Historia Armena, Ecclesiastica & Politica, Nunc Primum In Germania Excusa, & Ad Exemplar Romanum Diligenter Exressa Galani, Clementis [Clemens Galanus] Turkey, The Caucasus And Middle East

First edition printed in Cologne Germany, published in Latin. Octavo (4.5 x 7 inches). [xvi] plus 503 pages. Full period vellum, lightly soiled but very good overall. Internally clean except for intermittent foxing. Galanus (1611-1666), a monk from Sorrento, was sent by the Pope to Armenia to attempt to encourage a union between the Roman Catholic and Armenian churches. He first travelled to Armenia in 1636 and subsequently established a missionary school in Constantinople teaching Armenians. In 1644, he was expelled by the Ottoman authorities and returned to Rome. During almost a decade in the region, Galanus gained an intricate understanding of Armenian history, culture, and langue, which is demonstrated in this work. Rare. An early and rare work on Armenia. OCLC Worldcat lists only 10 copies in institutional libraries worldwide. Not in Atabey, Blackmer, nor the Kalustian collection of Armenian books sold by Skinner in 2002.