Beschreibung
"De laude scriptorum pulcherimus tractatus".Mainz, Peter von Friedberg, 1494. GW, M47538. - H, 15617. - Goff, T442. 20 leaves. a8, b6, c6. 36 lines per page. Marginal repair in the upper parts of the a4 and a5 leaves, otherwise in very good condition. FIRST AND ONLY EDITION. Trithemius' important work is a plea defending the art of writing, specifically the art of handwriting and copying manuscripts. The text was written in 1492 under the titleDe laude scriptorum manualiumand published in Mainz in 1494. Johannes Trithemius (born Johann Heidenberg in Trittenheim, 1462) was a 15th-century humanist, a historian and Kabbalist. He is also considered the founder of modern cryptography and had a great influence on the development of modern occultism. Famous occultists such as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535) and Paracelsus (1493-1541) studied under him. Trithemius was the abbot of the Benedictines of Spanheim and then of St. James's Abbey, Würzburg where he died in 1516. A great scholar and bibliophile, Trithemus was a devoted collector of manuscripts and incunabula. Due to his passion and diligence, the Spanheim Library became one of the richest and most beautiful of its time, going from 48 works before his time there to more than 2000 through Trithemus' efforts. Trithemus did not enjoy great praise in his time because of his interest in occultism and his reputation as a magician. This led to conflicts with the Spanheim convent and to his resignation in 1506. Written in the form of a letter, De laude scriptorum" (In Praise of Scribes) is a plea for the art of handwriting, an issue central to the contemporary polemic that emerged during the second half of the 15th-century once the invention of printing by Gutenberg had quickly spread around Europe. Trithemius' work must have been at odds with the general praise of the printing press at the time. In the 15th century, book printing was unanimously highly regarded, often seen as more valuable than handwriting. However, it is important to note that Trithemius did not truly disregard the importance of book printing, his focus is actually on the scholastic aim of handwriting, especially for monks. He feared book printing will pull monks further away from the noble endeavor of handwriting, which is why he wrote this work in praise of manuscript writing. Through the work's 16 chapters, we can take note of how Trithemius' interests in writing, books, and religion are intertwined: the chapters further his plea by tackling various aspects that mean to prove how handwriting is superior to book printing. He talks about the usefulness of the Holy Scriptures; the care and love his predecessors had for books, how good and useful writing is for monks; the art of writing correctly and efficiently; whether writing on religious holidays is permitted, about the care one needs to show towards books, etc. His central argument is that manuscripts are far superior to printed books, due to the writer's care and effort, even accusing book printers and their defenders of laziness. Tritemius' plea is also in favor of writing on vellum rather than on paper. His argument centers around the idea that information written on traditional parchement would be far more durable than that on the newer medium of paper: All of you know the difference between a manuscript and a printed book. The word written on parchment will last a thousand years. The printed word is on paper. How long will it last? The most you can expect a book of paper to survive is two hundred years. Yet, there are many who think they can entrust their works to paper. Only time will tell." (translated in Tribble&Trubek eds., "Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age", 2003). Trithemius furthers his plea by pointing out that all information could never be published in print, or collected in a single library: Yes, many books are now available in print but no matter how many books will be printed, there will always be some left unpr. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 229842
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