Exceptionally rare set of three anti-Jansenist broadsides, of which we have not been able to find any other copies in either institutions or on the market. Although they were also published as books in the same year, each text was newly typeset for the present broadsides. Despite being anti-Jansenist, the works were quite controversial in their own time and even placed onto the Index in 1694, which is likely part of the reason for the extreme scarcity of both the books and broadsides today.
The three works were intended as a series, as the preface of ad 2 states that it was written because ad 1 had not yet reached its goal of convincing everyone of the heresy of Jansenism. Each work explains in various "gradus" or steps, how Jansenism extinguishes the love for God, destroys the hierarchy of the Church, and turns Catholics away from the Sacraments. Each step then gives a list of Jansenist dogmas and explains why they are heretical. This is followed by a source list at the bottom of the broadside, detailing in which Jansenist texts these dogmas can be found. Although the works are extremely scarce today, they were known in their own time, as they provoked both court trials and/or refutational publications in the very years after publication, including Troisième piece du procés de Calomnie, contre les auteurs & approbateurs du placard intitulé: Jansenismus omnem destruens religionem (1693) by the famous Jansenist Antoine Arnauld, and Responsio (...) ad accusationes contra se allegatas in libello cui titulus, (...) Jansenismus omnem destruens religionem, item Jansenismus plurimas haereses, &c. et Jansenismus exotice, &c. (1694) by Gommarus Huygens.
Although the works were published anonymously, the censor mentioned at the bottom of each broadside, Nicolas du Bois (1620-1696), was most likely also the author. He studied theology at the University of Leuven and held the position of royal professor of sacred scriptures from 1654 until his death. At the end of the 17th century, the Faculty of Theology at Leuven was an important crossroad of both Jansenist and anti-Jansenist ideas. As the head of an anti-Jansenist society, Du Bois was a zealous member of the second camp. In 1679, his society sent an agent to Rome with a list of 238 Jansenistic propositions they wanted the Pope to condemn. After a thorough theological examination, the list was reduced to 31 propositions, which were condemned in 1690. The original list included the source of each entry and a brief commentary in the marginal notes. The present work is presented in a similar way. As such, it may have been an attempt by Du Bois and his society to garner support for the condemnation of more propositions.
The broadsides are reversibly framed. They have been folded in the past and are unevenly browned, lacking the left side of the frame of ad 1, ads 2 and 3 with a restored loss, affecting some text. Otherwise in good condition. Cf. Ad 1 in book form: STCN 357571819 (1 copy); USTC 1836890 (1 copy); WorldCat 782115147 (10 copies); not in VD17; Ad 2 in book form: VD17 12:110728Z; WorldCat 65599370,1531644237 (3 copies); not in the USTC; Ad 3 in book form: STCN 357571959 (1 copy); USTC 1836904 (1 copy); VD17 12:110726K; WorldCat 782114376 (3 copies); Sylvano, P., "Historical notes concerning ten of the thirty-one rigoristic propositions condemned by Alexander VIII", in: Fransiscan Studies, vol. 20 (1/2), 1960-03, pp. 19-95.