Printing Sacrobosco in Leipzig, 1488–ca. 1521: Local Markets and University Publishing

AbstractDuring the first fifty years of its printing, the greatest number of Sacrobosco Sphaera editions appeared in Venice, Paris, and Leipzig. Indirect evidence suggests that the Venetian and Parisian copies circulated widely; Leipzig editions, however, primarily served the local market, i.e., university students in Leipzig, Erfurt, and Wittenberg. This paper analyzes fifteen editions of Sacrobosco’s Sphaera issued by three Leipzig printers between 1488 and ca. 1521. These Leipzig Sacroboscos share a common text, set of woodcuts, and mis-en-page that were not much copied by printers beyond Leipzig. The paper also investigates the Leipzig masters who lectured on Sacrobosco during these decades; several became known locally as mathematicians, but most moved to other faculties or left the university. Three of the masters authored commentaries that printers added to their editions. One of these borrowed heavily from a lengthy commentary by the Paduan master, Francesco Capuano, printed 1499 in Venice. Another commentary would be reprinted several times in Cologne, but generally the Leipzig commentaries also remained local in their influence. After Wittenberg printers began issuing Sacroboscos in 1531, no further editions would be printed in Leipzig. The Leipzig Sacroboscos thus illustrate the dynamics of a local university market shaping the early printing history of this introductory textbook.