Jean de Tournes (1539–1615) was a French author,

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

, book publisher and

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

, and member of the long-lasting family printing business founded by his father Jean de Tournes. After his father's death in 1564 he was the , printer to the French king. He was the father of Jean de Tournes (1593–1669).

Life

Jean de Tournes was born in 1539. He took over his father's printing and publishing business in 1564. He was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. In 1567, during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

, his press was sacked and he was imprisoned for two months. He was imprisoned again in 1572, but escaped the Saint Bartholemew's Day Massacre. In 1585, following the edict of Henri III that protestants must abjure their religion or leave the country, he moved to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He began printing there in about 1590. He became a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

in 1596, and a member of the Conseil des Deux Cents in 1604. He died in 1615 and was succeeded in the family firm by his son Jean de Tournes. The emblem of the de Tournes press was two entwined

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

s. Their

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

es included ; ; and .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tournes, Jean de 1539 births 1615 deaths French printers French book publishers (people) Swiss printers Swiss book publishers (people)