editio princeps
In classical scholarship, editio princeps is a term of art. It means, roughly, the first printed edition of a work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which were therefore circulated only after being copied by hand.
For example, the editio princeps of Homer is that of Demetrius Chalcondyles, now thought to be from 1488. The most important texts of classical Greek and Roman authors were for the most part produced in editio princeps in the years on either side of 1500.
The picture is complicated by the possibilities of partial publication, of publication first in translation (for example from Greek to Latin), and of a usage that simply equates with first edition. For a work, such as Piers Plowman, with several strands of manuscript tradition that have diverged, it is a less meaningful concept.
The term has long been extended by scholars to works not part of the Ancient Greek and Latin literatures. It is also used for legal works, and other significant documents.
Partial list
| Date | Author, Work | Printer (or location) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1469 | Lucan | Sweynheym and Pannartz | |
| Virgil | Rome | ||
| Caesar, De Bello Gallico | Rome | ||
| c.1469 | Aulus Gellius | Sweynheym and Pannartz | |
| 1470 | Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum | Rome | Edited by Iohannis Antonius Campanus |
| 1471 | Ovid | ||
| 1471 | Pomponius Mela, De Chorographia libri tres | Milan, Antonius Zarotus[2] | |
| 1472 | Diodorus Siculus | Poggio Bracciolini | partial Latin translation |
| Cato Maior, De Agri Cultura | Venezia Nicolaus Jensonus | Edited by Georgius Merula | |
| Varro, Rerum Rusticarum libri tres | Venezia Nicolaus Jensonus | Edited by Georgius Merula in the same volume as the above. | |
| c.1473 | Marcus Manilius, Astronomicon | Regiomontanus | |
| Claudian | |||
| 1475 | Historia Augusta | ||
| 1478 | Aulus Cornelius Celsus | ||
| 1482 | Horatius | Firenze | |
| c.1484 | Serenus Sammonicus | Sulpitius Verulanus | |
| 1488 | Avienus | ||
| Homer | Demetrius Chalcondyles | ||
| c.1493 | Hesiod, Works and Days | Demetrius Chalcondyles | |
| 1493 | Isocrates | Demetrius Chalcondyles | |
| 1496 | Apollonius of Rhodes | ||
| 1499 | Alciphron | ||
| 1499 | Martianus Capella | Vicenza | |
| 1502 | Sophocles | ||
| 1504 | Quintus Smyrnaeus | Aldus Manutius | |
| 1513 | Lysias | Aldus Manutius | |
| 1513 | Lycophron | Aldus Manutius | |
| 1515 | Jordanes, Romana | Konrad Peutinger | |
| 1520 | Marcus Velleius Paterculus | ||
| 1520 | Rutilius Claudius Namatianus | J. B. Pius | |
| 1520 | Septuagint | Complutensian Polyglot Bible | |
| 1520-3 | Talmud | Daniel Bomberg | |
| 1522 | Greek New Testament | Desiderius Erasmus | |
| 1544 | Sozomen | Robert Estienne | |
| 1544 | Josephus | Hieronymus Froben | Edited by Arnoldus Arlenius; first Greek edition |
| 1549 | Optatus of Milevis | Johannes Cochlaeus, F. Behem[3] | Mainz; 7th book printed 1569[4] |
| 1553 | Synesius | Adrianus Turnebus | |
| 1558 | Marcus Aurelius, Meditations | Xylander | |
| 1562 | Sefer Yetzirah | ||
| 1569 | Nonnus | ||
| 1575 | Diophantus | Xylander | |
| 1583 | Martyrologium romanum | ||
| 1598 | Longus | ||
| 1615 | Laonicus Chalcondyles | J. B. Baumbach | |
| 1644 | Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | Abraham Wheelocke[1] | |
| 1661 | Hippolytus, Antichrist | Marquard Gude | |
| 1733 | Genesius | Stephan Bergler | |
| 1750 | Chariton | Pierre Mortier | |
| 1841 | Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Trattato di Architectura | Carlo Promis | Promis, however, published only six of the seven books. The last book which deals with all kinds of mechanical devices was omitted and subsequently escaped the notice of historians of technology for the next hundred years.[2] |
| 1850 | Hypereides | Churchill Babington | |
| 1897 | Bacchylides | F. G. Kenyon | |
| Rigveda | Max Müller |
See also
References
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