Max Rehn
Catalog Information
Title: Liber Trium Virorum
Author: Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples
Contributors: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Elizabeth of Schönau, Mechthild von Heckeborn, and Henri Estienne (Printer)
Place of Publication: Paris
Year of Publication: 1513
Call Number: XX folio BV5080 .L5
Physical Condition
Overall, the book is in excellent condition for being 513 years old. Other than more recent pieces of provenance and minor damage to the binding, there are no damages to the book. It is likely it was rebound in England in the 19th century.
Content
The full title of this book is Liber trium virorum & trium spiritualium virginum : Hermae liber vnus : Vguetini liber vnus : F. Roberti libri duo : Hildegardis Sciuias libri tres : Elizabeth virginis libris sex : Mechtildis virgi. libri quin que. In Enlish it would be The book of three men and three spiritual virgins: one book of Hermes: one book of Vguetini: two books of F. Robert: three books of Hildegard Sciuias: six books of Elizabeth the virgin: five books of Mechtilda the virgin.
Although this book talks about a much older events from the 12th century, which was the 26 religious visions. Some were a German Benedictine nun and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, who lived from 1098 to 1179. She is a very interesting individual being most likely one of the most educated women in Europe in her life time. The book also talks about visions from Saint Elizabeth of Schönau who lived from 1129 to 1164 and Mechthild von Heckeborn who lived from 1241 to 1298. They were also German nuns who wrote several books throughout their lives.
Visions from Hermes are also contained in this book. Hermes lived in the 2nd century CE; He was a freedman and brother to Pope Pius I and was he was briefly mentioned in the book of Romans, he was from Aquileia in northern Italy. The visions of Robert of Uzès and Gautier de Metz are also included. Both were priests and authors in the 13th century, the latter writing Image du Monde, which was an early encyclopedia.
Publication
This book was originally printed in 1513 in Paris by Henri Estienne, one of the most famous French printers at the time, and was edited by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, a theologian, Christian humanist, and figure of the proto-Protestant movement who lived from 1455 to 1536 in Picardy, France. In 1507 he took up residency in the Abby of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris, where he wrote and and edited many religious texts including this one.
Dionisius Selckaerts
Despite there being annotations in this book likely from the 16th century, the earliest piece of provenance is from 1700 by an individual named Dionisius Selckaerts. Since this book is of French origin and the linguistic origin of his last name is Dutch, it can be inferred that Selckaerts acquired it while France occupied Flanders under Louis XIV. There is almost no information online about who Dionisius Selckaerts was, other than his name coming up on a French-language Belgian ancestry website that required a paywall to access. The one piece of information that was accessible was the year 1683, which is when he started attending university. The link to this information is the last source listed in the bibliography, which is a Belgian ancestry website with a paywall.
There is evidence that he was a canon in a church most likely in Diest. He also presented a map he created of the river Demer and its tributaries (from Lummen to Diest) to the council of Brabant in 1715. There is no online version of the specific map he made.
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc
Le Blanc was a French aristocrat and bibliophile who lived from 1708 to 1780. He had many family members who were close confidants to the King of France and he was the Grand Falconer of France, along with being the colonel of the regiment under the title Duc de La Vallière. He also had one of the greatest book collections of his time. This book was one of many in his collection, and it is likely he did not read it all the way through. This book in particular says he bought it in action. Most of his collection was sold off by 1783, which is around the time when the next owner acquired the book when he was traveling to France. Most of the remainder of Le Blanc’s collection was bought by the brother of Louis XVI, Charles X, today the majority of his collection is in the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal in Paris.
Michael Wodhull
Woodhull was an English aristocrat who lived in Northamptonshire, in central England. He was an Enlightenment thinker and poet, who lived from 1740 to 1816. He bought this book on May 11th, 1784, when he visited the libraries of Paris. He was the sheriff of Northamptomshire and was briefly a prisoner in France under the rule of Napoleon. He was a supporter of religious liberty and supporter of the Whig party and had many other books on religion. He was buried in an altar tomb in Thenford, his estate. This book belonged in the possession of his estate until January 11th of 1886, when the remainder of his possessions were auctioned off, including this very book. From this auction catalog, it shows that this book was rebound during Wodhull’s ownership because the physical description of the book matches the current description.
where Wodhull’s collection
was sold off.
Cuthbert Turner
Turner was a biblical scholar and theologian at Oxford, who lived from 1860 to 1930. Originally from London, educated at the Winchester School and New Collage Oxford. He was a university lecturer in early Christian literature and history. He also was elected to be the Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of the Holy Scripture, and was beloved by his community and was described as being a friendly, heartwarming person, with some people describing him as Santa Claus. He acquired this book in 1899, and based on his profession, he most likely used this book as a reference, as he wrote 13 books from 1899 to 1920. Although his study of expertise was in Christian history during antiquity and the early Middle Ages, it can be assumed that he referenced less than other books he had. He was buried at Spring Road Cemetery in Oxfordshire, England.
MSU Libraries
There is little information from the death of Cuthbert Turner to Michigan State University Libraries acquiring this book. A staff member who was working at the special collections desk told me verbally that this book was first cataloged by MSU Libraries in 1998, although there is no information in the public online catalog on when this book was acquired or who owned it from 1930 to 1998.
Bibliography
Amargier, P (1980). “Un réformateur avignonnais du XIII siècle, le dominicain Robert d’Uzès (1263-1296)” [An 18th century reformer from Avignon, the Dominican Robert d’Uzès (1263-1296)]. Annales Universitaires. Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Avignon Avignon (in French): 1–6. INIST 12501659.
Bennett, Judith M.; Hollister, Warren C. (2001). Medieval Europe: A Short History. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 317.
Cardinal Georges Grente (dir.), Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Le XVIIIe siècle, nlle. édition revue et mise à jour sous la direction de François Moureau, Paris, Fayard, 1995
De Bure, G. (1783). Catalogue des livres de la bibliotheque de feu M. Le duc de la valliere (p. 250). https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalogue_Des_Livres_De_La_Bibliotheque/lKhFAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trium&pg=RA1-PA250&printsec=frontcover
Dominique Coq, « Le parangon du bibliophile français : le duc de La Vallière et sa collection », dans : Histoire des bibliothèques françaises, Cl. Jolly dir., Paris, Promodis Cercle de la Librairie, 1988
Gordon, Alexander (1911). “Faber, Jacobus“. In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 112.
The Government of Belgium. (1879). Inventaires divers (p. 64). https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inventaires_divers/W3ZUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=selckaert+diest&pg=PA64&printsec=frontcover
Lee, Sidney, ed. (1900). “Wodhull, Michael” . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 62. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Chapter 1, pp. 19 ff, of Lindberg, Carter. The Reformation theologians: an introduction to theology in the early modern period, Blackwell Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-0-631-21839-5, analyses their relationship at length
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de La Vallière », dans Gustave Vapereau, Dictionnaire universel des littératures, Paris, Hachette, 1876, 2 volumes
Mershman, Francis (1909). “St. Elizabeth of Schönau“. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Oliver H. Prior, ed. Caxton’s Mirrour of the World. Early English Text Society, 1913.
Platina (2008). D’Elia, Anthony F. (ed.). Lives of the Popes: Antiquity, Volume 1. Harvard University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0674028197.
Sotheby, W. & H. (n.d.). Extensive & valuable library collected at the end of the last and beginning of the present century by Michael Wodhull : Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. Internet Archive. Retrieved April 1, 2026, from https://archive.org/details/extensivevaluabl00soth_0/page/n7/mode/2up
“”St. Mechtildis of Helfta”, Belgravia Catholic Church of St Anne, Archdiocese of Johannesburg”. Archived from the original on 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
Turner, C. H. (Cuthbert hamilton), 1860-1930. (n.d.). The Online Books Page. Retrieved April 1, 2026, from https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Turner%2C%20C%2E%20H%2E%20%28Cuthbert%20Hamilton%29%2C%201860%2D1930
