First Dutch edition of a very interesting history of the Holy Sacrament of Miracles in the Saint Gudele or Gudula Church (from 1962 on the Saint Michiels or Michaels Cathedral) in Brussels. It was written by Steven (Etienne) Ydens, a canon of this church, and published in French in 1605 (also by Velpius at Brussels) and is here for the first time translated into Dutch. Other Dutch editions were printed, all at Brussels, in 1642 and 1648 by Huybrecht Antoon Velpius and ca. 1662 and in 1672 by Peter de Dobbeleer.
The beautifully detailed engravings of God the Father, saints and precious ecclesiastical objects, such as the first image of the relic, crosses and a ciborium, are by Adriaen Collaert (ca. 1560-1618), son-in-law of the draughtsman, engraver and print publisher Philip Galle. The engravings are printed from the plates used for the first French edition of 1605. Only the last one (of Saint Gudula) is signed, by Adriaen Collaert, but they can all be safely attributed to him.
The miracle and worship of the blessed sacrament in the St Gudele Church has played an important role in religious life in Brussels for many centuries. It also provided the background for anti-Semitic feelings in the Southern Netherlands, especially during the seventeenth century.
The history of the miracle has been recorded by many authors, including R. P. Lucq, O. P. Navez, Cafmeyer and Griffet. Estienne Ydenss book, however, is the most extensive and most profusely illustrated, and adds accounts of several other miracles in Brussels up to 1603, the history of the Holy Sacrament of Miracle at Louvain, on its way to Scherpenheuvel, and the history of the Holy Virgin St. Gudele (pp. 253-282). The present first Dutch edition is rare, moreover most copies lack some leaves, perhaps due to the appeal of the engravings.
With an mid-18th-century engraving of the Ascension by the Augsburg engraver (Joseph Sebastian?) Klauber on the front paste-down. The spine and hinges are worn, with the back hinge cracked, otherwise in good condition L. Dequeker, "Het Sacrament van Mirakel in de St. Michielskathedraal te Brussel", in: Bijdr., Tijdschr. voor filosofie en theologie, 43 (1982), p. 248; Funck (1925), p. 217; New Hollstein, Collaert dynasty VII, 1819-1836, with illustrations of all plates; B. Op de Beeck, "Historie van het H. Sacrament van Mirakelen", in: Albert & Isabella 1598-1621 (exh. cat., Brussels 1998), pp. 236-237; BCNI 5426 (cf. 5092); NCC (2 copies: Amsterdam, UL and Tilburg, UL); STCV 3114344 (2 complete & 5 incomplete copies).