Geoffroy Tory
Encyclopedia
Geoffroy Tory, born in Bourges
around 1480 and died in Paris
before 14 October 1533, was a French
humanist
and an engraver, best known for adding written letters in French. His life's work has heavily influenced French publishing to this day.
Around 1505, when Tory completed his studies, he left Italy for Paris where Tory worked as a bookbinder, editor of texts, and corrector for the press, serving such clients as Jean Grolier de Servières.
The first work that is known to have Tory work on it is called the Pomponius Mela. In 1509, even though he was young, his work on the Pomponius Mela allowedTory to develop a rather large reputation. He soon became one of the youngest professors to teach at the College du Plessis. While Tory taught, he continued to work on his passion of bookbinding and editing, working on quite a few books.
Tory was known to be an extremely hard worker, often taking on large workloads. Some time around 1511, Tory became a professor at Coqueret, and soon after at the college de Bourgogne, which at the time was a principle unit in the university of Paris. It is widely known that his lectures would draw large audiences.
Tory's obsessive nature drew him into the arts. Several years after joining the College de Bourgogne, he quit and made a move to Italy, so as to better study the arts. There is not much known of Tory at this time, and it wasn't until he returned to Paris in 1518 that his work became recognized again. This time, Tory took up a love of illuminating manuscripts.
In 1514 Tory married the widow of a friend of his, fathering a daughter named Agnes. Tory doted on her, teaching her Latin and all of his lifes work. Unfortunately, when Agnes was nine, she died from unknown reasons. Tory was distraught, and kept to writing poetry about his daughter. When Tory printed for the first time, his printers mark was that of the urn that he kept his daughters ashes in. Tory spent much of his time depressed over the death of his daughter. In the months following her death, Tory wrote several pieces of poetry, claiming how lucky he was to have had a daughter like his, and how her life influenced him. At the time, it was very common for children to die at a young age, so it was out of place for Tory to have taken her death as hard as he did. It is said that her death influenced the creativity in his later works.
It wasn't until 1524 that he discovered The Book of Hours. The most famous copy of which is still dedicated to Tory. In 1525 Geoffroy published a copy of 'The Book of Hours' Introduced type design that was free from the idea of handwriting based print. It also started the idea of book designing as an art in France.
In 1529 Tory published his own book, Champfleury, one of the most important and influential works of the time. It set the standard of French publishing, a standard that in many ways is still used today. In the introduction of Champfleury, Tory is quoted as saying that there are three different kinds of men who corrupt the French language; the "skimmers of Latin", the "jokers", and the "slangers".
Gradually, he managed to get on hands on French texts, which he wanted to put into print, at a time when that was only done to texts in Latin. For that purpose, he introduced the apostrophe
, the accent
, and the cedilla
. He wanted to reform French spelling towards its Latin roots.
In 1530 he became official printer to King Francis I
, and in 1532 he was made a librarian at the University of Paris
. One of his apprentices was Claude Garamond
, who became printer to the King after him.
The exact date of Tory's death is unknown, however it is said in a lease that in 1533 his wife was a widow.
Tory completed the Livre d'heures in 1525.
Champ Fleury
Champ Fleury, 1529
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
around 1480 and died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
before 14 October 1533, was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and an engraver, best known for adding written letters in French. His life's work has heavily influenced French publishing to this day.
Biography
Geoffroy Tory was born in Bourges in 1480, about ten years after the advent of of printing in France. He attended the local university, where he developed an interest in Latin literature. When he finished his studies, he left Bourges for Italy, where he studied at two more universities. First the Sapenzia at Rome, and then Bologna, where he studied under Philip Beroaldus who was greatly known as a Latanist.Around 1505, when Tory completed his studies, he left Italy for Paris where Tory worked as a bookbinder, editor of texts, and corrector for the press, serving such clients as Jean Grolier de Servières.
The first work that is known to have Tory work on it is called the Pomponius Mela. In 1509, even though he was young, his work on the Pomponius Mela allowedTory to develop a rather large reputation. He soon became one of the youngest professors to teach at the College du Plessis. While Tory taught, he continued to work on his passion of bookbinding and editing, working on quite a few books.
Tory was known to be an extremely hard worker, often taking on large workloads. Some time around 1511, Tory became a professor at Coqueret, and soon after at the college de Bourgogne, which at the time was a principle unit in the university of Paris. It is widely known that his lectures would draw large audiences.
Tory's obsessive nature drew him into the arts. Several years after joining the College de Bourgogne, he quit and made a move to Italy, so as to better study the arts. There is not much known of Tory at this time, and it wasn't until he returned to Paris in 1518 that his work became recognized again. This time, Tory took up a love of illuminating manuscripts.
In 1514 Tory married the widow of a friend of his, fathering a daughter named Agnes. Tory doted on her, teaching her Latin and all of his lifes work. Unfortunately, when Agnes was nine, she died from unknown reasons. Tory was distraught, and kept to writing poetry about his daughter. When Tory printed for the first time, his printers mark was that of the urn that he kept his daughters ashes in. Tory spent much of his time depressed over the death of his daughter. In the months following her death, Tory wrote several pieces of poetry, claiming how lucky he was to have had a daughter like his, and how her life influenced him. At the time, it was very common for children to die at a young age, so it was out of place for Tory to have taken her death as hard as he did. It is said that her death influenced the creativity in his later works.
It wasn't until 1524 that he discovered The Book of Hours. The most famous copy of which is still dedicated to Tory. In 1525 Geoffroy published a copy of 'The Book of Hours' Introduced type design that was free from the idea of handwriting based print. It also started the idea of book designing as an art in France.
In 1529 Tory published his own book, Champfleury, one of the most important and influential works of the time. It set the standard of French publishing, a standard that in many ways is still used today. In the introduction of Champfleury, Tory is quoted as saying that there are three different kinds of men who corrupt the French language; the "skimmers of Latin", the "jokers", and the "slangers".
Gradually, he managed to get on hands on French texts, which he wanted to put into print, at a time when that was only done to texts in Latin. For that purpose, he introduced the apostrophe
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets...
, the accent
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
, and the cedilla
Cedilla
A cedilla , also known as cedilha or cédille, is a hook added under certain letters as a diacritical mark to modify their pronunciation.-Origin:...
. He wanted to reform French spelling towards its Latin roots.
In 1530 he became official printer to King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, and in 1532 he was made a librarian at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
. One of his apprentices was Claude Garamond
Claude Garamond
Claude Garamond was a French publisher from Paris. He was one of the leading type designers of his time, and is credited with the introduction of the apostrophe, the accent and the cedilla to the French language. Several contemporary typefaces, including those currently known as Garamond, Granjon,...
, who became printer to the King after him.
The exact date of Tory's death is unknown, however it is said in a lease that in 1533 his wife was a widow.
Champfleury
Published in 1529, Champfleury was written by Geoffroy Tory. It is divided into three books, and is heavily about the proper use of the French language, from elegance to the alphabet to the proper use of grammar. The Champfleury was not as stylized as 'The Book of Hours', however it did give great insight into the mind of Tory; his pedantic attitude and his meticulous devotion to the French Language.The Book of Hours
The Book of Hours, Tory's most famous work, contained sixteen full page borders and thirteen large woodcuts. This version of The Book of Hours is the most famous to this day. It is famous for breaking all the traditions of the time. The illustrations in the book are not the greatest, as Tory did them all himself, and despite a passion for art, he didn't have the talent. It is printed with a light roman type.Major works
Livre d'heuresTory completed the Livre d'heures in 1525.
Champ Fleury
Champ Fleury, 1529
- Tres utile et compendieulx traicte de lart et science dorthographie gallicane, 1529
- L'Adolescence clémentine et Briesve doctrine pour deuement escripre, 1533
Secondary works
- Auguste Bernard. Geofroy Tory, peintre et graveur, premier imprimeur royal, réformateur de l'orthographie et de la typographie sous François Ier... Deuxième édition. Paris : Tross, 1865.
- Claude Mediavilla. Histoire de la calligraphie française. Paris : 2006; p. 134-136
External links
- Geoffroy Tory, Champ Fleury (1529) gallica.fr
- Clément MarotClément MarotClément Marot was a French poet of the Renaissance period.-Youth:Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot , whose more correct name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman from the Caen...
, L’adolescence clémentine (1532) par maistre Geofroy Tory, imprimeur du Roy gallica.fr (sans accentAccent-Speech and language:* Accent , pronunciation characteristic of a certain locality* Accent , of a word* Stress , tone levels and emphasis used in many languages for words or grammar* A diacritical mark is also known as an accent....
ni apostropheApostropheThe apostrophe is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets...
) - Clément MarotClément MarotClément Marot was a French poet of the Renaissance period.-Youth:Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot , whose more correct name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman from the Caen...
, L’adolescence clémentine (1539) imprimé en Anuers, par Guiliaume du Mont. gallica.fr (contient accents et apostrophe) - Geoffroy Tory, Champ Fleury (1529): typographical details in high resolution on Flickr.com