Glose la o Editio Princeps: Euclid, Elementa geometriae, incunabul din Biblioteca Brukenthal, Veneția, 1482
Glosses to an Editio Princeps: Euclid, Elementa geometriae, an Incunabulum from the Brukenthal Library, Venice, 1482

Summary/Abstract: The author is aiming to deal with the editio princeps of Euclid, Elementa geometriae, an incunabulum printed in 1482 by the German printer established in Venice, Erhard Ratdolt. This book is based on Adelardus Bathoniensisʼ (Adelard of Barth; 1080-1152) translation of Euclid from Arabic into Latin language, and also includes Johannes Campanus’ (Giovanni Campano, in Italian; 1220-1296) commentary to the text. According to the specialists, the medieval translators had a different perspective regarding their job or duty, because, contrary to nowadays rules, they used to interpret, to adapt or even to add personal contributions to a text that they were going to translate. On this respect, there are three different version of Adelardusʼ translation: Adelard I (indeed, a translation of the Arab text), Adelard II (a short version of the initial text), and finally, Adelad III (which seems to be rather a commentary than a translation). Campanusʼ commentarius, which consists on fifteen books (“chapters”), became almost the only source of mathematical – as well as geometrical – knowledge for almost two centuries. On one hand, being known also as Campanus of Novara, the commentator used to be the chaplain and as personal doctor of a number of four Popes. On the other hand, in the medieval framework, there were a number of Latin versions of Euclid, some of them being translated from Arabic, other translated directly from Greek, but the Adelard-Campanus version was the only one which enjoyed true appreciation.Erhard Ratdolt, who acted as printer in Venice, and later on in his native Augsburg, belonged to a German Diaspora which took Gutenbergʼs invention to other parts of Europe in the second half of the fifteenth century. The incunabulum Euclid, Elementa geometriae, printed in 1482 by Ratdolt is not only the editio princeps, but also a masterpiece of his Venetian officinal, as well as a precious piece of the Brukenthal Baronial Library.

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