Spanish Sixteenth Century Printing

Nearly all the Spanish and Portuguese books in the Department were collected and given to the Library by the late Philip Hofer, founding Curator of the Department. They reflect his personal taste and his awareness of the historical importance of such a collection - foreword.

Professor Norton's concise history of all the presses known to have been working in Spain in the period 1501-1520.

Although the history of the book is a booming area of research, the journeymen who printed books in the sixteenth century have remained shadowy figures because they were not thought to have left any significant traces in the archives. Clive Griffin, however, uses Inquisitional documents from Spain and Portugal to reveal a clandestine network of Protestant-minded immigrant journeymen who were arrested by the Holy Office in Spain and Portugal in the 1560s and 1570s at a time of international crisis. A startlingly clear portrait of these humble men (and occasionally women) emerges allowing the reconstruction of what Namier deemed one of history's greatest challenges: 'the biographies of ordinary men'. We learn of their geographical and social origins, educational and professional training, travels, careers, standard of living, violent behaviour, and even their attitudes, beliefs, and ambitions. In the course of this study, many other subjects are addressed, among them: popular culture and religion; the history of skilled labour, the history of the book, and of reading and writing; the Inquisition; foreign and itinerant workers and the xenophobia they encountered; and the 'double lives' of lower-class Protestants living within a uniquely vigilant Catholic society.

Griffin's study reveals the virtually unknown lives of the men who worked in the 16th century presses. Using the papers of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition, he provides insights into the popular culture and religion; the history of printing, reading, and writing; the Inquisition; and the double lives led by the lower-classes.

This volume seeks to enhance our understanding of printing and the book trade in small and peripheral European cities in the 15th and 16th centuries through a number of specific case studies.