo’s acquaintance. De Goes’ contact with the international elite and participation in the Counter-Reformation made him a frequent target of the Inquisition, and he faced criticism even after being appointed Guarda Mor (High Guardian) of the Royal Archives at Torre do Tombo in 1548, and official court chronicler in 1558. De Goes was denounced in 1545 and 1550, and ultimately convicted of heresy and imprisoned in the monastery of Batalha in 1572. He died in 1574, supposedly after falling into a fireplace.