SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
287
by the king, or by anie ordinarie. Provided, that the cnauncellur of England, capitaines of the warres, the king's justices, the recorders of anie citie, borough, or town, the speaker of the parliament, &c. which heretofore have been accustomed to decUire or teache any good, vertu- ons, or godly exhortations in anie assemblies, might use anie part of the Bible or Holie Scrip- tore as they had been wont; and that every moUt-mMH and gentleman being a housholder, might read, or cause to be read, by any of his ftmilie servants in his house, orchardet, or gar- ie*, and to his oten familie, anie text of the Bible or New Testament; and also every mer- eiant-man, being a householder ; and any other persons other than women, prentices, &c. might read to themselves privately the Bible, &c. But no women, except noblewomen and gentlewomen, who might read to themselves alone, and not to others, any texts of the Bible, &c., nor artificer!, frentua, journeymen, terving-men of the degrees of yomen* or under, hutbandmen, nor labourer! were to read the Bible or New Testament in EngUth to himself or to any other, privately or opoily."
1543, Feb. 14. The parliament of Paris caused the Institutionet Religionu Chrutiana of Calvin, to be publicly burned at Paris. " No- thing," observes M. Gaillard, "can be more im- pressive, or, to use his term, "plus seduisant," than the preface to this work. It seems dictated by reason and humanity, and is composed after the model of the ancient apologies for the Chris- tian religion. "Nothing," he adds, "can be more ingenious than the use which he makes of the fathers of the church, whether to represent their doctrines as favourable to the reformation, or to vindicate that measure, where it seems to differ from them. This btmk of IntHtutet has method, uniformity, and mtegritr; it forms a complete body of doctrine; which is a quality perhaps not to be found either in any single treatise of Luther, or in the entire collection of his writings. Cidvin's Inttituta, therefore, is one of those works in which the reformation exalts, not without reason." The Imtitutet have ikr more elegance and moderation than those of Lather; though Calvin did not assured! v, on all occasions, avoid that grossness of epithet and coarseness of expression, which are so conspicu- ous in the polemical writings of the age.
1543. John (Jowohe, Godge, or Godoh, printer, stationer, and author, resided at the sign of the Mermaid, in Cheapside, next to St Paul's gate, and most probably at ike same house as that which had been occupied by John Raslell, see page 202 ante, and afierwards he removed to Lombard-street. Many of his books were printed for htm by John Meylor and John Nicholson. In the Prymer of Saiytbery Ute, 1536, and the AlmMnackfor xx years, beginning 1533, the press work and punctuation are peculiar to himself. In 1536, he printed the Door of the Holy Scrip.
- Cowel sar*, rumen were oflcen in the Ung'a fuaOf
in a* mkUle ptiwe betwixt serjttmtt and grooma.
ture, with a preface by the printer, the kiug^s licence to Gough, to print any book translated or compiled by him. This book was prohibited among many others by the king's injunctions. In 1543, he printed the rAru<tan state of matri- mony, in twelves, and which vias his last work.
1543. This year was remarkable for the com- mencement and earliest effort of Greek typo- graphy in England, if we may rely on the testi- mony of Fabricius; who furnishes the foUowing notice and remark: "Jo. Cbrysostomi Homilis II. (altera in 1 Cor. x. altera in 1 Tbess. iv.) nunc primum in lucem edits. Gr. Lat. inter- prete Joanne Cheko Caotabrigiensi. Lond. Ap. Reg. Wolfium, 1543. Hie est primus liber Grtecis typis in Anglia excusus." Vtd. Maittaire, Ann. Typogr. vol. III. p. 345. (Bbli. Graea, vol.VIll.p. 670.)
1643, May. Nicholas Copernicus published his System of Astronomy at Nuremberg, but died a few hours after it was finished. The British museum contains the original work of Copernicus on the Solar System. It is a small folio of 196 pages, full of dia^p«ms,and well print- ed, at the expense of Cardinal Schonbergeus.
John Field printed in London a forgotten work on the Copemtcan System, in 1556 thirteen years after.
1544. John BroDELL, a printer and book- seller, whose name is sometimes spelled Bedel, also ^e appellation of Salisbury ; but why he did so, neither Ames nor Herbert could ascertain. We learn from the colophon of the Lyf of Hyl- debrande, printed in 15.33, 8vo. that it was 7m- printed by Wynltyn de Worde,for John Byddell, otherwise Salisbury. He appears to have sold books as early as 1636, if not previous ; and his first residence was at the sign of our Lady of Pity, next on Flete Bridge, but he afterwards removed to the Sun near the Conduit, perhaps the old dwelling of Wynkyn de Worde, for whom he was an executor, and which is more particularly noticed at pages 258, 259, ante.
The first English Primer reprinted was exe- cuted by John Byddell, and entitled A goodly prymer in English, newly corrected and printed, with certeyn godly meditacions and prayers added to the same, very necessarie and profitable for all them that ryght assuredly understand not the Latine and Greke tongues. From Sir Thomas More's answer to Tindall, we may infer the translator of this book to be George Joy : " The psalter was translated by George Joy the preste, that is wedded now, and I here say the Prymer to, wherein the seuen psalms be set in wythout the lateny, lest folke shold pray to sayntes. And the dirige is left out clone, leste a man myght happe to pray theron for his father's soole.
The title is over the king and queen's arms crowned quarterly, and on the back of the leaf the picture of Time, Truth, and Hypocrisy curi- ously done.
At the end of the book this following patent: Be it knowen to all men by these presents, that it is prohibited by our soveraigne lorde the king, by his letters patentes, to all printers, bokesellers.
VjOOQ IC
