Johann Gymnich I.

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johann Gymnich I. (Latin Gymnicus ; * around 1485 probably in Essen ; † 1544 in Cologne ) was a German printer and publisher in Cologne with a branch in Antwerp .

Life

Gymnich was a student of the humanists Alexander Hegius and Johannes Murmellius . He began his activity in 1516, but at that time he does not seem to have had his own printing press , because in the first book Petri Alphunsi Exjudaei Christiani Dialogi there is the indication “Coloniae per Joannem Gymnicum Anno 1516”, whereas the second one has 1517 under the title Annaei Senecae Trajoedia quae inscribitur Octavia, print published by Erasmum Roterodam “Coloniae ex Aedibus Cornelii Ziryckzee per Jo. Gymnico. MDXVII ”to read. The well-known printer Cornelius von Zierikzee in Cologne printed it for him at the time.

He had his books artistically decorated by having margins and title frames made for various works by his publisher. The famous wood cutter Anton Woensam provided the templates for some decorative elements such as title borders or swappen dedication , as well as Gymnich's first book printer's logo. It shows a jumping up, left-facing unicorn in a delicate shield that is attached to a tree and touches the ground with the tip of the end of the landscape. His two commercial buildings on Kölner Strasse “Unter Fettenhennen” were the inspiration for the motif, as they were called “Zum Einhorn”.

Johann Gymnich I was a very productive printer and publisher. His works were mostly Greek and Latin classics, but other areas of science were also considered by him. On the whole, they belonged predominantly to the more rigorous sciences. In 1520 he published an octave edition of Jacob Sprenger's infamous witch's hammer , also known under the Latin title Malleus Maleficarum . In 1528 his main activity began as a publisher, so that his company was well represented in each of the following years . A German translation of the New Testament , which he had printed in 1531, was transferred to the Index Librorum Prohibitorum of 1550. A total of 173 prints are known by Johann Gymnich I. that bear the name of his company. He seems to have been active until 1544, because in 1545 the works from his workshop were marked “Coloniae Haeredes Gymnici excudebant, Anno MD.XLIV”.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ S. Corsten: Gymnich, Johann I , p. 362.
personal data
SURNAME Gymnich, Johann I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German printer and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH around 1485
PLACE OF BIRTH Probably food
DATE OF DEATH 1544
Place of death Cologne