Franz Rhode (also ''Franciscus Rhodus'') (died 1559) was a German

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

of the 16th century. Having been active in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

between 1529 and 1534, he went to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1536 to print

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

works of the theologist

Urbanus Rhegius Urbanus Henricus Rhegius or Urban Rieger (May 1489, in Langenargen – 23 May 1541, in Celle) was a Protestant Reformer who was active both in Northern and Southern Germany in order to promote ''Lutheran unity'' in the Holy Roman Empire. He ...

from

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

. In 1537 he moved his office to Danzig (Gdańsk) in

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, where he published the ''Wisby'sches Waterrecht'' (Maritime

Laws of Wisbuy The Laws of Wisbuy, also known as the Wisbuy Sea Law or Gotland Sea Law, was a compilation of medieval maritime laws created in the 1400s. These laws themselves originated from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Wisbuy Sea Law did not ...

) in 1538, and established himself as the printer of the council and gymnasium of the town. In the winter of 1539/1540, Leopold Friedrich Prowe: ''Nicolaus Coppernicus'', 188

/ref> he printed the

Narratio Prima ''De libris revolutionum Copernici narratio prima'', usually referred to as ''Narratio Prima'' (), is an abstract of Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentric theory, written by Georg Joachim Rheticus in 1540. It is an introduction to Copernicus's maj ...

of the young German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

Georg Joachim Rheticus Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus (; 16 February 1514 – 4 December 1574), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his Trigonometr ...

, an introduction to

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

' major work, ''

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book ...

'', which was finally published in 1543. Afterwards, several printers named ''Rhode'' were active in Danzig, probably sons of Franz: Jacob, who in 1591 printed the ''Hansisches Seerecht'' (

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

sea law), Martin, and another, younger Jacob. In Danzig, they were regarded as

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

s, as in that time, many printers had a scientific background.

References

* *Lappenberg, Geschichte der Buchdruckerkunst in Hamburg, S. XXXVII., 1840

1559 deaths German printers People from Royal Prussia Businesspeople from Gdańsk Year of birth unknown 16th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire Immigrants to Poland {{Germany-business-bio-stub