Christophe Beys (1575–1647) was a printer in the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

and the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

. He was a grandson of

Christophe Plantin Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. Life Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city ...

Life

Beys was born in Paris on 18 June 1575, the son of

Gilles Beys The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a trad ...

and Magdalena Plantin.Christophe Beys (1575-1647)
Website of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national reposito ...

. In 1583 he was sent to his grandfather, Christopher Plantin, in Antwerp. He was trained as a printer at the

Plantin Press The Plantin Press at Antwerp was one of the focal centers of the fine printed book in the 16th century. History Christophe Plantin (c. 1520–1589) of Touraine was trained as a bookbinder. He fled from Paris where at least one printer had rec ...

and was educated at the Jesuit college. In May 1595 he succeeded his father as head of the Paris branch of the Plantin office. In 1600 he was sued for debt by his father-in-law, Adrien Périer. On 6 April 1601 he lost his status as a sworn printer. In 1608 he opened a new business in Rennes, where he was to become involved in a

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

case the following year. Via

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead o ...

he fled to

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

, where he worked as a bookbinder for the English College Press. His wife and his apprentice, Lambert Foncq, joined him there with what had been salvaged of the Rennes printing shop. In 1610 Beys set up shop in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

. In 1628 his daughter Georgine married Simon Le Francq, who also became a printer-bookseller in Lille. Beys died in Lille, sick and in poverty, on 7 September 1647.

Works

* Floris Van der Haer, ''Les Chastelains de Lille'' (1611
Available on Google Books
*

Jean-Baptiste Gramaye Jean-Baptiste Gramaye (Antwerp, 1579 - Lübeck, 1635) was an early modern historian of the Southern Netherlands. He studied law and became a professor at Leuven University. Later he was employed as court historian by Albert VII, Archduke of Aust ...

, ''Flandria Franca'' (1612
Available on Google Books
*''L'Heureux progrez des Armes Imperialles'' (1625
Available on Google Books
*''Coustumes et usages de la ville, taille, banlieue et eschevinage de Lille'' (1629
Available on Google Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beys, Christophe 1575 births 1647 deaths Printers from Paris Artists from Lille People accused of witchcraft 17th-century printers Witch trials in France 17th-century French businesspeople