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Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717, Leipzig (1724)
Source: Universität Freiburg, Institut für Rechtsgeschichte, Frei 81: E 10 - 215
Citation:
Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717, Leipzig (1724), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
must henceforth abstain from having anything to
do with all suspicious, defamatory, vexatious,
insulting and grievous speeches, songs, rhymes,
poems, books and anything else of the sort; it has
nevertheless come to Our notice that some
troublesome and contentious people do not desist
from this and also that, in particular, now almost
anyone -especially where religious matters are
concerned - is ready to venture, at discretion and
at will, to write books and have them printed in
order to make a name for himself. The result of
this is that there is no end to the writing of books
and that ultimately the good old useful books,
which serve the spiritual improvement and
edification of God's congregation are edged out
and people are confused, led astray from the true
Christian teachings and books, and made weary of
these. Since this is not just a question of Our will
being contravened but involves also the fact that
through these and suchlike writings and poems
the average man in the street - especially in these
dangerous times - may very well be confused and
disorientated, and perhaps even induced to all
kinds of trouble and sedition; in order to forestall
and avert this as far as possible, as well as to nip in
the bud and prevent any untimely thoughts from
arising in the hot-tempered and restless heads of
certain people, so that thenceforth the latter
conduct themselves with good discretion and
prudence, We therefore order you to carry out this
earnest directive in your city: namely, that
everyone without exception - clergy- and laymen
alike - is to abstain from all aforesaid suspicious,
grievous, defamatory invectives, songs, rhymes,
and anything else of the sort, and that no book
which is incommensurate with, and contrary to,
the divine Holy Prophetic and Apostolic Writ, the
Augsburg Confession, and general Christian
teaching, which (thank God!) are well established
in the churches of Our lands, is brought, imported
or smuggled into these Our lands, Electoral and
ducal territories, or into the towns, lands,
territories, and places belonging to Our relatives,
and to bishops and prelates under Our protection,
and that no such book is distributed, circulated,
offered for sale, or actually sold there. Similarly,
that from now on no one whosoever may print or
publish a book or suchlike - especially one
concerning religious matters - without having
submitted it previously to Our two Universities
in Wittenberg and Leipzig and having had it
examined, appraised, and judged by these with
the utmost care, and recognised and approved
as a sound Christian work. Accordingly, We also
earnestly order you hereby to look with great
care and attention at all printed works which are
manufactured and printed have been brought there
from other places and in our lands, or which
are offered for sale in your vicinity, and where a
defamatory poem or work, or any offensive,
contentious and unsuitable book is discovered
which was composed and printed in Our lands
without the scrutiny, censoring, and approval of
both Our aforesaid, Universities or which was
brought and smuggled into these, that you not
only remove and confiscate this work,but also
take the perpetrators into custody and keep them
under arrest to await rigorous punishment; and
where one or more persons are found to have
flouted these Our ordinances and prohibitions,
to have deliberately acted against them, and who
will thus have been imprisoned by you as
mentioned above, that you always inform Us
about this without delay. Then We shall take
such action against the culprit so that he really
does feel our displeasure about such untimely
flippant defamatory poems and other unsuitable
works and books, and so that it may serve as a
deterrent example to everyone else. Such is Our
earnest and fully certain decision in this matter.
Date: Torgau, 14 September 1562.
To Our dear faithful followers, the city
council of Leipzig.
Prohibition
Concerning printed defamatory works, books, documents, and paintings.
26 May 1571.
By the Grace of God, We, Augustus, Duke of
Saxony, Archmarshal and Elector of the Holy
Roman Empire, Landgrave of Düringen,
Margrave of Meissen, and Burggrave of
Magdeburg, send Our greetings, grace, and
goodwill to each and every one of Our prelates,
counts, and lords, as well as to Our knights, chief
persons of authority, officials, administrators, tax
collectors, mayors, judges and town councillors,
and in general to all Our other subjects and
persons under Our protection. Venerable ones, Sirs
and noble lords, as well as Our worthy and dear
faithful followers! Although previously at several
Imperial Diets, as well as at the most recent Diet,
which was held in Speyer in 1570, it has been
ordained and decreed on pain of severe penalties
that the authorities are to carefully check their
local printing-houses, booksellers, and so on to
ensure that no defamatory books, pictures or
suchlike – from which nothing good ever arises,
but, rather, only discord, sedition, distrust, and
disruption of any state of peace and content – are
publicly or secretly made, printed, sold or
otherwise circulated; and although We have issued
due orders that this is to be obediently observed to
the Chancellors, Magistri and Doctores of Our
Universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg, as well as
to the mayors and councillors of several of Our
towns, We have nevertheless ascertained that
this decree of Ours, and of the Holy Roman
Empire too, is not being fulfilled in many places;
that, rather, it is possible to observe how every
now and then all kinds of disgraceful defamatory
works, books, documents, and pictures are printed
and painted, without this being punished at all,
and how, in particular, these are carried round,
offered for sale, bought, and circulated at the
public fairs and other gatherings, whereby no one
– authorities, lord and subject alike – is actually
spared from insults in these works.
Thus, in order to better constrain and put
an end everywhere to such an insolent and
shameless abuse as is involved in this slanderous
printing, painting, and insulting, We wish that
henceforth no printing-works other than in
Wittenberg, Leipzig, and Dresden shall be
allowed in Our Electoral lands, as well as in the
territories of Our bishoprics and vassals, and that
all obscure local printing-works are hereby to be
shut down immediately.
Moreover, We herewith also give the
earnest command and instruction that from now
on no printer is to be allowed to go about his
business unless he has previously been
recognised by Our councillors as respectable,
honest and capable in every respect for this trade.
He must also have committed himself by a
special oath to observe this decree of Ours and
of the Holy Roman Empire in all his printing
activities. Furthermore, everyone is forbidden to
No Transcription available.
Source: Universität Freiburg, Institut für Rechtsgeschichte, Frei 81: E 10 - 215
Citation:
Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717, Leipzig (1724), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | Commentaries: [1]
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
must henceforth abstain from having anything to
do with all suspicious, defamatory, vexatious,
insulting and grievous speeches, songs, rhymes,
poems, books and anything else of the sort; it has
nevertheless come to Our notice that some
troublesome and contentious people do not desist
from this and also that, in particular, now almost
anyone -especially where religious matters are
concerned - is ready to venture, at discretion and
at will, to write books and have them printed in
order to make a name for himself. The result of
this is that there is no end to the writing of books
and that ultimately the good old useful books,
which serve the spiritual improvement and
edification of God's congregation are edged out
and people are confused, led astray from the true
Christian teachings and books, and made weary of
these. Since this is not just a question of Our will
being contravened but involves also the fact that
through these and suchlike writings and poems
the average man in the street - especially in these
dangerous times - may very well be confused and
disorientated, and perhaps even induced to all
kinds of trouble and sedition; in order to forestall
and avert this as far as possible, as well as to nip in
the bud and prevent any untimely thoughts from
arising in the hot-tempered and restless heads of
certain people, so that thenceforth the latter
conduct themselves with good discretion and
prudence, We therefore order you to carry out this
earnest directive in your city: namely, that
everyone without exception - clergy- and laymen
alike - is to abstain from all aforesaid suspicious,
grievous, defamatory invectives, songs, rhymes,
and anything else of the sort, and that no book
which is incommensurate with, and contrary to,
the divine Holy Prophetic and Apostolic Writ, the
Augsburg Confession, and general Christian
teaching, which (thank God!) are well established
in the churches of Our lands, is brought, imported
or smuggled into these Our lands, Electoral and
ducal territories, or into the towns, lands,
territories, and places belonging to Our relatives,
and to bishops and prelates under Our protection,
and that no such book is distributed, circulated,
offered for sale, or actually sold there. Similarly,
that from now on no one whosoever may print or
publish a book or suchlike - especially one
concerning religious matters - without having
submitted it previously to Our two Universities
in Wittenberg and Leipzig and having had it
examined, appraised, and judged by these with
the utmost care, and recognised and approved
as a sound Christian work. Accordingly, We also
earnestly order you hereby to look with great
care and attention at all printed works which are
manufactured and printed have been brought there
from other places and in our lands, or which
are offered for sale in your vicinity, and where a
defamatory poem or work, or any offensive,
contentious and unsuitable book is discovered
which was composed and printed in Our lands
without the scrutiny, censoring, and approval of
both Our aforesaid, Universities or which was
brought and smuggled into these, that you not
only remove and confiscate this work,but also
take the perpetrators into custody and keep them
under arrest to await rigorous punishment; and
where one or more persons are found to have
flouted these Our ordinances and prohibitions,
to have deliberately acted against them, and who
will thus have been imprisoned by you as
mentioned above, that you always inform Us
about this without delay. Then We shall take
such action against the culprit so that he really
does feel our displeasure about such untimely
flippant defamatory poems and other unsuitable
works and books, and so that it may serve as a
deterrent example to everyone else. Such is Our
earnest and fully certain decision in this matter.
Date: Torgau, 14 September 1562.
To Our dear faithful followers, the city
council of Leipzig.
Prohibition
Concerning printed defamatory works, books, documents, and paintings.
26 May 1571.
By the Grace of God, We, Augustus, Duke of
Saxony, Archmarshal and Elector of the Holy
Roman Empire, Landgrave of Düringen,
Margrave of Meissen, and Burggrave of
Magdeburg, send Our greetings, grace, and
goodwill to each and every one of Our prelates,
counts, and lords, as well as to Our knights, chief
persons of authority, officials, administrators, tax
collectors, mayors, judges and town councillors,
and in general to all Our other subjects and
persons under Our protection. Venerable ones, Sirs
and noble lords, as well as Our worthy and dear
faithful followers! Although previously at several
Imperial Diets, as well as at the most recent Diet,
which was held in Speyer in 1570, it has been
ordained and decreed on pain of severe penalties
that the authorities are to carefully check their
local printing-houses, booksellers, and so on to
ensure that no defamatory books, pictures or
suchlike – from which nothing good ever arises,
but, rather, only discord, sedition, distrust, and
disruption of any state of peace and content – are
publicly or secretly made, printed, sold or
otherwise circulated; and although We have issued
due orders that this is to be obediently observed to
the Chancellors, Magistri and Doctores of Our
Universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg, as well as
to the mayors and councillors of several of Our
towns, We have nevertheless ascertained that
this decree of Ours, and of the Holy Roman
Empire too, is not being fulfilled in many places;
that, rather, it is possible to observe how every
now and then all kinds of disgraceful defamatory
works, books, documents, and pictures are printed
and painted, without this being punished at all,
and how, in particular, these are carried round,
offered for sale, bought, and circulated at the
public fairs and other gatherings, whereby no one
– authorities, lord and subject alike – is actually
spared from insults in these works.
Thus, in order to better constrain and put
an end everywhere to such an insolent and
shameless abuse as is involved in this slanderous
printing, painting, and insulting, We wish that
henceforth no printing-works other than in
Wittenberg, Leipzig, and Dresden shall be
allowed in Our Electoral lands, as well as in the
territories of Our bishoprics and vassals, and that
all obscure local printing-works are hereby to be
shut down immediately.
Moreover, We herewith also give the
earnest command and instruction that from now
on no printer is to be allowed to go about his
business unless he has previously been
recognised by Our councillors as respectable,
honest and capable in every respect for this trade.
He must also have committed himself by a
special oath to observe this decree of Ours and
of the Holy Roman Empire in all his printing
activities. Furthermore, everyone is forbidden to
No Transcription available.