Johannes Oporinus (also Johannes Oporin; Latinised from the original German name: Johannes Herbster or Hans Herbst) (25 January 1507 – 7 July 1568) was a humanist printer in Basel.

Life

Johannes Oporinus, the son of the painter Hans Herbst, was born in Basel. He completed his academic training in Strasbourg and Basel. After working as a teacher in the Cistercian convent of St. Urban, he returned to Basel, where he taught at the school of Leonhard.

The most important publication of his workshop was the anatomical atlas De humani corporis fabrica by the humanist physician Andreas Vesalius, in 1543. In October 1546 a book on the assassination of the Spanish Protestant Juan Díaz, entitled Historia vera de morti sancti viri Ioannis Diazii Hispanics [...] by Claudium Senarclaeum, was published by his workshop, which is attributed to Francisco de Enzinas.

In addition, his press published numerous polemical theological works, classics, and historiographical works. His fine knowledge of ancient languages served the quality of consistently correct textual editions. Oporinus later printed a work on church history by Matthias Flacius Illyricus: Catalogus testium veritatis (1556) and the first eleven (1559–1567) of Wigand's thirteen Magdeburg Centuries. In 1559 he published the complete editio princeps of Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca historica. Before he died, he planned to publish the first Bible in the Spanish language, for which Casiodoro de Reina paid 400 guilders in advance. But Oporinus died before the bible was able to go into print. He was married four times, each time with a widow. The third wife was a sister of the publisher Johan Hervagius the younger (died 1564) and the fourth a sister of Basilius Amerbach. Theodor Zwinger was his nephew. His manuscript collection and his extensive correspondence are preserved in the Basel University Library.

References

Further reading

  • Harry Clark (1984), The Publication of the Koran in Latin: A Reformation Dilemma. The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, (Spring 1984), pp. 3–12.
  • Carlos Gilly (2001), Die Manuskripte in der Bibliothek des Johannes Oporinus: Verzeichnis der Manuskripte und Druckvorlagen aus dem Nachlass Oporins anhand des von Theodor Zwinger und Basilius Amerbach erstellten Inventariums. (Schriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel 3). Schwabe, Basel,
  • Martina Hartmann (2001), Humanismus und Kirchenkritik. Matthias Flacius Illyricus als Erforscher des Mittelalters. (Beiträge zur Geschichte und Quellenkunde des Mittelalters 19) Thorbecke, Stuttgart,
  • Martina Hartmann, Arno Mentzel-Reuters (2005), Die Magdeburger Centurien und die Anfänge der quellenbezogenen Geschichtsforschung. Ausstellung. Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), Munich.
  • Andreas Jociscus (1569) Oratio De Ortv, Vita, Et Obitv Ioannis Oporini Basiliensis, Typographicoru[m] Germaniæ Principis. Rihelius, Strasbourg (digitized, also contains the Catalogvs Librorvm Per Ioannem Oporinium excusorum)
  • Oliver K. Olson (2002) Matthias Flacius and the survival of Luther’s Reform. (Wolfenbütteler Abhandlungen zur Renaissanceforschung 20). Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel,
  • Martin Steinmann (1967) Johannes Oporinus. Ein Basler Buchdrucker um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. (Basler Beiträge zur Geschichtswissenschaft 105). Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel.
  • Martin Steinmann (1969), Aus dem Briefwechsel des Basler Druckers Johannes Oporinus. Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde 69 (1969): 104–203
  • Sample pages from Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica
  • Digitized Magdeburg Centuries
  • Digital edition of De humani corporis fabrica; Epitome published by Oporinus in 1543, in Cambridge Digital Library