Aquinas 1467

THOMAS AQUINAS, Saint (1226–1274).
Summa theologica, pars secunda, secundus liber.
Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 6 March 1467. (06671)

This was the first book that Schoeffer printed alone after the death of Johann Fust in 1466. It is the second edition of the most widely-read portion of the most comprehensive and systematic statement of medieval Christian doctrine, the second part of the second book of Thomas Aquinas’ three-part Summa theologica. The first edition was printed by Johann Mentelin (c. 1410–1478) at Strasbourg, not after 1463 (also owned by Bridwell Library). The composition of type for Schoeffer's book was a monumental task. Even using the small “Durandus” typeface, it required 515 pages of text in double columns of 59 lines.

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