FILIP MOLDOVEANUL – THE FIRST ROMANIAN-LANGUAGE TYPOGRAPHER IN SIBIU
FILIP MOLDOVEANUL – THE FIRST ROMANIAN-LANGUAGE TYPOGRAPHER IN SIBIU

Summary/Abstract: The city of Sibiu, during the XVI-th century, underwent two important events: the Lutheran reform and the establishment of the first printing house in Transylvania, with the Saxon scholars struggling to enforce the reform and the printing art starting to be embraced by the city's masters and the chancellery employees. Here was the place where Filip Moldoveanul, also known as Philip the Painter (Maler) was mentioned in 1521, as one of the liaisons of the Sibiu Chancellery to the Romanian Countries. As the Saxon University of Sibiu had decided, in 1543, that all the inhabitants, regardless of their social position and national affiliation, should receive the new faith, Filip Moldoveanul printed in 1544 Catehismul românesc ('Romanian catechism'), which is considered to be the first Romanian book. As for where the Catechism appeared, there have been several opinions throughout the time which will be presented in this paper. The volume ornaments generally follow the wood engraved frontispieces as well as the large initials which appear in Macarie's books printed at Dealu Monastery. A novelty is that Filip Moldoveanul engraved a new cliché in wood and put the emblem of Sibiu on the frontispieces (a crown and two crossed swords top ends down).

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