Heinrich Eggestein (born around 1415/1420 in

Rosheim Rosheim (; gsw-FR, Rose) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. It is a winemaking town on the tourist "Road of the Wi ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...

; died 1488 or later; also spelled Eckstein or Eggesteyn) is considered, along with

Johannes Mentelin 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 ...

, to be the earliest book printer in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

and therefore one of the earliest anywhere in Europe outside

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with M ...

Life

Before he came to Strasbourg in the beginning of the 1440s, Heinrich Eggestein had already acquired the academic degree of a Magister artium liberalium at a university which is still unknown. Already shortly after his arrival, he entered the service of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

Rupert of Palatinate-Simmern and held the office of ''Siegelbewahrer'' (keeper of the seal, also called ''Insiegler'' or ''Siegelträger'') at the Strasbourg provost court, which he lost again in 1455. In 1461, this office was again given to him and three years later, he finally lost it. He got the rights of a Strasbourg citizen in 1442. It is assumed that Eggestein became personally acquainted with

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs ...

, the later inventor of printing books with movable type, during his stay in Strasbourg in the 1440s and that he was able to form a lasting bond with him. It is highly likely that Eggestein even travelled to

himself in the 1450s to learn the art of book printing from Gutenberg. When this was and how long the stay lasted cannot be definitely resolved, due to sketchy source materials. holds the view that Eggestein was already in Mainz in 1454 and that might be why he lost the office of ''Siegelbewahrer'' in Strasbourg in 1455. If this were the case, then he could have watched the printing of the 42-line-per-page

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the " Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed ...

firsthand. Geldner further suspects that Heinrich Eggestein actively participated in the typesetting and printing of the ''Türkenkalender'', which was completed in the middle of December in 1454.Geldner: ''Inkunabelkunde''. p. 221 He did not give up his Strasbourg citizen's rights until August 1457, however. If he had left Alsace so late, he would have admittedly arrived in Mainz after the break between Gutenberg and

Johann Fust Johann Fust or Faust (c. 1400 – October 30, 1466) was an early German printer. Family background Fust was born to burgher family of Mainz, traceable back to the early thirteenth century. Members of the family held many civil and relig ...

. Heinrich Eggestein's return to Strasbourg is certainly verified, as he again got the rights of citizenship on 9 August 1459. However, it is not known whether and in what way Eggestein might have participated in the printing shop operated by Johannes Metelin in Strasbourg. It is indisputable, however, that the two men knew each other and had a close relationship. It is even thought to be possible that Mentelin and Eggestein swore to keep their knowledge of the art of book printing a secret, through an agreement which has unfortunately not been preserved. The decision to found his own printery may have been made in the time around 1464, when Eggestein lost his office of ''Siegelbewahrer'' for the second time, possibly in connection with the setting up of the ''Offizin'' (an old German term for a book printery). On 31 March 1466 the printer received a ''Schutzbrief'' of the Elector Frederick I of the Palatinate, giving him special protection, somewhat like a patent. His first larger work is considered to be a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

, which must have been produced before 24 May 1466. Although his printery was quickly able to establish itself in the market, Heinrich Eggestein got into financial difficulties towards the end of the 1470s. He was indebted to the

Basel Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich a ...

paper merchant, Anton Galliciani, and was successfully sued by him in 1480 for the immediate payment of all outstanding debts. On 24 April 1483 Eggestein finally gave up his rights as a citizen of Strasbourg. The last printed works which were made by him or with his type were

popular print Popular prints is a term for printed images of generally low artistic quality which were sold cheaply in Europe and later the New World from the 15th to 18th centuries, often with text as well as images. They were some of the earliest examples of ...

s. He was no longer mentioned after 1488. The date and circumstances of his death are unknown.

Work

Heinrich Eggestein's activities as a book printer can be established from 1464 until 1488. During these 25 years, he published a wealth of printed works with varied content. After his first work, the Bible of 1466 which has already been mentioned, he printed two further Latin

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

editions of the Holy Scriptures. In this connection, the Strasbourg printer also used modern marketing methods. Eggestein's book advertisement of 1468/70, which promoted his third edition of the Bible, is considered to be the oldest pamphlet of this kind, along with the advertisements of Mentelin and Schöffer. At the beginning of the 1470s, he began to expand his printing and publishing range. Besides

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

works, Eggestein now increasingly printed

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

works of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

and civil law, such as the ''Decretum Gratiani'' (1471), as well as the ''Decretales'' of

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decr ...

and the ''Constitutiones'' of

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his d ...

. That put him in direct competition with

Peter Schöffer Peter Schöffer or Petrus Schoeffer (c. 1425 – c. 1503) was an early German printer, who studied in Paris and worked as a manuscript copyist in 1451 before apprenticing with Johannes Gutenberg and joining Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and m ...

, who also issued legal titles in on a large scale. Furthermore, Heinrich Eggestein printed antique classics (e.g.,

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''Bucolica'',

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

's ''De officiis'' or

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

's ''De bello gallico''), but directed his special interest to Latin works of

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

authors. Thus he published the ''Legenda aurea'' of

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine (c. 123013/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the ''Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medi ...

, ''De miseria conditionis humanae'' by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

, as well as works by Bonaventura and

Bernhard von Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

, among others. German language titles were quite rare in his range. An important exception to that is the second German Bible, based on the , which Eggestein published in 1470. Further vernacular titles were

Lucius Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

' ''

The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...

'' (Translator: Niklas von Wyle) and an edition of ''Belial''.

Literature

''In German'' * P. Amelung: ''Heinrich Eggestein''. In. Lexikon des gesamten Buchwesens (LGB). Publ. by Severin Corsten. 2nd new, completely revised and expanded edition. Vol. II. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1989. p. 420-421. * F. Geldner: ''Die deutschen Inkunabeldrucker. Ein Handbuch der deutschen Buchdrucker des XV. Jahrhunderts nach Druckorten. Teil 1. Das deutsche Sprachgebiet.'' Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1968. * F. Geldner: ''Inkunabelkunde. Eine Einführung in die Welt des frühesten Buchdrucks''. Reichert, Wiesbaden 1978. * E. Voulliéme: ''Die deutschen Drucker des fünfzehnten Jahrhunderts''. Verlag der Reichdruckerei, Berlin 1922

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eggestein, Heinrich 15th-century births 1488 deaths People from Rosheim Alsatian-German people Printers of incunabula German typographers and type designers German printers German calligraphers