Badius Ascensius

From Textus Receptus

Revision as of 10:01, 8 September 2012

Trademark of the Badius printing shop

Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis, Servii Mauri Honorati & Aelii Donati commentariis illustrata (Basel 1544) with the commentary of Badius (Ascensius) printed next to the text.

Jodocus Badius (or Josse Badius or Josse Bade) (1462–1535) was a pioneer of the printing industry, and also a renowned grammarian and pedagogue.

Sometimes called Badius Ascensius from the village of Asse, near Brussels, where he was born, he became an eminent printer at Paris. His establishment came to be known as the Prelum Ascensianum. He was also a scholar of considerable repute, had studied at Brussels and Ferrara, and, before settling in Paris, had taught Greek for several years at Lyon. He illustrated with notes several of the classics which he printed, and was the author of numerous pieces, amongst which are a life of Thomas a Kempis, and a satire on the follies of women, entitled Navicula Stultarum Mulierum.^[1]

Badius worked first as an editor and proof-reader for the printer Jean Trechsel in Lyon (1492–1498). He then moved to Paris where he set up his printing shop in 1503. His production was almost entirely in Latin. He specialised in editions of Roman classical texts, often with his own familiare commentum for the student market,^[2] and also Latin works by contemporary humanist writers.^[3]

Badius's shop was one of the most productive of the period 1501–1530: 775 editions are listed in the bibliography in Philippe Renouard's Imprimeurs & libraires parisiens du XVI^e siècle. He frequently worked for or in partnership with Jean Petit, who was by far the most important wholesale bookseller/publisher of this period.

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