ARÈNE (Antoine) - Lot 1

ARÈNE (Antoine) Ad suos compagnones studiantes, qui sunt de persona friantes, bassa Dansas & Branlos practicantes, novvelos quamplurimos mandat. Stampatutas in Stampatura Stampatorum, 1670 - 2 parts in one volume, in-12, 191 pp. Green morocco, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, ornate ribbed spine, inner gilt roulette (18th-century binding). Brunet I, 392. The most complete edition available of this dance treatise written in the Macaronic language, first published around 1520. Invented in the 15th century, this language was composed of the author's native tongue, combined with Latin syntax and endings. It was mainly used in poetry. Antoine Arène (1500-1544), a French jurist and poet, provides an overview of Renaissance dance, describing the Basses danses, the Pavane, the Tourdion, the Gaillarde and the Courante. It consists of two parts with continuous pagination. The second part, with its own title Nova Novorum Novissima, sive Poemata stylo Macaronico conscripta..., was "first printed separately in 1604; it contains pieces in Italian and others in Bergamo dialect" (Brunet). The author developed his own code for describing dance steps: R (Révérence), r (reprise), c (congé), d (un double), ddd (trois doubles)... Thanks to this code, he intended to pass on the rudiments of Basse danse to students in Avignon. This long-ignored work is an invaluable source of information for fans of traditional folk dances. A fine copy in 18th-century morocco, a very rare condition for this book. (Small tear at head cover, two small wormholes at hinges, spine slightly faded, a few stains on covers).