... on account of an incredible exchange of charity and love it says in the contract that transfers the book to Master Johannes Anglicus. But what is charitas, what is amor? What is this friendship in 1512, and how can we possibly understand it 500 years later ? How can we avoid the pitfalls of romanticising a friendship between a French and an English scholar, yet still get a sense of what was going on between the donor and the recipient?
Option 1: The gauffered edges were applied to the book at a time when its destination was already decided. Think of it as an oversized gift label, which will dominate the present with your own name
Option 2: Jo de Lyon has many or all the books in his library (well, it probably was not more than a shelf or two of books) elaborately marked, and then decided on this set to serve as a present because the subject-matter did not interest him, or because the recipient had shown a special interest in the topic
Option 3: Jo de Lyon has himself received this book as a present and was embarrassed by the lavish exterior, preferring to pass it on
Option 4: A school leaving present. Was one the teacher of the other? We know that many books were given as school leaving presents in the 19th century - what about 1510?
Much hinges on the meaning of vicissitudinem: - the change, interchange, alternation of love and dearness, and much will remain obscure - And what about poligrapho - Does he who writes much need books more than others?
There is much that still awaits answering.
