Part 43
[92] The determination to keep the peasants enslaved was stronger than all enmities. During the insurrection of the _Jacquerie_, the English knights who accompanied King Edward III in his invasion of France made truce with the French nobles, and joined them in putting down this rebellion. Froissart, the chronicler of chivalry, admired this exhibition of magnanimity. For the sufferings of the peasants he has no sympathy.
[93] “Villeins you have been, villeins you are, and shall be,”—said King Richard to the miserable peasantry of Essex, after the killing of Wat Tyler,—“not as before, but in a bondage much more bitter.”
[94] The ecclesiastical history of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, says Hallam, teems with sectaries and schismatics, various in their aberrations of opinion, but all concurring in detestation of the established church. The heresy which began during the twelfth century, or earlier, with the Manichees of Bulgaria, was made more and more formidable by the Albigenses of Languedoc, by the Waldenses of France and Germany, by the Vaudois of the Alps, by the Lollards of the Netherlands and England, and afterward by the disciples of John Huss of Bohemia, until the faith of the mass of the people was uprooted from its foundation. In Germany, enthusiastic but mystical priests like Eckhardt, Tauler and Suso, keeping themselves within the pale of the church, weakened its rigid discipline by preaching against the arrogant prerogatives of the clergy, and by commanding a higher worship of the heart and life.
[95] The British Museum contains a Bible in Flemish verse, known as the _Rym Bible_, written by Jacob von Maerlandt of Damne, near Bruges in Flanders. It is a manuscript of the fifteenth century, upon vellum, with ornamented capitals, and is one of many copies of a version of the Scriptures made in the year 1270.
Except the Waldensian translation in the Provençal language, this version is, consequently, the most ancient in existence, in the vernacular, and must have preceded by a century the versions of Raoul de Presles, of John Trevisa or the Hermit of Hampole. . . . . . The British Museum had another manuscript in prose, of parts of a Bible in Flemish, written in the fifteenth century. It is part of a translation made in the early part of the fourteenth century, and was the text used for the Bible printed in Delft in 1477. Sotheby, _Principia Typographica_, vol. III, p. 123.
The British Museum has, also, a manuscript in Flemish of five books of the Old Testament, made in the fourteenth century.
[96] It is a noteworthy fact that the first complaint of an unauthorized reading of the Bible came from the city where the Bible was first printed. Pope Innocent III, alarmed at the consequences of this innovation, and writing at the beginning of the thirteenth century, says he had been informed by the bishop of Mentz that:
No small multitude of laymen and women, having procured the translation of the Gospels, Epistles of St. Paul, the Psalter, Job and other books of Scripture to be made for them into French, meet in secret conventicles to hear them read and to preach to each other, and having been reprimanded for this by some of their parish priests, have withstood them, alleging reasons from the Scriptures why they should not be so forbidden. Some of them, too, deride the ignorance of their ministers, and maintain that their own books teach them more than they can learn from the pulpit, and that they can express it better. Although, Innocent proceeds, the desire of reading the Scriptures is rather praiseworthy than reprehensible, yet they are to be blamed for frequenting secret assemblies, for usurping the office of preaching, for deriding their own ministers, and for scorning the company of those who do not concur in their novelties. He presses the bishop and chapter to discover the author of this translation, which could not have been made without a knowledge of letters. He wished to know what were his intentions, and what degree of orthodoxy and respect for the holy see those who used it possessed. In another letter Innocent complains that some of the members of this association continued refractory, and refused to obey either the bishop or the pope. Hallam, _Middle Ages_.
[97] At the beginning of the fifteenth century, paintings of the _Dance of Death_ were in all the large cities of Europe. Woltmann has distinctly stated the causes which gave popularity to these horrible compositions.
The misery and unhappiness which at this period more than any other visited the nations of the West, increased more and more the ascetic views on the subject of death. The great aims and ideas of medieval life had passed away, and the ideas of the new period were now fast beginning to form themselves. . . . . Licentiousness prevailed in all lands; immoderate festivity and boundless excesses of sensuality gained more and more the upper hand. . . . . Upon this life of self-will and self-indulgence, of riot and revelry, the terrors of death burst all the more fearfully. In addition to the constant wars, the acts of violence and the shedding of blood which prevailed among men, we find the most various alarms in nature. Famine and desolating pestilences, and in the middle of the fourteenth century the Black Death, made their fearful and triumphal progress through Europe. To escape the dread and thought of this misery, men gave themselves up on the one side all the more passionately to the intoxication of the senses; but on the other they believed themselves struck by the vengeance of God, and sought for safety in contrition and repentance, which often led them into the most repulsive forms of ecstasy. But the most forcible sermons exhorting to repentance, the sermons that spoke to the people in the most intelligible form, were the figurative representations which proclaimed the almighty power of death. _Holbein and his Time_ (Bunnèt’s translation), p. 248.
[98] _Tailleres ymagiers_, the words of the record, may be construed as engravers on wood, or as carvers of wooden statuettes; but the _tailleres_ were, probably, engravers. The fraternity of St. Luke consisted chiefly of men who made or contributed to the making of books: an engraver would properly belong to the guild. The words _tailleres ymagiers_ suggest engraving quite as clearly as _formschneider_ does in German.
[99] Laborde, a brilliant French writer on early printing, who traces the origin of printing to playing cards, acknowledges its very ignoble origin with evident mortification:—“What a mother for such a son!”
[100] The history of literature, like that of Empire, is full of revolutions; our public libraries are cemeteries of departed reputation; the dust accumulating upon these untouched volumes speaks as forcibly as the grass that waves over the ruins of Babylon. Hallam, _Middle Ages_.
[101] The University of Paris made no opposition to the free sale of paper. It was not subjected to taxes or duties in France, not even when oppressive taxes were levied on most manufactures. Didot, _Essai sur la typographie_, p. 730.
[102] A school ordinance of Bautzen in Saxony, dated 1418, gives the names and prices of some of these books. For an _A B C_ and _Pater Noster_, etc., 1 groschen; for a good _Donatus_, or child’s grammar, 10 groschen; for a complete _Doctrinal_, 1 half-mark; for the _First Part_, 8 groschen. There has also been preserved the advertisement of one Dypold Lauber, a teacher and copyist of books at Hagenau in Germany, who lived during the middle of the fifteenth century, from which we may gather a clear notion of the books that were most salable among the people. His catalogue begins with the _Deeds of the Romans_, with illustrations. Then follow poetical works, romances of chivalry, biblical and legendary works, edifying books, religious books, books for the people, fortune-telling books, and other works of like character. Van der Linde, _Haarlem Legend of the Invention of Printing_, pp. 2, 3.
[103] Bernard Quaritch, _Catalogue of Block-Books_, 8vo. October, 1873, pp. 1373–1375. The title of the book, as he gives it, is _Ein Vorrede das Puch haist wochenlich Andach zu Seligkayt der weltlichen Menschen_.
[104] They were common during the first quarter of the fifteenth century. Bernard, _De l’origine de l’imprimerie_, vol. I, p. 102. Fournier, _De l’origine et des productions de l’imprimerie_, p. 176. Papillon, _Traité historique et pratique de la gravure sur bois_, vol. I, p. 101. Guichard, _Notice sur le Speculum_, p. 118. They have been noticed also by Passavant. It is plain that copyists everywhere recognized the utility of engraving.
[105] The engraver or the printer of the book published it, as all other books of this kind were published, without a printed title. It has been described by different authors under these titles: _Types and Antitypes of the Old and the New Testament_; _The Histories and the Prophecies of the Old Testament_; _The Typical Harmony of the Bible_; _Typical Illustrations of the Old Testament, and Antitypical Illustrations of the New, or the Story of Jesus Christ as told by Engravers_. Chatto calls it the _Bible for Poor Preachers_, and claims that it was written especially for their use. He objects to the title, _Bible of the Poor_, as leading to the erroneous opinion that the book was bought by the poor of the laity, who, he says, were unable to read in their own language, much less in Latin. This observation is true, yet Chatto’s addition to the old title is not really needed. He overlooks the fact that the charm of the book was in its pictures, which could be appreciated by the poor of the laity as well as by poor preachers. In this sense, it was truly the _Bible of the Poor_.
[106] The British Museum has a French manuscript, entitled _Figures de la Bible_, in which the illustrations occupy nearly all the page, leaving room for little more than the text that describes the cuts. The same library has two copies in Latin verse of an abridgment of the Bible, in which the text occupies nearly all the page, while the illustrations are in miniature. These manuscripts of the fourteenth century are not _Bibles of the Poor_, but they show the fondness for books with biblical pictures.
[107] 1. An edition in Latin, of fifty pages, and supposed to have been engraved and printed by Melchior Wohlgemuth of Nuremberg, between the years 1450 and 1460. Only one copy of this book is known. 2. An edition in German, of forty pages, by Friedrich Walther and Hans Hürning, at Nordlingen, 1470. 3. An edition in German, attributed to Sporer, at Erfurth, in 1475.
[108] Fifteen copies are known of the edition here specified as the first. Heineken, noticing little dissimilarities of design and engraving in many of these copies, says that they prove the existence of five distinct editions. For similar reasons, Sotheby says that there are six editions. The weight of authority favors the classification of these fifteen copies in one edition.
[109] Jackson and Chatto, _Treatise on Wood Engraving_, pp. 78–80.
[110] The Bible of the Poor has always been considered as one of the most valuable of block-books, but copies have been sold at widely varying prices, as may be seen in the annexed statement, compiled from Sotheby’s _Principia Typographica_:
Willet copy, 1813 245 guineas. Inglis copy, 1826 36_l._ 15_s._ Willet copy, 1833 36_l._ 15_s._ Lucca copy, 1848 89_l._ 5_s._ Stevens copy, 1849 11_l._ 12_s._ Sykes copy, 1824 18_l._ 17_s._ 6_d._ Rendorp copy, 1825 17_l._ 8_s._ 6_d._ Devonshire copy, 1815 210_l._
[111] Three typographic editions of the _Bible of the Poor_ have been printed:—1. An edition by Albert Pfister, at Bamberg, in 1461. In this edition, the engravings are small and coarsely cut. 2. An edition by Anthoine Vérard, in Paris, about 1500. This edition is a close imitation, beautifully printed, of the first xylographic edition, with explanations in French on the back of the engraved pages and on supplementary leaves. 3. An edition of very different arrangement, having 118 small wood-cuts, printed by Giovanni Andrea Vavassore detto Vadagnino of Venice, between 1515 and 1520. Berjeau, _Biblia Pauperum_, p. 17.
[112] The great prices paid for copies of the book seem to show that this is a very general belief. Sotheby has wisely put some of them on record in his _Principia Typographica._
Gaignat copy 300 francs. La Vallière copy 800 francs. Crevenna copy 510 florins. Wilks copy, 1847 74_l._ Brienne-Laire copy 600 francs. Lang copy, 1828 45_l._ Verdussen copy 240 florins. Corser copy, 1873 (Quaritch) 550_l._ Inglis copy 47_l._ 5_s._ British Museum copy, 1845 160_l._ Quaritch’s, 1873 200_l._ Stowe copy, 1849 91_l._
[113] A section consists of two or more sheets folded together, so that one leaf will be within another, as sheets of folded letter paper are nested. If five quarter quires of letter paper were sewed together, and bound, the book so bound, in binders’ phrase, would have five sections.
[114] _Bibliotheca Spenceriana_, vol. I, p. 4, as quoted by Ottley, p. 99.
[115] This book is sometimes described as _The History of the Virgin Mary, or The Prefiguration of the Virgin Mary from the Song of Songs_.
[116] It is probable that the cowled farmers represent the lay brothers, then very numerous in nearly every thrifty monastery. The farmers, butchers, bakers, carpenters and useful mechanics were often permitted to wear the dress and share some of the privileges of the monks, on condition that they should do the servile work, and accept as a full reward the rich blessings of monastic prayers and masses.
[117] These devices give us no certain clue to the engraver or printer of the book, but they are of value in assisting us to ascertain the purpose for which the book was made. There are no old manuscript copies of the book, but there are many evidences that it was designed and produced for the first time in the fifteenth century. It would seem that this pictorial version of the _Canticles_ was designed, not so much to illustrate the prefiguration of the Virgin Mary, as the termination of a great schism which had divided the Catholic church between the years 1378 and 1449. Christendom had been scandalized by the rule of two, and, for a short period, of three rival popes. It was believed that this schism in the church would have been closed by the action of the Council of Constance, which terminated in 1418; but this result was not accomplished until 1449, when Nicholas V became the only pope. The designer of the pictures has treated the return of Christendom to the rule of one pope as the reconciliation of Christ with the church. To give special significance to the subject, he has introduced the armorial shields of the magnates at the councils. It may be that the engravings were made in 1420, but it could be maintained with plausibility that they were made after the dissolution of the Council of Basle in 1448.
[118] The full title of the book is, as given by Heineken, _The Story of the Blessed Virgin Mary, collected from the Evangelists and the Fathers, and Illustrated by Engravings_. Dibdin calls it, _The Defense of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary_.
[119] The reading should be, _Mon cœur avez_,—you have my heart,—the word heart being represented not by letters, but by a drawing.
[120] The following synopsis of the work is condensed from the translation of the text of the book, as given by Sotheby in his _Principia Typographica_, vol. II, pp. 38–45:
Antichrist is born in Babylon. He yields himself to lust of women at Bethsaida. He is circumcised, and announces himself as the Messiah. He is instructed in magic and all sorts of evil. Elias and Enoch come down from Heaven and preach against him. Antichrist deceives the world by superior eloquence; he performs miracles; his apostles preach to the kings of Lybia and Ethiopia, and “the queen of the Amazons, and the Red Jews.” All the kings of the world are converted to Antichrist; he condemns unbelievers to strange tortures; he kills Elias and Enoch. He repeats the history of the resurrection; he bids the whole world witness his ascent to Heaven from the Mount of Olives. The Almighty then gives the order—“Michael, strike him dead; I will no longer bear with the unjust.” Antichrist is carried to Hell, where he is received by the Devil and his allies. Antichrist being dead, princes and people become Christians, and there is only one faith. But the people fear the Day of Judgment. These are some of the signs of the great and terrible day: The sea shall rise forty ells above the mountains; it shall then sink away and vanish. The sea shall burn. Trees and plants shall sweat blood. There will be earthquakes. Buildings and trees shall fall down in hopeless ruin. Stones shall fly up in the air. Wild beasts grow tame with fright, and run to men for help. The dead arise. Stars fall from Heaven. Heaven and earth are burnt up and chaos comes again. At this point the imagination of the designer was exhausted: he had done his best. The page following, which should have been filled with an illustration, is judiciously left blank. The last engraving is that of the resurrection of the blessed.
[121] The central figure in the lower illustration, the meek and priestly personage who, surrounded by gamboling devils, and with a monkey perched upon his back, walks with measured pace and uplifted eyes, is the Antichrist. This is the introduction to the explanatory text:
Antichrist is instructed by adepts, who teach him to make gold, the art of magic, and all sorts of evil. And this takes place at the city named Corosaym. And this stands also written in the _Compendium Theologiæ_. And our Lord curses the said city in his gospel, and says thus: “Woe to thee, Corosaym!”
Here, we see Antichrist goes from Capernaum to Jerusalem, and he there announces himself as holy. And hereof is also written in the book _Compendium Theologiæ_. And our Lord, in the gospel, also curses this city, and speaks thus concerning it: “Woe to thee, Capernaum!”
[122] The Latin title is _Ars Memorandi, notabilis per figuras evangelistarum_.
[123] The bibliographic title is _Ars Moriendi_, or, literally, The Art of Dying, but the work is more clearly described by the paraphrase _How to Die Becomingly_. It is also known as _The Temptations of Demons_.
[124] John of Gamundia was a mathematician and professor of astronomy. At his death, in the year 1442, he was chancellor of the University of Vienna. The calendars made by him were highly esteemed, and were engraved and printed for many years after his death. In his researches after old prints, the late R. Z. Becker, of Gotha, discovered one of the original blocks of a placard or poster edition of the _Calendar of John of Gamundia_. He describes it as about 10-3/4 inches wide, 15-1/4 inches long and 1-1/2 inches thick. The block was engraved on both sides.
[125] Chatto says that the practice of distributing pictures or prints of a religious character at monasteries and shrines to those who visit them is not yet extinct in Europe.
In Belgium it is still continued, and, I believe, also in France, Germany and Italy. The figures, however, are not generally impressions from wood blocks, but are, for the most part, wholly executed by means of stencils. One of the latter class, representing the shrine of _Notre Dame de Hal_, colored in the most wretched taste with brick-dust red and shining green, is now lying before me. It was given to a gentleman who visited Halle, near Brussels, in 1829. It is nearly of the same size as many of the old devotional wood-cuts of Germany, being about four inches high by two and three-quarters wide. _Treatise on Wood Engraving_, pp. 57, 58.
[126] The Brotherhood of the Life-in-Common may, perhaps, be regarded as an exception. Madden in his _Lettres d’un bibliographe_ has shown that this fraternity were much interested in the production of books, and that they had a printing office in a monastery at Cologne; but he has not yet made it appear that they did the manual labor.
[127] Southey says that, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, many educated men complained that the reputation of learning, its privileges and rewards, were lowered when it was thrown open to all men. It was seriously proposed in Italy to prohibit the publication of any book costing less than three soldi.
The amusing insolence manifested by authors, scholars and readers toward the early development of literature in any new field, or by a new method, is a subject that could be amply illustrated. The city of New-York furnishes a comparatively recent example in the field of journalism. The daily newspapers of 1835, which were then sold for six cents each, refused to recognize the rightful existence of the new daily then sold for one cent. So strong a prejudice was created against “the penny paper,” that many timid men were afraid to be seen with the despised sheet in their hands: the six-penny papers were respectable, and the penny paper was vulgar. The same contemptuousness was manifested when duodecimos supplanted the folios and quartos—when books bound in cloth took the place of books bound in leather. The despised forms of printing have had their revenge. The rod of Aaron has swallowed its rivals.
[128] The full title of the book is _Donatus de octibus partibus orationis_, or Donatus on the Eight Parts of Speech. It is sometimes designated as _Donatus pro puerilis_, or the Donatus for Little Boys.
[129] This extract is from the chapter entitled, “When, where, and by whom was found out the unspeakably useful art of printing books?” It contains statements of value, which will be quoted at greater length on an advanced page.
[130] There can be no doubt whatever about the genuineness of these blocks. They were bought in Germany, about two hundred years ago, by Foucault, the minister of Louis XIV of France.
[131] Van der Linde says that the _Donatus_ and _Abecedarium_, a religious primer hereafter to be noticed, are used in all the religious schools of Italy to this day.
I look with melancholy respect at an _Abecedarium_, a little octavo of four leaves, _Il Sillabario_, printed in our time in 1862, at Asti. Beneath the heading, Jesus Maria, the Alphabet follows, and after that the _Pater noster_, _Ave_, and _Credo_. Beside the _Sillabario_, I have a little grammar entitled _Donato ad uso delle scuolle secondarie. Nuova editione accresciuta e riformata._ Pinerola, &c., 1865. . . . The esteem in which these Catholic school-books, those foul springs from which, for instance, Erasmus drew the first elements of Latin, were held, was so great that the first efforts of the humanists to improve them were regarded as heresy, and heaven and earth were moved against such dangerous destroyers. . . . Donatuses were printed in every place where schools were established, and where the art of printing was introduced. _The Haarlem Legend_, p. 3.
[132] Sometimes described under the title of _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_.
[133] Jackson and Chatto, _Treatise on Wood Engraving_, p. 83.