Practica, e ordem pera os visitadores dos bispados, na qual se decidem muitas questiões, assi em causas civis, como criminais, pertencentes aos Avogados, no foro ecclesiastico, & secular. Com intendimento de algumas Extravagantes dos Summos Pontifices, & concordatas deste Reino de Portugal. Vai acrescentado, a ordem de visitar os Mosteiros regulares, com exposisão de algumas causas que obrigão a se dispensar com as religiosas pera estarem fora da clausura.

Lisbon, Impresso por Jorge Rodriguez, acusta de Estevão Lopez, mercador de livros, 1602.. FIRST and ONLY EDITION. 4°, mid-eighteenth-century mottled sheep (rather worn, but sound), spine with raised bands in three compartments, decorated in blind (foot of spine defective). Title page with ruled border. Woodcut initials. Overall in good to very good condition. Old ink inscription on title page. Old ink annotations in margins. (6), 80 ll. *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION of this thorough work dealing with canonical visitation. The last four unnumbered preliminary leaves consist of the author's dedication to Dom António Mascarenhas (died 1637, at an advanced age), Dean of the royal chapel, a member of the royal council, and deputy of the Mesa da Cosciencia. The dedication also serves as a prologue, in which the author gives his reasons for writing the book, and explaining the system adopted.Matheus Soares, a native of Braga, received a degree in canon law at Coimbra. For many years he practiced law at Lamego, eventually working at the royal chapel in Lisbon.*** Arouca S468. Barbosa Machado III, 452. Innocêncio VI, 167: "raro" (explaining that his copy had only 2 preliminary leaves, but that he had been informed of another copy with 11 preliminary leaves [probably meaning pages rather than leaves]); XVII, 13 (giving the correct number of preliminary leaves, the same as those in the present copy, citing a copy at Évora). Pinto de Matos p. 530: "É livro raro e de alguma estimação." Goldsmith, Short Title Catalogue of Spanish and Portuguese Books 1601-1700 in the Library of the British Museum S397. Monteverde 5125. Azevedo-Samodães 319. Rodrigo Veloso (Segundo escrinio) 7119. Not in Palha. Porbase locates five copies: four in the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, and one, in poor condition, at the Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra. Jisc repeats British Library only. KVK (51 databases searched) locates only the copies cited by Porbase, and should have located the one at British Library. NUC: DLC (calling for 80 ll. only).