The Latin Bible in the Renaissance and Early Print Culture

Abstract

Four stages may be identified in the transmission of the Vulgate text in the first century of its printing. First is the Gutenberg Bible, probably completed in 1455, closely related to the tradition of Paris Bibles. Next come the partial corrections in a 1462 Mainz edition, followed by additional adjustments in Franz Renner’s 1475 Venice Bible. Finally, there are the emendations of Robert Estienne’s Paris editions of 1528, 1532, and 1540, leading to the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate. Other humanist printers and scholars made major contributions in this period, most notably Desiderius Erasmus, Anton Koberger, Lucantonio Giunta, Santi Pagnini, and Sebastian Münster. The most advanced textual scholarship, by Gobelinus Laridius on the Old Testament, did not become part of broader tradition. An important role was also played by the development of multilingual editions, especially the Complutensian Polyglot and multiple-column psalters. Developments in the selection of biblical books and the creation of paratextual material and indexes are also considered, as well as the printing of the standard medieval commentaries alongside the biblical text.