Colard Mansion (or Colart, before 1440 – after May 1484) was a 15th-century

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

scribe and printer who worked together with

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

. He is known as the first printer of a book with copper

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

s, and as the printer of the first books in English and French.

Biography

Colard Mansion was a central figure in the early printing industry in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. He was active as early as 1454 as a bookseller, and was also active as a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, translator and contractor for

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s, which meant entering into contracts with the clients, and organizing and sub-contracting the elements such as scribing, decorating and binding. From 1474 until 1476 he worked together with the early English printer

, and he continued the company on his own afterwards. Caxton probably learned the art of printing from Mansion, and it was from Mansion's press that the first books printed in English (''

Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye ''Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye'' or ''Recueil des Histoires de Troye'' (1464) is a translation by William Caxton of a French courtly romance written by Raoul Lefèvre, chaplain to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. It was the first book printed ...

'') and French came. He moved to the Burg, the commercial heart of Bruges at the time, in 1478. Mansion suffered heavily under the economic crisis in Bruges in the 1480s, and only one work was printed after the death of

Mary of Burgundy Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...

in 1482. Nothing is known with certainty about his life after 1484, although he may have moved to

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

Work

Mansion sold

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

s to the aristocracy, and luxurious

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

to the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

, but he was one of the first to also publish smaller and cheaper books of only twenty to thirty pages, mainly in French. Nowadays, 25 editions of incunabula by Mansion alone are known, making him the most prolific of Bruges' early printers. Only two of these are in Latin, all others are in French, many of them first editions. Customers of Mansion include Charles de Croÿ, prince of Chimay, and Marie, the widow of

Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano (1418 – 19 December 1475) belonged to the Ligny branch of the House of Luxemburg and was Constable of France. Life Saint-Pol was the eldest son of Peter of Luxembour ...

. Mansion has been called the first printer of luxury books. He collaborated with major manuscript illuminators, such as the Master of the Dresden Prayer Book, who were fast losing work to printing, or copyists of their work. In fact only two of his books are illustrated, the influential ''Ovide Moralisé'' with

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s, and a French translation of

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

's '' De Casibus Virorum Illustrium'', the first book to be illustrated with

s, some of which have been claimed to be the work of the Dresden Prayer Book Master and other identified illuminators in the circle of the

Master of Anthony of Burgundy The Master of Anthony of Burgundy was a Flanders, Flemish illuminated manuscript, miniature painter active in Bruges between about 1460 and 1490, apparently running a large workshop, and producing some of the most sophisticated work of the final f ...

. As intaglio prints, the nine engravings had to be printed separately from the relief text and then pasted in, and only three copies are known with the engravings. More copies are known without the engravings, several of which contain illuminations instead. It has been suggested that this was Mansion's original intention (other incunabula left spaces for manual illustration), but that this hybrid product did not attract the wealthy buyers of illuminations, so the engravings were an afterthought, aimed at a less exclusive market. Mansion is also known as the translator of at least five texts from Latin to French, including ''Le dialogue des créatures'', printed by Dutch

Gerard Leeu Gerard or Gheraert Leeu, ''Leew, Lyon'', or ''Leonis'', (between 1445 and 1450, Gouda - 1492, Antwerp) was a Dutch printer of incunabula. Leeu printed his first (liturgical) book in May 1477 in his shop in Gouda, where between 1477 and 1484 h ...

in 1482.

Known works

*1467: ''Romuleon'' (

Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola, or simply and perhaps more accurately Benvenuto da Imola ( la, Benevenutus Imolensis; 1330 – 1388), was an Italian scholar and historian, a lecturer at Bologna. He is now best known for his commentary on Dante's ' ...

, translated by

Jean Miélot Jean Miélot, also Jehan, (born Gueschard, Picardy, died 1472) was an author, translator, manuscript illuminator, scribe and priest, who served as secretary to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1449 to Philip's death in 1467, and then to hi ...

, dedicated to

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

Arlima
archives du littérature du moyen-age *1472 or later: ''Penitence d'Adam'' (''

Testament of Adam The Testament of Adam is a Christian work of Old Testament pseudepigrapha that dates from the 2nd to 5th centuries AD in origin, perhaps composed within the Christian communities of Syria. It purports to relate the final words of Adam to his son ...

'') (manuscript), dedicated to

Lewis de Bruges Louis de Bruges, Lord of Gruuthuse, Prince of Steenhuijs, Earl of Winchester (Dutch: Lodewijk van Brugge; c. 1427 – 24 November 1492), was a Flemish courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman. He was awarded the title of Earl of Winchester b ...

*1474-1475: ''

'', together with William Caxton and

Johann Veldener Johann Veldener (born in Würzburg, died in Leuven between 1486 and 1496), also known as Jan Veldener or Johan Veldenaer; was an early printer in Flanders. He worked as a punchcutter and printer in Cologne, together with William Caxton, who may hav ...

*1475: ''The Game and Playe of Chesse'', together with Caxton (who translated it from the French version), based on a work by

Jacobus de Cessolis Jacobus de Cessolis ( it, Jacopo da Cessole; c. 1250 – c. 1322) was an Italian author of the most famous morality book on chess in the Middle Ages. In the second half of the 13th century, Jacobus de Cessolis, a Dominican friar in Cessole ( ...

*1476: ''Le Jardin de dévotion'' by Petrus de Alliaco, Mansion's first book as an independent publisher *1476: ''De cas de nobles hommes et femmes'' ('' De Casibus Virorum Illustrium'') by

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, translated into French by Laurent Premierfait, was the first book to be illustrated with

s, probably made by Marc le Bongeteur. *1476: ''Controversie de Noblesse'' by Buonaccorso da Montemagno (or Surse de Pistoye), translated into French by Jean Miélot *1476-1477: an anonymous French

prediction A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...

text *1477: ''La consolation de la philosophie'' by

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

*1477: ''Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu'' (anonymous) *1477: ''Traité de l’espere'', French translation of the ''Tractatus de Origine, Natura, Jure et Mutationibus Monetarum'' by

Nicole Oresme Nicole Oresme (; c. 1320–1325 – 11 July 1382), also known as Nicolas Oresme, Nicholas Oresme, or Nicolas d'Oresme, was a French philosopher of the later Middle Ages. He wrote influential works on economics, mathematics, physics, astrology an ...

in 26 chapters *1479: '' Le quadriloque invectif'' by

Alain Chartier Alain Chartier (1430) was a French poet and political writer. Life Alain Chartier was born in Bayeux to a family marked by considerable ability. His eldest brother Guillaume became bishop of Paris; and Thomas became notary to the king. Jean C ...

*1479: ''La somme rurale'' by Jean Boutillier *1479: ''Opera : De caelesti hyerarchia. De ecclesiastica hyerarchia. De divinis nominibus. De mystica theologia. Epistolae'', a complete edition in Latin of the works of

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ...

, translated by Ambrosio Traversari *1480: ''Art de bien mourir'' (anonymous) *1480?:

Guillaume Caoursin Guillaume Caoursin, also called Gulielmus Caoursin (1430, Douai – 1501, Rhodes), was vice-chancellor of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, or Knights Hospitaller. He was an eye-witness to the siege of Rhodes in 1480, an unsuccessful attack o ...

, ''Rhodiae Obsidionis descriptio'' *before June 1481: ''Valere Maxime'' (life of

Saint Hubert Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he w ...

), dedicated to Philippe de Hornes *1482: ''Dyalogue des creatures'', translated by Mansion from the Latin ''Dialogus creaturarum'' *1484: ''Ovide moralisé'', first edition of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'', illustrated with woodcuts, rearranged and partly rewritten by Mansion himself, published in May 1484. It is his last known work, and it has been speculated that the expensive book bankrupted the company. This book was reprinted as the ''Bible des poëtes'' (Poets' Bible) at least four times in Paris between 1493 and 1531. Afterwards, a purer version (with all allegorical additions by Mansion removed, but keeping his translations) under the title ''Grand Olympe des histoires poëtiques du Prince de poësie Ovide Naso en sa Metamorphose'' was published repeatedly between 1532 and 1570. *Unknown date: **the ''

Distichs of Cato The ''Distichs of Cato'' (Latin: ''Catonis Disticha'', most famously known simply as Cato), is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality by an unknown author from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The ''Cato'' was the most popular medieval sc ...

'' **''Les Evangiles des quenouilles'' (anonymous, circa 1480) **''La doctrine de bien vivre en ce monde'' (also called ''Donat espirituel'') by

Jean Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Co ...

**''La Danse des aveugles'' by Pierre Michault, secretary of

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

**''Invectives contre la secte de Vauderie'' **''Adevineaux amoureux'' (anonymous). Incunabula by Mansion are scattered throughout collections mainly in Western Europe. The largest such collection is in Paris, and the 16 copies of 10 different titles in the Public Library of Bruges form the second biggest collection.Mansion collection of the Bruges library (Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge)
/ref>

Notes

Sources

*T Kren & S McKendrick (eds), ''Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe'', Getty Museum/Royal Academy of Arts, 2003,
Biography at Historische Bronnen Brugge
Last accessed at September 27, 2007

Last accessed at September 27, 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansion, Colard 15th-century births 15th-century deaths Printers of incunabula French calligraphers Medieval European scribes Flemish printers Businesspeople from Bruges Burgundian Netherlands businesspeople