1875 1st Edition , With Provenance
DE LA DEMONIALITE ET DES ANIMAUX INCUBES ET SUCCUBES
By Louis-Marie Sinistrari d’Ameno
Author Bio: Louis-Marie (Lodovico Maria) Sinistrari d’Ameno (1622–1701)
Italian Franciscan theologian and canonist, born at Ameno (Novara, Piedmont). A friar of the Reformed Observance of St Francis, he taught moral theology in northern Italian houses of study and served as a sought-after confessor and casuist. Sinistrari wrote on crimes, censures, and demonology in a cool, juristic style that drew heavily on Aquinas, canon law and inquisitorial practice.
His most notorious work is the posthumous treatise De daemonialitate et incubis et succubis (“On Demoniality and the Incubi and Succubi”), in which he argues that incubi/succubi are rational corporeal beings and weighs the legal gravity of sexual commerce with them (démonialité) against bestiality and sodomy. The manuscript circulated privately in the 17th century and was first published from the original by the Paris scholar-publisher Isidore Liseux in 1875 (French), with a Latin text issued shortly after. The treatise became a touchstone for the 19th–20th-century occult revival and is frequently cited by Montague Summers and later demonology bibliographers.
Select works (attributed): moral-theology and canon-law tracts on crimes and censures; De daemonialitate… (ms. 17th c.; first printed 1875).
Reputation: An exacting scholastic moralist rather than a sensationalist; his cool legal treatment of a febrile topic explains why this work straddles both theological and occult collecting fields.
Provenance: Early private owner’s stamp (fraternal-style star/handshake).
Synopsis: Composed c.17th century by the Franciscan moral theologian Lodovico Maria Sinistrari d’Ameno (1622–1701), this treatise defines the crime of démonialité—sexual commerce with incubi and succubi—and distinguishes it from bestiality and sodomy. Drawing on Aquinas, patristic/canon-law authorities, and case histories, Sinistrari argues that incubi/succubi are rational, corporeal beings capable of generation (hence “animaux” in the title). He treats proofs in law and theology, ceremonies of witches and sorcerers, and notorious examples (Romulus & Remus, Plato, Alexander, Luther), even asserting that the Antichrist will be born of an incubus. The text famously concludes that, juridically considered, démonialité is no graver than bestiality.
This Liseux edition is the princeps—the first appearance from the original manuscript—issued in a limited, numbered printing and much cited by later occult writers (e.g., Montague Summers).
Binding: Softcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Collation: pp. 242
Limited Edition: 416/598 Copies
Language: Latin/French
Published By: Isidor Liseux, Paris
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Very Good - Later boards (cloth-backed) preserving the original printed wrappers (red/black); spine neatly covered. Clean, square text-block; mild edge-toning and the odd fox mark; small old tide mark confined to a few outer margins; wrappers well preserved; edges unopened in places. Early typed French “Commentaires” leaf tipped in. Owner’s stamp (star over handshake device) to front endpaper..
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
SKU: BTETM0002443
1875 1st Edition , With Provenance
DE LA DEMONIALITE ET DES ANIMAUX INCUBES ET SUCCUBES
By Louis-Marie Sinistrari d’Ameno
Author Bio: Louis-Marie (Lodovico Maria) Sinistrari d’Ameno (1622–1701)
Italian Franciscan theologian and canonist, born at Ameno (Novara, Piedmont). A friar of the Reformed Observance of St Francis, he taught moral theology in northern Italian houses of study and served as a sought-after confessor and casuist. Sinistrari wrote on crimes, censures, and demonology in a cool, juristic style that drew heavily on Aquinas, canon law and inquisitorial practice.
His most notorious work is the posthumous treatise De daemonialitate et incubis et succubis (“On Demoniality and the Incubi and Succubi”), in which he argues that incubi/succubi are rational corporeal beings and weighs the legal gravity of sexual commerce with them (démonialité) against bestiality and sodomy. The manuscript circulated privately in the 17th century and was first published from the original by the Paris scholar-publisher Isidore Liseux in 1875 (French), with a Latin text issued shortly after. The treatise became a touchstone for the 19th–20th-century occult revival and is frequently cited by Montague Summers and later demonology bibliographers.
Select works (attributed): moral-theology and canon-law tracts on crimes and censures; De daemonialitate… (ms. 17th c.; first printed 1875).
Reputation: An exacting scholastic moralist rather than a sensationalist; his cool legal treatment of a febrile topic explains why this work straddles both theological and occult collecting fields.
Provenance: Early private owner’s stamp (fraternal-style star/handshake).
Synopsis: Composed c.17th century by the Franciscan moral theologian Lodovico Maria Sinistrari d’Ameno (1622–1701), this treatise defines the crime of démonialité—sexual commerce with incubi and succubi—and distinguishes it from bestiality and sodomy. Drawing on Aquinas, patristic/canon-law authorities, and case histories, Sinistrari argues that incubi/succubi are rational, corporeal beings capable of generation (hence “animaux” in the title). He treats proofs in law and theology, ceremonies of witches and sorcerers, and notorious examples (Romulus & Remus, Plato, Alexander, Luther), even asserting that the Antichrist will be born of an incubus. The text famously concludes that, juridically considered, démonialité is no graver than bestiality.
This Liseux edition is the princeps—the first appearance from the original manuscript—issued in a limited, numbered printing and much cited by later occult writers (e.g., Montague Summers).
Binding: Softcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Collation: pp. 242
Limited Edition: 416/598 Copies
Language: Latin/French
Published By: Isidor Liseux, Paris
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Very Good - Later boards (cloth-backed) preserving the original printed wrappers (red/black); spine neatly covered. Clean, square text-block; mild edge-toning and the odd fox mark; small old tide mark confined to a few outer margins; wrappers well preserved; edges unopened in places. Early typed French “Commentaires” leaf tipped in. Owner’s stamp (star over handshake device) to front endpaper..
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
SKU: BTETM0002443