Johannes Mentelin, sometimes also spelled Mentlin, (born around 1410 in Schlettstadt, today Sélestat; died December 12, 1478 in Strasbourg) was a pioneering German book printer and bookseller active during the period during which incunabula were printed. In 1466, he published the first printed Bible in the German language, the Mentelin Bible [de].
In 1447, Johannes Mentelin gained the rights of a Strasbourg citizen. He was first a Goldschreiber (calligrapher and book scribe) by profession and worked in addition as an episcopal notary. Exactly when and where he learned the technique of book printing is not known. Since at the end of the 1450s, when Mentelin founded his Strasbourg printery, there was still no other place where printing was done besides Mainz, it is likely that he either got his knowledge directly there or through a middleman. Such a go-between might have been Heinrich Eggestein. It is suspected that he had been introduced to the trade of book printing during his stay in Mainz from Johannes Gutenberg. He did not set up his own Offizin (an old German term for a book printing company) until the middle of the 1460s. Due to a lack of sources, the final clarification of this question must unfortunately remain unanswered for now. From the available data, it can however be concluded that Mentelin was the first book printer active in Strasbourg (and thus one of the first anywhere in Europe), even before Eggestein.
The first printing which carries Mentelin's name is Augustine's Tractatus de arte praedicandi from the year 1465. However, it is assumed that Mentelin had already begun to print significantly earlier, probably even already in 1458. His oldest known printed work is a Latin Bible printed with 49 lines per page ("B49"), whose first volume is dated 1460. As Gutenberg's Bible was printed with 42 lines per page, Mentelin's had fewer pages and proved handier.
Mentelin quickly achieved business success, which made him a prosperous man. In 1466, he was even awarded a coat of arms by Emperor Frederick III. After about 20 years as a book printer, Mentelin died on December 12, 1478 in Strasbourg. He was buried in the cemetery of the (no longer existing) St.-Michael's-Chapel. His grave was later removed and is now inside Strasbourg Cathedral.[citation needed] One of daughters married the book printer Martin Schott,[1] and another married Adolf Rusch. The latter, also called the printer with the bizarre R, took over the Offizin.[citation needed]
Work
About 40 printed works are ascribed to Mentelin's Strasbourg Offizin. His printing and publishing list contained predominantly theological and philosophical works in Latin, whose purity of text was ensured by scholarly proofreaders. Among others, works of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, John Chrysostom, Isidore of Seville and Albertus Magnus were issued. In 1472 he published the Postilla super totam Bibliam, Nicolaus de Lyra's commentary of the Bible. Mentelin also published texts of classical antiquity (such as Virgil's Opera and the Comoediae of Terence). As the only German book printer, Mentelin printed Medieval court literature, such as Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and Der jüngere Titurel ("The Younger Titurel") of Albrecht von Scharfenberg.
His first printing of a Bible in vernacular language stands out, the so-called Mentelin Bible of 1466, the first attested edition of the full Bible in the German language, translated from the Vulgate, and one of the earliest printed works in German. The Mentelin Bible was the basis for a further thirteen pre-Reformation editions of the Bible (including those by Zainer and Sorg) which appeared in southern Germany before editions of the Luther Bible, based on Hebrew and Greek, from 1522.
Literature
Geldner, F (1968), Die deutschen Inkunabeldrucker. Ein Handbuch der deutschen Buchdrucker des XV. Jahrhunderts nach Druckorten (in German), vol. 1. Das deutsche Sprachgebiet, Stuttgart: Hiersemann, ISBN3-7772-6825-9.
Harthausen, H (1989), "Johannes Mentelin", in Corsten, Severin (ed.), Lexikon des gesamten Buchwesens (LGB) (in German), vol. V (2nd new, completely revised and expanded ed.), Stuttgart: Hiersemann, p. 145, ISBN3-7772-9904-9.
Schorbach, Karl (1932), Der Straßburger Frühdrucker Johann Mentelin (1458-1478): Studien zu seinem Leben und Werke (in German), Mainz.
Voulliéme, E (1922), Die deutschen Drucker des fünfzehnten Jahrhunderts (in German) (2nd ed.), Berlin: Reichdruckerei.
References
^Steiff (1891). "Schott, Martin". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 32. pp. 405–406. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
External links
Media related to Johann Mentelin at Wikimedia Commons
Biblia Latina. archive.org (in Lithuanian). Vol. 1. Johannes Mentelin. 1460. p. 432. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13. (Universitätsbibliothek of Freiburg im Breisgau)
Johannes Mentelin[permanent dead link] In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol. 21, p. 370. In German
Mentelin in the Catholic Encyclopedia
(Incunabulum Catalog of German Libraries, INKA): List of the printed works of Mentelin accessible. In German.
Saint Augustine, of Hippo. De arte praedicandi. Strassburg: Johann Mentelin, not after 1466, at The Library of Congress.
January 08, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Johannes Mentelin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Johannes Mentelin sometimes also spelled Mentlin born around 1410 in Schlettstadt today Selestat died December 12 1478 in Strasbourg was a pioneering German book printer and bookseller active during the period during which incunabula were printed In 1466 he published the first printed Bible in the German language the Mentelin Bible de Johannes MentelinBornSchlettstadt today Selestat Grand Est Lithograph of Johannes Mentelin Bust of Mentelin inside the Humanist Library of Selestat Contents 1 Life 2 Work 3 Literature 4 References 5 External linksLife EditIn 1447 Johannes Mentelin gained the rights of a Strasbourg citizen He was first a Goldschreiber calligrapher and book scribe by profession and worked in addition as an episcopal notary Exactly when and where he learned the technique of book printing is not known Since at the end of the 1450s when Mentelin founded his Strasbourg printery there was still no other place where printing was done besides Mainz it is likely that he either got his knowledge directly there or through a middleman Such a go between might have been Heinrich Eggestein It is suspected that he had been introduced to the trade of book printing during his stay in Mainz from Johannes Gutenberg He did not set up his own Offizin an old German term for a book printing company until the middle of the 1460s Due to a lack of sources the final clarification of this question must unfortunately remain unanswered for now From the available data it can however be concluded that Mentelin was the first book printer active in Strasbourg and thus one of the first anywhere in Europe even before Eggestein The first printing which carries Mentelin s name is Augustine s Tractatus de arte praedicandi from the year 1465 However it is assumed that Mentelin had already begun to print significantly earlier probably even already in 1458 His oldest known printed work is a Latin Bible printed with 49 lines per page B49 whose first volume is dated 1460 As Gutenberg s Bible was printed with 42 lines per page Mentelin s had fewer pages and proved handier Mentelin quickly achieved business success which made him a prosperous man In 1466 he was even awarded a coat of arms by Emperor Frederick III After about 20 years as a book printer Mentelin died on December 12 1478 in Strasbourg He was buried in the cemetery of the no longer existing St Michael s Chapel His grave was later removed and is now inside Strasbourg Cathedral citation needed One of daughters married the book printer Martin Schott 1 and another married Adolf Rusch The latter also called the printer with the bizarre R took over the Offizin citation needed Work EditAbout 40 printed works are ascribed to Mentelin s Strasbourg Offizin His printing and publishing list contained predominantly theological and philosophical works in Latin whose purity of text was ensured by scholarly proofreaders Among others works of Augustine Thomas Aquinas Aristotle John Chrysostom Isidore of Seville and Albertus Magnus were issued In 1472 he published the Postilla super totam Bibliam Nicolaus de Lyra s commentary of the Bible Mentelin also published texts of classical antiquity such as Virgil s Opera and the Comoediae of Terence As the only German book printer Mentelin printed Medieval court literature such as Wolfram von Eschenbach s Parzival and Der jungere Titurel The Younger Titurel of Albrecht von Scharfenberg His first printing of a Bible in vernacular language stands out the so called Mentelin Bible of 1466 the first attested edition of the full Bible in the German language translated from the Vulgate and one of the earliest printed works in German The Mentelin Bible was the basis for a further thirteen pre Reformation editions of the Bible including those by Zainer and Sorg which appeared in southern Germany before editions of the Luther Bible based on Hebrew and Greek from 1522 Literature EditGeldner F 1968 Die deutschen Inkunabeldrucker Ein Handbuch der deutschen Buchdrucker des XV Jahrhunderts nach Druckorten in German vol 1 Das deutsche Sprachgebiet Stuttgart Hiersemann ISBN 3 7772 6825 9 Harthausen H 1989 Johannes Mentelin in Corsten Severin ed Lexikon des gesamten Buchwesens LGB in German vol V 2nd new completely revised and expanded ed Stuttgart Hiersemann p 145 ISBN 3 7772 9904 9 Schorbach Karl 1932 Der Strassburger Fruhdrucker Johann Mentelin 1458 1478 Studien zu seinem Leben und Werke in German Mainz Voullieme E 1922 Die deutschen Drucker des funfzehnten Jahrhunderts in German 2nd ed Berlin Reichdruckerei References Edit Steiff 1891 Schott Martin Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie in German Vol 32 pp 405 406 Retrieved 11 August 2021 External links Edit Media related to Johann Mentelin at Wikimedia Commons Johannes Mentelin in the Humanist Library of Selestat Biblia Latina archive org in Lithuanian Vol 1 Johannes Mentelin 1460 p 432 Archived from the original on 2018 10 13 Retrieved 2018 10 13 Universitatsbibliothek of Freiburg im Breisgau Johannes Mentelin permanent dead link In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ADB Vol 21 p 370 In German Mentelin in the Catholic Encyclopedia Inkunabelkatalog Deutscher Bibliotheken Incunabulum Catalog of German Libraries INKA List of the printed works of Mentelin accessible In German Saint Augustine of Hippo De arte praedicandi Strassburg Johann Mentelin not after 1466 at The Library of Congress Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johannes Mentelin amp oldid 1124231640, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
