[Illustration: J. VELDENER.
velde]
The introduction of the art of printing into the Low Countries, and the
rival claim of Coster and Gutenberg, have proved a highly fruitful
source of literary quarrels and disputations. It is not worth our while
to enter, even briefly, into the merits of the arguments either for or
against; and it will suffice for our present purpose to regard Johann
Veldener, 1473-7, as the first printer. He was probably a pupil of Ulric
Zell, and, like many others of the early Netherland printers, he does
not appear to have remained long at one place. For example, he was at
Louvain from 1473-7, at Utrecht 1478-81, and at Culemberg, 1482-4. His
only Mark appears to be that given herewith, in which his name in an
abbreviated form occurs between the two shields, on the right one of
which appears the arms of Louvain. His most notable publications were
two quarto editions of the “Speculum” in the Dutch language, one of
which contained 116 and the other 128 illustrations, “printed from the
woodcuts that had been previously used in the four notable editions; to
make these broad woodcuts, which had been designed for pages in folio,
Veldener cut away the architectural framework surrounding each
illustration and then sawed each block in two pieces.” He received from
the University the honorary title of Master of Printing, an honour which
was also conferred on his more distinguished contemporary, Johann of
Westphalia, 1474-96, for whom in fact is claimed the priority of the
introduction of printing into Louvain. The first of the large number of
books produced by the latter is by Petrus de Crescentiis, “Incipit liber
ruraliũ cõmodorũ,” 1474, its colophon being printed in red. The
accompanying exceedingly curious “souscription,” with portrait of the
printer, is given from Lambinet’s “Recherches.” Thierry Martens, or
Mertens, or Martin d’Alost (Theodoricus Martinus), may be regarded
either as an early printer of Louvain, Antwerp, or Alost, for it is
stated that he had presses working simultaneously at the three places;
but Alost has the first claims, and it is said that he was printing here
in 1473, although as a matter of fact he was only twenty years of age at
this period. He was a distinguished scholar, and the friend of Barland
and Erasmus, the latter making the following reference to the
accompanying Mark, “l’ancre sacrée,” in the epitaph he wrote as a
memorial of his friend:
“Hic Theodoricus jaceo, prognatus Alosto:
Ars erat impressis scripta referre typis.
Fratribus, uxori, soboli, notisque superstes,
Octavam vegetus præterii decadem.
Anchora sacra manet, gratæ notissima pubi:
Christe! precor nunc sis anchora sacra mihi.”
[Illustration: JOHANN OF WESTPHALIA.
Et ego Johannes prenotatus alma in
universitate Lova- niesi residens dig-
num duxi opus hoc insigne immensis
ferme tam labori- bus quam impensis
ad finem usque perductum meo so-
lito signo consig- nando huius in ca-
pite libri palam fieri.]
[Illustration: THEODORIC MARTENS.