Attributed to Francesco Petrarch (1304—1374), ‘The Lives of the Popes and Emperors’ offers brief biographies of 223 popes prior to Sixtus IV (Pope from 1471 to 1484) and 115 emperors prior to Frederick III (1415—1493).

The incunabulum was published in Italian at the monastery of St. Jacob.The incunabulum was published in Italian at the monastery of St. Jacob.

The term ‘incunabulum’ comes from the Latin word for ‘swaddling clothes’ or ‘cradle’. Incunabula are the books of the early, ‘cradle’ period of printing: from Gutenberg’s first experiments in the 1440s to 1 January 1501. The average circulation at that time was about 300 copies.