Add MS 8762

ACCOUNT OF THE CONGRESS OF NIJMEGEN; 1676-1678. Italian. Copy. A detailed historical account of the events leading to the treaty of peace in Nijmegen signed in 1678 by France and Holland together with its allies, Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Denmark. The account is not included in the list given by P. Barber, 'Manuscript Sources in the British Library relating to the Peace Congress of Nijmegen and Connected Negotiations', The Peace of Nijmegen 1676-1678/9: International Congress of the Tricentennial, ed. J. A. H. Bots (Amsterdam, 1980), pp. 261-274. Title (f. 1) 'Trattati della pace di Nimega'. Inc. (f. 9) 'Della mediazione nuovamente intrapresa per la pace universale dal Pontefice, dalli Re di Inghilterra, e di Portogallo, e dalla Repubblica di Venetia; in che conformita vennero accettati i due primi; e come ne restò escluso Portogallo / Volgeva l'anno 1676 lagrimevole alla posterità', expl. (f. 485bis) 'fattovi apporre il sigillo delle loro armi / Fatto in Nimega ' li 17 settembre 1678'. The text includes (ff. 498v-499, 450bis-485bis) the Italian translation of the treaty; it is divided into 39 chapters and is preceded (ff. 2-8v) by a table of contents copying the chapter headings. Armorial bookplate of the 5th Earl of Guilford with shelfmark 'L/17/C' (front pastedown). '521' in pencil in top left corner of f. i verso. Purchased, together with Add. 8761, from R. H. Evans, 8 Dec. 1830, lot 521 (part).

Paper; ff. 535+vi. Modern foliation in pencil '1-499, 450-485' (followed here), repeating nos. 450-485 after f. 499. 328 x 220mm. Horizontal catchwords on each leaf. One Italian hand. Late 17th-cent. binding of full vellum; decorated paper pastedowns and contiguous flyleaves.