Nicolaus Laurentii
Encyclopedia
Nicolaus Laurentii (fl.
1477-1485) was a printer
living in Florence
, Italy
in the late fifteenth century. He was the first printer to use copper plate engraving
s and printed a number of works of importance to the Italian Renaissance
.
. He worked with Johannes Petri of Mainz
in a nunnery of the Dominican Order
. The sisters there served as compositors and printers.
Among the works printed by Laurentii are Cristoforo Landino's commentary to The Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri
(which had been printed for the first time in 1472) and the Septe Giornate della Geographia di Francesco Berlinghieri by Francesco Berlinghieri
, which was one of the first printed works based upon Ptolemy's
Geographica
.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1477-1485) was a printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
living in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the late fifteenth century. He was the first printer to use copper plate engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s and printed a number of works of importance to the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
.
Biography
Laurentii moved to Florence from Breslau, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He worked with Johannes Petri of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
in a nunnery of the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. The sisters there served as compositors and printers.
Among the works printed by Laurentii are Cristoforo Landino's commentary to The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
by Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
(which had been printed for the first time in 1472) and the Septe Giornate della Geographia di Francesco Berlinghieri by Francesco Berlinghieri
Francesco Berlinghieri
Francesco Berlinghieri was an Italian scholar and humanist who lived during the fifteenth century. He promoted the value of classical Greek learning and was one of the first to print a text based on Ptolemy's Geographica...
, which was one of the first printed works based upon Ptolemy's
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
Geographica
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
.
Works printed
Nicolaus Laurentii's printed works include:- Marsilio FicinoMarsilio FicinoMarsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...
, De christiana religione (1476) - Antonio BettiniAntonio BettiniAntonio Bettini was an Italian clergyman and writer.Bettini was born in Siena in 1396. He joined the convent of San Girolamo in Siena in 1439 and worked closely with Pope Pius II. Pius made Bettini bishop of Foligno in 1461. For Pope Sixtus IV, Bettini may have traveled to France and Germany...
, Monte Santo di Dio (1477) - Aulus Cornelius CelsusAulus Cornelius CelsusAulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman encyclopedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet, pharmacy, surgery and related fields, and it is one of the best sources...
, De medicina (1478) - Dante AlighieriDante AlighieriDurante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, La Commedia (1481) - Francesco BerlinghieriFrancesco BerlinghieriFrancesco Berlinghieri was an Italian scholar and humanist who lived during the fifteenth century. He promoted the value of classical Greek learning and was one of the first to print a text based on Ptolemy's Geographica...
, Septe Giornate della Geographia di Francesco Berlinghieri (1482) - Leon Battista Alberti, De Re AedificatoriaDe Re AedificatoriaDe re aedificatoria is a classic architectural treatise written by Leon Battista Alberti between 1443 and 1452. Although largely dependent on Vitruvius' De architectura, it was the first theoretical book on the subject written in the Italian Renaissance and in 1485 became the first printed book on...
(1485)