Esprit Fléchier

ESPRIT FLÉCHIER (Pernes-les-Fontaines, 1632 – Montpellier, 1710).
“History of Cardinal Don Fray Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros.” 2 volumes.
Publisher: Marcos-Miguel Bousquet y Compañía. Antwerp, 1740.
New edition, divided into two volumes, revised and expanded.
Two-color covers with a printer’s mark.
Parchment covers with handwritten titles on the spines and remnants of leather straps.
Shows slight stains, scuffs, minor missing pages, and wear on the covers and pages typical of its age. In good overall condition.
Measurements: 20.5 x 13.5 x 3.5 cm (each).

Esprit Fléchier was a French clergyman, writer, historian, and distinguished orator. Born in Pernes in 1632, he was elected a member of the French Academy in 1673 and successively held the bishoprics of Lavaur and Nîmes. He gained particular recognition for his sermons and funeral orations, in addition to his work in history and literature. His “History of Cardinal Don Fray Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros,” originally published in French as “Histoire du cardinal Ximenés” in 1693, recounts the life and career of Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, one of the most prominent political and religious figures in Spain during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. This Spanish edition was published in Antwerp in 1740 in two volumes and is described on the title page itself as a new, corrected, and expanded edition.