More images in our Flickr galleries

The “Justicie atque iniusticie” gallery in the Rare Book Collection’s Flickr site now contains all of the illustrations from our copies of Guillaume Le Rouillé’s Justicie atque iniusticie. We own the first edition of this intriguing work (Paris: Claude Chevallon, 1520). In addition, we own the 1549 Lyon edition of the 18-volume Tractatus Universi Iuris; volume 1 contains Le Rouillé’s essay with different renderings of the illustrations. “Justicie atque iniusticie” also appears in our 1584 Venice edition of Tractatus Universi Iuris, but without illustrations.

Guillaume Le Rouillé (1494-ca. 1550) was a French jurist, public official, historian, publisher, bookseller, merchant, and poet. “Justicie atque Iniusticie” was his first published work; other editions include Lyon 1529, Lyon 1530, Lyon 1531, and Paris 1534. Other legal works that he published included Le grand coutumier de Normandie (Paris 1539), and Le grand coutumier de Maine (Paris 1535).

Below is the “beast of injustice” from the 1520 edition, gobbling up the innocent. The beast’s twelve legs are labeled to represent those who support or promote injustice, including disobedient youths, iniquitous princes, negligent bishops, immodest women, and undisciplined commoners.

Thanks to Nicholas Makarov, a junior in Yale College, for providing biographical information on Le Rouillé.

MIKE WIDENER

Rare Book Librarian