A very handsome framed inscription entirely in the hand of French reformer, Theodore Beza [1519-1605]. It reads:
Theodore Beza. Written for Argentinus in the year, 1574.
LIkely originally appended either on a separate sheet or the fly leaf of a copy of his 1574 work, Right of Magistrates, and sent to the Protestant refugees of Strasbourg [in Latin, Argentinus].
Strasbourg was a city of refuge for persecuted Protestants across Europe, and his Right of Magistrates was in part inspired by their sufferings. It is a biting polemic against the right of Magistrates to oppress citizens based on religion and, more worrying for the aristocracy, affirmed the right of the people to depose governments who engaged in such activities.
It is known that Beza was in communication with both theologians and people within the refugee community.
A handsome presentation and a wonderful little artifact of Reformation resistance against persecution.
