{"product_id":"thomas-kempis-imitation-christ-london-1898-117646","title":"Of the Imitation of Christ.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eillustrated by Laurence \u0026amp; Clemence Housman\u003c\/h4\u003eA beautiful, finely printed example of Thomas à Kempis' great spiritual meditation De Imitatione Christi, an important work of Christian mysticism in the Late Medieval Devotio Moderna movement which called for religious reform and apostolic renewal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKempis (d.1471) was born in Kempen, in the Diocese of Cologne, but received his education at Deventer, in the Low Countries where he came into contact with the Fratres Vitae Communis, a majority lay confraternity founded by the Dutch deacon Gerard Groot, a leading figure in the Devotio Moderna movement. Members took no irrevocable vows, but lived according to the monastic principles of poverty, obedience and chastity, with all earnings put into a common fund.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHaving completed his studies, Kempis joined the reformed monastery of the Augustinian Canon Regulars at Mount Saint Agnes, near Zwolle, where he was ordained priest in 1413, later becoming Sub-Prior in 1429. From here he wrote lives of Groot and his associate Florentius Radwyn, and composed the four disparate mystical tracts, together forming the Imitation, which began to circulate in manuscript in the 1430s. The first printed edition appeared in 1473, and the first English-language translation in 1503 — it has never been out of print since and remains a mainstay in the canon of Western literature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLimited edition of 660 copies printed on Arnold \u0026amp; Foster's unbleached handmade paper; 8vo (23.5 x 14.5 cm); printed in red and black, wood-engraved title and 4 plates designed by Laurence Housman and engraved by Clemence Housman, woodcut initials and tailpieces; publisher's limp vellum, yapp edges, top-edge gilt, others uncut, a little soiled, repaired split to front hinge, very good; [4], xii, 324, [2]pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ecf.PMM 13.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"KEMPIS, Thomas à.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57099031183735,"sku":"117646","price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/117646_bcfcda9c-bf6d-40e7-b0c3-a625eb35c1f5.jpg?v=1780834126","url":"https:\/\/shapero.com\/products\/thomas-kempis-imitation-christ-london-1898-117646","provider":"Shapero Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}