Copia d’una lettera del R. P. Gio. Argenta della Compagnia di Giesu al molto rever. D. Claudio Aquaviva, preposito generale della medesima Compagnia. Delle insolenze delli Heretici Arriani, fatte nella chiesa et collegio di detti padri in Claudiopoli di Transilvania, et come Iddio ha cominciato a castigarli.
8vo (14.5 x 10 cm).14 pp. Occasional light foxing. Annotation in ink in old hand at head of title, partially cut due to close trimming. Bound in modern floral paste paper over flexible boards. Very rare first edition of Argenti’s detailed eyewitness account of the religious turmoil resulting in the destruction in 1603 of the Jesuit College in Claudiopolis, Transylvania (modern-day Cluj-Napoca, Romania) by hostile Protestant forces. A manuscript of this letter is housed at the Biblioteca Vacelliana in Rome. In the present letter, addressed to Claudio Acquaviva, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuit Argenti recounts his early tenure in Transylvania, which was marked by extreme political and religious instability. Shortly after his arrival in 1603, Argenti witnessed a pivotal moment of religious conflict: the total destruction of the Jesuit college in Claudiopolis. On June 9, 1603, amid the chaos of Prince Moses Székely’s entry into the city, Protestant mobs attacked the Catholic church, college, and seminary, leveling them “to their foundations”. Argenti’s vivid account, rich with the harrowing details of the days-long siege, portrays the Jesuits in moments of spiritual desperation, attempting to “bargain with God” as they faced their uncertain fates. Argenti and seven other Jesuits eventually fled, first to the fortress of Górgény before embarking on a month-long journey to Poland. Reaching Kraków on August 12, Argenti immediately drafted the present letter to the Jesuit General Claudio Aquaviva. This report remains a definitive primary source, offering a rare, firsthand account of the era’s religious violence and the Society’s subsequent flight. Giovanni Argenti (1583-1626) was a prominent Jesuit leader and a key figure in the Transylvanian Counter-Reformation. Joining the Society of Jesus in 1583, he was dispatched to Transylvania in 1603 to revive Catholic life amidst a volatile religious landscape dominated by Protestantism. Returning in 1604 as Vice-Provincial, Argenti attempted to rebuild the mission and defend Jesuit property. Despite his diplomatic efforts at the Diet of Meggyes (1605), escalating hostility forced him into repeated retreats. In 1607, Argenti made a final push for the Order’s return. When the Diet upheld the ban on Jesuits, Argenti was permanently exiled. Following his mission, Argenti rose to significant administrative heights within the Society, serving as provincial of Austria, Milan, Poland, and Bohemia, and rector of various Italian colleges and a “visitor” to the Polish and Lithuanian provinces. Following the death of Claudio Acquaviva, Argenti received 29 votes for the position of Superior General. He died in 1626 while serving as Rector of Modena. His writings remain primary sources for the history of the Jesuit presence in Eastern Europe.
Price: $11,500.00