Martin Schott (died 22 November 1499) was a book printer from

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. One of the earliest printers in Strasbourg, his catalog reflected the tastes of the higher classes in Germany at the time of German

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

Biography

Schott hailed from a high-ranking family. He was the son of Friedrich Schott, a woodcutter and sculptor. His father's interest, and his marriage to a daughter of the printer

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. In 1466 he printed and published the first Germa ...

, may have led him to become a printer. He did not inherit his father in law's business, which went to another son in law of Mentelin's,

Adolf Rusch Adolf Rusch von Ingweiler (ca. 1435 – 26 May 1489 in Straßburg) was a notable German printer and publisher. He was the first printer north of the Alps to print in Antiqua. Life and work Rusch was probably born at Ingweiler in Alsace. Befo ...

. In contrast to Mentelin's company, Schott used a more modern (but sometimes less attractive) process. His first known printing was a

plenarium In the Roman Catholic Church, plenarium or plenarius (liber) (plural, plenaria) refers to any complete book of formulas and texts that contains all matters pertaining to one subject that might otherwise be scattered in several books. The word is fro ...

, in 1481; his last was the version of

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

's ''

Philippicae The ''Philippics'' () are a series of 14 speeches composed by Cicero in 44 and 43 BC, condemning Mark Antony. Cicero likened these speeches to those of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon; both Demosthenes' and Cicero's speeches became ...

'' by the early German humanist

Jakob Wimpfeling Jakob Wimpfeling (25 July 1450 – 17 November 1528) was a Renaissance humanist and theologian. Biography Wimpfeling was born in Schlettstadt (now Sélestat), Alsace, Lorraine. He went to the school at Schlettstadt, which was run by Ludwig Dr ...

, in 1498. It is sure, however, that he must have been printing works before 1480; given the paucity of the research into Strasbourg's history of printing, these chronological limits as well as the number of his books cannot be precisely determined, according to the ''

Deutsche Biographie () is a German-language online biographical dictionary. It published thus far information about more than 730,000 individuals and families (2016).Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften''Jahresbericht 2016'' p 7 ...

''. Twenty-one, or perhaps twenty-five, books are known to have come from his press, but it may be that not all his books were printed under his own name, and the large number of

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

s printed in Strasbourg also suggest he may have printed some of those. The ''

Lucidarius The ''Lucidarius'', an anonymous medieval book, was the first German language summa, written circa 1190–1195. It was based on different sources, the chief one being the ''Elucidarium'' and other texts by Honorius Augustodunensis. Other sources in ...

'', a 12th-century

summa Summa and its diminutive summula (plural ''summae'' and ''summulae'', respectively) was a medieval didactics literary genre written in Latin, born during the 12th century, and popularized in 13th century Europe. In its simplest sense, they might ...

, may have been the earliest of his books. While he printed a small number of books, they were voluminous, and Schott clearly valued artistic embellishment. His catalog reflected the interest of the established classes in Strasbourg at the time of German humanism, and contained German versions of a biography of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, of Guido delle Colonne's ''

Historia destructionis Troiae ''Historia destructionis Troiae'' ('History of the destruction of Troy'), also called ''Historia Troiana'', is a Latin prose narrative written by Guido delle Colonne, a Sicilian author, in the late 13th century. Its main source was the Old Frenc ...

'', and of the 11th-century encyclopedia '' Elucidarium'' (a source for the ''Lucidarium''). He also printed Latin works. His

printer's mark A printer's mark, Heraldic badge, device, emblem or insignia is a symbol that was used as a trademark by early Printer (publishing), printers starting in the 15th century. The first printer's mark is found in the 1457 Mainz Psalter by Johann Fust ...

was a tree not planted in any soil and displayed in full, with the letters "M. S.". His son,

Johannes Schott Johannes Schott (19 June 1477 – 1550) was a book printer from Strasbourg. He printed a large number of books, including tracts from Martin Luther and other Reformers. He was a well-educated man, who had relationships with some of the leadin ...

, was likewise a printer. The first book known to be his work was printed in 1500, and he printed work from

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and other reformers throughout his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schott, Martin 1499 deaths German printers Businesspeople from Strasbourg