Johann Balhorn the Elder

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The printer's brand of the Balhorns

Johann Balhorn the Elder (* around 1500 probably in Lübeck ; † in the last third of March 1573 there ) was a printer.

Live and act

Balhorn's parents are not documented. A woman named Anna Balhorn, who is mentioned in the Niederstadtbuch on March 21, 1526 and who presumably died in 1547, could have been his mother. The Lübeck bookseller Joachim Balhorn († March 14, 1559 in Lübeck) could have been a brother. Since people named Balhorn have repeatedly been found in documents since 1282, it can be assumed that it was a long-established Lübeck family.

Balhorn's childhood and training as a printer are unknown. It can be found in sources from 1527. From then on, at the latest, he worked as a freelance book printer. In that year the city council of Lübeck forbade him to reproduce popular abusive letters ("schandtbreve") which were addressed to defaulting lords, princes and cities. Balhorn should either move away from Lübeck or pay 50 guilders. Which punishment he chose is not documented.

In 1528 Balhorn again printed in Lübeck a fragmentary, preserved Low German version of a harsh martial script by Erasmus of Rotterdam , which was directed against Martin Luther . In 1530 he printed the church ordinances of Minden, the following year those of Lübeck and another year later those of Soest. He later printed other works by reformers, including Luther and Johannes Bugenhagen .

Around 1550 Balhorn printed many High German sermons by Johannes Draconites . The other part of this work was done by Jürgen Richolff the Younger . In addition, he produced several works by the superintendent Hermann Bonnus , including the catechism Eine korte voruatinge der Christliken lere in 1539 and excerpts from the chronicles of the city of Lübeck, which were intended for school use. He also created prayer and hymn books, children's books, medicine and school books as well as a cookbook.

In contrast to Richolff and Asswerus Kröger , Balhorn created many small notebooks that included sacred, secular and narrative songs. There were also "newspapers" that reported on sensational incidents. In 1553 he printed the catechism primer Christianae religionis institutio . This book was intended for teaching in the lower classes of the Lübeck Katharineum . It is the oldest surviving textbook of this type in the city.

Balhorn printed at least 146 well-known Low German works. His last well-known book from 1572 about planting and grafting trees he put together and published. His prints on the Reformation were important for the spread of this trend and general education in Lower Germany.

In 1541, Balhorn was able to use his income to buy a house on Breite Strasse. In 1554 he bought another, larger building on Hundestrasse . In 1574 the title of his printing house was "Johan Balhorns Erven". In 1575 the printing company operated under the name of his son.

family

Balhorn married several times. A first, and possibly even the second woman, whom he married before 1544, died in Lübeck in the second half of September 1547. He had at least three children with this woman. After 1547 he married Elsabe († after October 18, 1588), with whom he had at least six children, two of whom died in childhood. A son of the same name from this marriage also worked as a printer.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Gertrud Schröder-Lembke : Studies on agricultural history. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart / New York 1978 (= sources and research on agricultural history. Volume 31), ISBN 3-437-50234-4 , p. 80.
  2. ↑ Hans Wiswe (ed.): The plant and Propfbüchlein of Johann Balhorn. In: Gundolf Keil, Rainer Rudolf, Wolfram Schmitt, Hans J. Vermeer (eds.): Specialist literature of the Middle Ages. Festschrift Gerhard Eis . Stuttgart 1968, pp. 225-244.

Web links

Wikisource: Johann Balhorn the Elder  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Balhorn, Johann the Elder
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Book printer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1500
PLACE OF BIRTH Lübeck
DATE OF DEATH March 1573
Place of death Lübeck