Top of page

Book/Printed Material City of God. De civitate Dei

About this Item

Title

  • City of God.

Other Title

  • De civitate Dei

Summary

  • This codex of Saint Augustine's De civitate dei (City of God) is from the Plutei Collection of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence. The volume is bound in red morocco leather with the Medici coat of arms at the center and on each corner of the front cover. It has an illuminated page (recto of folio 11) and a number of illuminated initial capital letters (e.g., recto of folio 31). Saint Augustine of Hippo (354--430) wrote more than 100 works, of which his Confessiones (Confessions) and De civitate dei are the best known. In De civitate dei, Augustine set out to refute the pagan claim that the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, an event that profoundly shook the Roman world, was caused by the rise of Christianity. The fundamental problem that Augustine grappled with is the spiritual church in a secular world: the city of God in the city of this world. The Plutei Collection consists of the approximately 3,000 manuscripts and books from the private holdings of the Medici family, which, bound in red leather with the Medici coat of arms, were arranged on the benches of the Laurenziana when the library first opened to the public in 1571. Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464) is known to have owned 63 books in 1417-18, which grew to 150 by the time of his death. His sons Piero (1416-69) and Giovanni (1421-63) vied with each other in commissioning illuminated manuscripts. Lorenzo il Magnifico (1449-92), son of Piero, acquired a great number of Greek codices and, starting in the 1480s, ordered copies of all texts lacking in the library with the aim of transforming the Medici library into an important center of research. Following the expulsion of the Medici from Florence in 1494, the books were taken from the family. Giovanni de' Medici, elected Pope Leo X in 1513, restored the collection to the Medici, and another Medici pope, Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici), organized the establishment of the Laurenziana.

Names

  • Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo, 354--430 Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1400 to 1499]

Headings

  • -  Italy
  • -  354 to 430
  • -  Codex
  • -  Illuminations

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Vellum : 259 x 355 millimeters ; 309 folios.
  • -  Original resource at: Medicea Laurenziana Library, Florence.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Plutei Collection

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667905

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Augustine, Saint, Bishop Of Hippo, 354. City of God. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1499, 1400] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667905/.

APA citation style:

Augustine, S. (1400) City of God. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1499] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667905/.

MLA citation style:

Augustine, Saint, Bishop Of Hippo, 354. City of God. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1499, 1400] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667905/>.