The text proper comprises 177 leaves (several blanks cancelled), with additional prelim and final leaves; the final gathering an index (added later, with its own distinct colophon dated 1352). Written in Gothic bookhand in double column; with six large floral initials in red and blue extending into the margin; running heads, text capitals, and two-line initials in red and/or blue; numerous neat annotations throughout the book; 7 small section tabs. 20.7 x 14.7 cm. (8¼x5¾"), 15th century calf over wooden boards.

A handsome and early exemplar with fine provenance of the cornerstone texts harmonizing Christianity with the Platonic Philosophy. Dionysius' genuine identity is not known (hence “pseudo”), but the high level of his intellectuality suggests that he was probably one of the last students of the Platonic Academy in later Roman times (5th century A.D.). (Traditionally, his identity was ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite mentioned in the New Testament, who was converted to Christianity by St. Paul and is believed to have become bishop of Athens – an identity later conflated with St. Denis, the martyred first bishop of Paris.) Widely read, his works had profound intellectual, mystical, and aesthetic resonances throughout the Middle Ages and after – most famously in Aquinas and Dante. First translated by Erigena from the original Greek in the 9th century, Dionysius’ difficult thought and vocabulary led to a series of Latin translations (as scholars reinterpreted its meanings). This volume contains all of his major works, including: De angelica hierarchia; Ecclesiastica hierarchia; De divinis nominibus; De mystica theologia; and Epistola ad Tytum - all in the paraphrase of Thomas Vercellensis – together with a second different translation of De divinis nominibus and De mystica theologia. This manuscript has a long and distinguished provenance, dating back nearly to the time of its origin. In custom-made red morocco & cloth folding box.