Notes on the bibliography of Rainerius de Pisis

Abstract

THE Pantheologia of Rainerius de Pisis, the Dominican who died in 1351, must be one of the longest books ever composed in the Middle Ages. Although the author was an Italian, it is noticeable that of the six editions printed in the fifteenth century the first five appeared in Germany, suggesting that the manuscripts quickly found their way to Nuremberg, where it is quite possible that the celebrated humanist, physician and bibliophile Hartmann Schedel had something to do with seeing the formidable tomes of Rainerius de Pisis into print. The first edition, dated 8 April 1473, was produced by Johann Sensenschmidt, and this is the only book at Nuremberg which also contains the name of Heinrich Kefer, who had been one of Gutenberg's servants and testified in the lawsuit with Fust.