The First Greek Printing Press in Constantinople (1625‐1628) NIL OZLEM PEKTAS A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of London (Royal Holloway and Bedford New College) June 2014 1 Candidate’s declaration: I confirm that this PhD thesis is entirely my own work. All sources and quotations have been acknowledged. The main works consulted are listed in the bibliography. Candidate’s signature: Date: 2 Abstract The thesis is a study of the first Greek printing house established in Constantinople in 1627‐1628 by the Greek monk Nikodemos Metaxas, who began his printing venture in London’s Fleet Street in 1625. The aim of the thesis is to explore the history of Metaxas’s press and examine the intricate web of relations behind the establishment and closure of his printing house. The study follows Metaxas’s arrival in London, his printing activities in England, the transportation of the printing device to the Ottoman capital, the books produced in Constantinople and the events leading to the confiscation of the press and its subsequent release. The research is based on published and unpublished material, including the diplomatic reports and the correspondence between English, French, Venetian and Dutch ambassadors, letters exchanged between George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Cyril Loukaris, the Patriarch of Constantinople; the letters of Sir Thomas Roe, English ambassador to the Porte, and other contemporary accounts of the event such as those collected by the clergymen Thomas Smith and Antoine Leger; and the extant copies of all printed volumes containing the treatises published by Metaxas in London, Constantinople and Cephalonia between 1624‐1628 and various manuscripts dispersed around the world relating to his publications. In terms of structure, the thesis comprises an Introduction, two Parts (I‐II), and a Conclusion. The Introduction presents the aim and scope of the thesis, the material examined, the approach and methodology adopted, and a survey of previous research on the subject. Part I examines the historical evidence of Metaxas’s printing activities. It consists of three Chapters (1‐3). Chapter 1 focuses on Nikodemos Metaxas’s earlier life. Chapter 2 investigates Metaxas’s printing activities in London, concentrating on the printed volumes he produced and the manuscripts he used. Chapter 3 examines Metaxas’s arrival in Constantinople, 3 the political and diplomatic reverberations of the mutual understanding between Loukaris and Roe, the establishment and the subsequent closure of his printing house, followed by his return to his native Cephalonia. Part II is devoted to a description and analysis of the physical aspects of Metaxas’s book production. This section comprises three Chapters (4‐6) examining (4) the typefaces; (5) ornamentation including title‐pages, initial letters, borders, head‐ and tail‐pieces, bands, printer’s flowers and other motifs; and (6) paper and ink. The Conclusion summarises the findings of the research and suggests areas for further investigation. The thesis closes with full bibliography, Appendices (I‐ III) and Plates with facsimiles of selected folios of manuscripts and pages of books cited therein. 4 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgments 6 List of Plates 7 List of Figures 9 A Timeline of Events 12 Introduction 14 Part I 30 Chapter 1: The Early Life of Nikodemos Metaxas 31 Chapter 2: London 49 Chapter 3: Constantinople 86 Part II 125 Chapter 4: Fonts 126 Chapter 5: Ornaments and Initials 151 Chapter 6: Paper and Ink 179 Conclusions 203 Bibliography 215 Appendix I: A Survey of the Extant Copies 247 Appendix II: Texts Printed by Nikodemos Metaxas in Extant MSS 254 Appendix III: Sources for Legrand 144 266 5 Acknowledgments My thanks go first to my supervisor, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, who has guided me at every step of my research with unfailing support. I am extremely grateful for his time and advice, his encouragement and inspiration, his care for detail and constructive criticism, as well as for his warmth and generosity of spirit. I am also indebted to my advisor Dr Evrim Binbaş for his invaluable help towards the preparation of this study. The thesis benefitted immensely from their contributions, yet all mistakes are my own. I would like to express my gratitude to the Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway College Maintenance Fund and the History Department, whose generous grants made this study possible. I gratefully acknowledge the financial help I received from the Hellenic Ministry of Tourism and Culture for summer courses in Modern Greek language. I have gained a great deal from the community atmosphere at both the Hellenic Institute and the History Department at Royal Holloway, where I have benefitted tremendously from contact with members of staff and fellow students. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Justin Champion for his comments and guidance which helped develop this study in new ways and directions. I would also like to thank most warmly my friends Chrysovalantis Kyriacou, Dr Polymnia Tsagouria and Dr Konstantinos Palaiologos, among many others, for sharing their linguistic and scholarly expertise with me. Most of the research was conducted in manuscript and rare book libraries including the British Library, National Library of Greece, Archives of Cephalonia, The Library and Archives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, The Warburg Institute, Senate House Library, Lambeth Palace Library, Society of Antiquarians and the National Archives of Britain. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the staff at these institutions. On a more personal note, I would like to thank my dear husband Cem Pektas for helping me in so many ways, both practical and intellectual, and for all his love and support, and above all his patience. My parents have been thousands of miles away throughout the writing of most of this thesis, yet have never felt distant. It is to them for their support and love, and in return for more than twenty‐five years of education, that I dedicate this thesis. 27 May 2014 6 List of Plates (The images are not to scale) Plate 1. Sultan Murad III’s emirname printed in the 1594 Euclid 18 Plate 2. Colophon of Arba’ah Turim by Jacob ben Asher 21 Plate 3. Saghmosaran printed by Abkar Dpir in Venice, 1565 22 Plate 4. First page of Cyril Loukaris, Κατὰ Ἰουδαίων 27 Plate 5. Metrophanes Kritopoulos in Strasbourg in 1627 35 Plate 6. The initial ‘O’ in Legrand 167 76 Plate 7. The initial ‘O’ in the main text of Legrand 167 77 Plate 8. Portraits of Roe and Haga 88 Plate 9. Cyril Loukaris, Patriarch of Constantinople 91 Plate 10. Page from Lactantius, Opera (1465) 127 Plate 11. Grecs du roi in three sizes 129 Plate 12. John Chrysostom, Homiliae duae (1543) 131 Plate 13. John Chrysostom, Homiliae sex 132 Plate 14. Christopher Angelos’ drawing depicting himself 140 under torture Plate 15. Woodcut rendering of Christopher Angelos’ drawing 140 Plate 16. Christopher Angelos’ depiction of England 141 Plate 17. Woodcut rendering of Christopher Angelos’ depiction 141 of England Plate 18. Christopher Angelos, Ἐγχειρίδιον 142 Plate 19. A page from Περὶ Ἐπιστολικῶν Τύπων 143 7 Plate 20. A page from Legrand 167, Part II 147 Plate 21. The title‐page of Legrand 144 195 Plate 22. The title‐page of Legrand 144, Part II 196 Plate 23. The title‐page of Legrand 167, Part I 197 Plate 24. The title‐page of Legrand 167, Part II 198 Plate 25. The title‐page of Legrand 167, Part III 199 Plate 26. The title‐page of Legrand 168, Part I 200 Plate 27. The title‐page of Legrand 166, Part I 201 Plate 28. The title‐page of Legrand 143 202 8 List of Figures (The images are not to scale) Figure 1 Printer’s device [34 x 34 mm] 152 Figure 2 Headpiece [26x85 mm] 153 Figure 3 Headpiece [3 x 74 mm] 153 Figure 4 Headpiece [13 x 74 mm] 153 Figure 5 Headpiece [5 x 78 mm] 153 Figure 6 Headpiece [6 x 70 mm] 154 Figure 7 Headpiece [18 x 72 mm] 154 Figure 8 Tailpiece [30 x 57 mm] 154 Figure 9 Initial T [22 x 22 mm] 155 Figure 10 Initial T2 [12 x 11 mm] 155 Figure 11 Initial E [14 x 14 mm] 155 Figure 12 Initial K [13 x 13 mm] 155 Figure 13 Initial A [13 x 13 mm] 155 Figure 14 Initial T3 [10 x 10 mm] 155 Figure 15 Initial M [13 x 13 mm] 156 Figure 16 Various upper‐case letters used as initials 156 Figure 17 Headpiece [4 x 76 mm] 156 Figure 18 Printer’s device [87 x 66 mm] 157 Figure 19 Headpiece [20x96 mm] 158 Figure 20 Headpiece [18x105 mm] 158 Figure 21 Headpiece [7x 110mm] 158 Figure 22 Headpiece [20x110 mm] 158 Figure 23 Headpiece [8x 110mm] 158 Figure 24 Headpiece [11x110 mm] 158 Figure 25 Headpiece [12 x110 mm] 159 Figure 26 Headpiece [18 x110 mm] 159 9 Figure 27 Headpiece [15 x107 mm] 159 Figure 28 Tailpiece no.2 [35x54mm] 159 Figure 29 Initial E2 [32x32 mm] 160 Figure 30 Initial Π1 [28x28 mm] 160 Figure 31 Initial Ω [22x22 mm] 160 Figure 32 Initial Τ4 [29x29 mm] 161 Figure 33 Initial O [26x26mm] 161 Figure 34 Initial Τ5 [22x22 mm] 161 Figure 35 Initial Η [34x34 mm] 161 Figure 36 Initial Δ [28x28 mm] 162 Figure 37 Initial A2 [13x13 mm] 162 Figure 38 Headpiece [28x101 mm] 163 Figure 39 Headpiece [25x91 mm] 164 Figure 40 Headpiece [30x100mm] 164 Figure 41 Headpiece [14x107mm] 164 Figure 42 Tail‐piece [5x109mm] 165 Figure 43 Initial T6 [30x30mm] 165 Figure 44 Initial A3 [26x26mm] 165 Figure 45 Initial Y [34x34mm] 165 Figure 46 Initial M2 [22x22mm] 166 Figure 47 Initial A4 [31x31mm] 166 Figure 48 Initial Η2 [22x22mm] 166 Figure 49 Initial Φ [35x35mm] 166 Figure 50 Initial Ε3 [21x21mm] 167 Figure 51 Initial O2 [32x34mm] 167 Figure 52 Initial Ε4 [23x23mm] 167 Figure 53 Initial K2 [16x16 mm] 167 Figure 54 Initial Π2 [34x34 mm] 168 Figure 55 Factotum [17x17 mm] 168 10 Figure 56 Printer’s device [37x61 mm] 169 Figure 57 Headpiece [105x14 mm] 170 Figure 58 Headpiece no.