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BREVIARIUM

in The Plantin Press Online

(784 words)

Plantin seems to have printed only one breviary for a monastic order, and that for the account of a Cologne publisher (1561). The Roman breviaries were, at the beginning of his career, also no speciality of his house (only 2 editions, in 1558 and 1561, in the version of Quignonez). The reformation of the Roman breviary, at the recommendation of the Council of Trente and realized by Pope Pius V (bull of 9 July 1568), opened, however, new perspectives. Before even the bull of Pius V was officially promulgated, Plantin, through the mediation of Cardinal Granvelle, started negotiations with the Roman typographer Paulus Manutius whom the Pope had given the monopoly of printing the new breviaries. On 11 August 1568 the deed with Manutius was signed, giving Plantin the publishing monopoly for the Netherlands. The papal privilege, confirming the transaction, and dated 22 November 1568, was confirmed in its turn (but after some difficulties with an Antwerp competitor) by the Privy Council on 10 January 1569 and by the Council of Brabant on 11 January 1569. Plantin had committed himself to pay Manutius a 'tithe', which he indeed did for the first publications leaving his presses. This meant, however, a heavy financial burden; more so as typographers of Liege and Cologne, less scrupulous than Plantin, began marketing breviaries in the Netherlands without paying a penny to Manutius. Plantin, having heard that Philip II negotiated with the Pope about special breviaries for Spain, offered his services. On 1 February 1571 he obtained a virtual monopoly for printing breviaries and other service books for Spain - and from now on would no more pay a 'tithe' to Manutius. From 1571 till 1576 Plantin's production of breviaries was largely destined for the Spanish market, with the Spanish king acting as middleman and bookseller. The troubles in the Netherlands put an end to these fructuous transactions in the first half of 1576. Plantin continued to publish breviaries, but now largely marketed in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. On Plantin's dealings with Manutius and Philip II: L. Voet, The Golden Compasses, I, pages 65-69 (with bibliography). Working for Philip 11 brought with it a large and often heavy-handed control of Spanish clerics on the text and the printing of Plantin's breviaries - and led to a voluminous correspondence (in which acrimonious remarks from both sides are often vented). After 1576 Plantin still received on occasion suggestions from Spanish side, which generally he took carefully into account. This aspect of Plantin's breviary-editions remains to be studied in detail and is not treated at length in our Bibliography (many references in the Correspondance but a large part of the documentation is still left unpublished in the Plantinian archives). General reference-work on breviaries: H. Bohatta, Bibliographic der Breviere, 1501-1850, Leipzig, 1937 (quoted Bohatta). Plantin, when publishing illustrated breviaries, issued sometimes of the same publication copies with woodcuts and copies with copper engravings: cf. L. Voet, 'Kopergravure en houtsnede in de boekillustratie van het Plantijnse huis in de tweede helft van de XVIe eeuw' in De Gulden Passer, 53, 1975, pages 380-390.

Title:
BREVIARIUM
The Plantin Press Online
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004525863_CPO_cp091857
Language:
English
Source Editors:
Kristof Selleslach and Zanna Van Loon
First-online:
01 Jan 2024
Last-update:
06 Nov 2024
ISSN:
9789004525863
Publisher:
Brill

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