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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
are once again becoming widespread in these
lands, and, moreover, so far everyone, almost
without the least fear, has been presuming to
write works attacking Our high laws and to
either disparage these or otherwise affirm all kinds
of unfavourable things about them, which is not
just intolerable and punishable in itself, but is also
earnestly forbidden and prohibited in the Imperial
laws; and since We are therefore not prepared to
tolerate such irresponsible and unlawful activities
any longer, but, on the contrary, are determined to
emphatically put an end to the aforesaid harmful
abuses and disorders,
Our request to you is herewith as follows:
you are to see to it most carefully that all that has
been decreed on various occasions concerning the
swearing-in of printers and the censorship of their
books is observed without fail, and that henceforth
no such pamphlets, defamatory and other
worthless works and, in general, no books in
which the authors aren’t named (unless this has
been done so with Our knowledge and consent)
are printed in Our lands. You are also to
assiduously make sure that any such books which
have been printed elsewhere are not sold or
circulated to the public in these Our territories;
such works you are to confiscate immediately
and send all seized copies here. In particular,
you are also to look out for any attempts to
belittle Our high laws or to act in any other way
that is detrimental to them, and if anything of the
sort should arise, you are to most humbly report
this to Us immediately so that We may decide
on the further measures to be taken. Such is Our
will. Date: Dresden, 24 July 1711.
Mandate,
To the effect that all printers – both at the universities and in other places – may not
print anything without censorship, and that they must indicate the true
author and place of publication on the title-page; as well as
the text of the oath which is to be sworn for
this purpose. 24 April 1717
Frederick Augustus, King and Elector etc. For
quite a while We have had cause to observe, with
great displeasure, how little care is put into
censoring the books and works which are meant to
be printed in Our Electorate and lands – in
particular, here in Leipzig – and how the
beneficial instructions which have been issued for
this purpose, partly by Ourselves and partly by
Our ancestors and predecessors in the dignity of
Elector, are disregarded completely and how, on
the other hand, all kinds of disorders and abuses
have been introduced.
But since such disarray is by no means to
be tolerated, We therefore graciously and earnestly
request the following: that you put greater care
into this matter and arrange for censorship to be
carried out in the way that is demanded by the
university regulations, the inspection decree and
other directives issued in relation to this, as well as
by the religious settlement in the Peace of
Westphalia; and that, in general, you shall not
tolerate or decree the printing of anything –
however insignificant it may be – that hasn’t
passed through censorship. This is by all means
also to apply to books and works which have
already been printed in other places, so that neither
here nor anywhere else in Our lands may any book
be reprinted or sold unless it has previously been
examined to ascertain whether it contains anything
contrary to God, His Holy Word, and to the
confession of faith which was introduced into Our
lands from the Reformation onwards, as well as
anything against Us and Our Electoral House’s
laws and interests, or, finally, anything that runs
counter to good habits and decency – irrespective
of whether the given book is based on a historical
or a doctrinal exposition, since one is as bad as the
other, except, that is, where the book deals with a
theological controversy and a sound refutation
provided by the Theological Faculty has been
included in it – whereby if, contrary to Our best
expectations, the censoring is not carried out
properly or with sufficient care, We shall not fail
to take the negligent censor to task and have him
earnestly punished as We see fit. In such a case, he
will not be able to get away with the excuse that
he had read through only the first sheet and
signed that, whereas the rest he had just looked
at perfunctorily and cursorily, so that he didn’t
know whether or not the book also included
appendices and other addenda: on the contrary, a
censor is obliged to sign not just the first sheet,
but also the last, and must be able to account for
everything else too that is contained in the
remaining, middle sections of the text right up to
the end. As for the booksellers and printers, you
are to sternly inform them – and in the case of
the latter, to make them all take an oath to this
effect – that they shall not print the least thing
without the complete approbation of the censors
appointed for this, on penalty of severe, in some
cases even capital, punishment. For the purpose
of this swearing-in, a special directive bearing
today’s date has been issued to the Book
Commission here in Leipzig.
There follows
the wording of such an oath:
I, ***, swear that in future I will not
print anything without having previously
informed, and obtained the signature of, the
Dean of the Faculty in Leipzig or Wittenberg, at
which the subject of the work I have been given
to print is taught, or of the person who is
entrusted with this by the Dean – in the case of
poetic and literary works too, I will not print
anything without the signature of the
Superintendent in ** or of whosoever he may
have assigned this task to. Nor will I for my part
ever allow my staff [in the printing-works] or
anyone else to do such a thing, whether openly
or secretly, or by any other means or way that
could or might be devised by human cunning.
And I will never act differently in this respect,
neither for the sake of bribes, gifts, envy or
friendship, nor for any other reason. On the
whole, in my printing work I will always conduct
myself in accordance with the regulations of the
Holy Roman Empire and the Electorate of Saxony.
Fideliter, sine fraude et dolo [Faithfully, without
any intention of deceit], so help me God, through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
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
are once again becoming widespread in these
lands, and, moreover, so far everyone, almost
without the least fear, has been presuming to
write works attacking Our high laws and to
either disparage these or otherwise affirm all kinds
of unfavourable things about them, which is not
just intolerable and punishable in itself, but is also
earnestly forbidden and prohibited in the Imperial
laws; and since We are therefore not prepared to
tolerate such irresponsible and unlawful activities
any longer, but, on the contrary, are determined to
emphatically put an end to the aforesaid harmful
abuses and disorders,
Our request to you is herewith as follows:
you are to see to it most carefully that all that has
been decreed on various occasions concerning the
swearing-in of printers and the censorship of their
books is observed without fail, and that henceforth
no such pamphlets, defamatory and other
worthless works and, in general, no books in
which the authors aren’t named (unless this has
been done so with Our knowledge and consent)
are printed in Our lands. You are also to
assiduously make sure that any such books which
have been printed elsewhere are not sold or
circulated to the public in these Our territories;
such works you are to confiscate immediately
and send all seized copies here. In particular,
you are also to look out for any attempts to
belittle Our high laws or to act in any other way
that is detrimental to them, and if anything of the
sort should arise, you are to most humbly report
this to Us immediately so that We may decide
on the further measures to be taken. Such is Our
will. Date: Dresden, 24 July 1711.
Mandate,
To the effect that all printers – both at the universities and in other places – may not
print anything without censorship, and that they must indicate the true
author and place of publication on the title-page; as well as
the text of the oath which is to be sworn for
this purpose. 24 April 1717
Frederick Augustus, King and Elector etc. For
quite a while We have had cause to observe, with
great displeasure, how little care is put into
censoring the books and works which are meant to
be printed in Our Electorate and lands – in
particular, here in Leipzig – and how the
beneficial instructions which have been issued for
this purpose, partly by Ourselves and partly by
Our ancestors and predecessors in the dignity of
Elector, are disregarded completely and how, on
the other hand, all kinds of disorders and abuses
have been introduced.
But since such disarray is by no means to
be tolerated, We therefore graciously and earnestly
request the following: that you put greater care
into this matter and arrange for censorship to be
carried out in the way that is demanded by the
university regulations, the inspection decree and
other directives issued in relation to this, as well as
by the religious settlement in the Peace of
Westphalia; and that, in general, you shall not
tolerate or decree the printing of anything –
however insignificant it may be – that hasn’t
passed through censorship. This is by all means
also to apply to books and works which have
already been printed in other places, so that neither
here nor anywhere else in Our lands may any book
be reprinted or sold unless it has previously been
examined to ascertain whether it contains anything
contrary to God, His Holy Word, and to the
confession of faith which was introduced into Our
lands from the Reformation onwards, as well as
anything against Us and Our Electoral House’s
laws and interests, or, finally, anything that runs
counter to good habits and decency – irrespective
of whether the given book is based on a historical
or a doctrinal exposition, since one is as bad as the
other, except, that is, where the book deals with a
theological controversy and a sound refutation
provided by the Theological Faculty has been
included in it – whereby if, contrary to Our best
expectations, the censoring is not carried out
properly or with sufficient care, We shall not fail
to take the negligent censor to task and have him
earnestly punished as We see fit. In such a case, he
will not be able to get away with the excuse that
he had read through only the first sheet and
signed that, whereas the rest he had just looked
at perfunctorily and cursorily, so that he didn’t
know whether or not the book also included
appendices and other addenda: on the contrary, a
censor is obliged to sign not just the first sheet,
but also the last, and must be able to account for
everything else too that is contained in the
remaining, middle sections of the text right up to
the end. As for the booksellers and printers, you
are to sternly inform them – and in the case of
the latter, to make them all take an oath to this
effect – that they shall not print the least thing
without the complete approbation of the censors
appointed for this, on penalty of severe, in some
cases even capital, punishment. For the purpose
of this swearing-in, a special directive bearing
today’s date has been issued to the Book
Commission here in Leipzig.
There follows
the wording of such an oath:
I, ***, swear that in future I will not
print anything without having previously
informed, and obtained the signature of, the
Dean of the Faculty in Leipzig or Wittenberg, at
which the subject of the work I have been given
to print is taught, or of the person who is
entrusted with this by the Dean – in the case of
poetic and literary works too, I will not print
anything without the signature of the
Superintendent in ** or of whosoever he may
have assigned this task to. Nor will I for my part
ever allow my staff [in the printing-works] or
anyone else to do such a thing, whether openly
or secretly, or by any other means or way that
could or might be devised by human cunning.
And I will never act differently in this respect,
neither for the sake of bribes, gifts, envy or
friendship, nor for any other reason. On the
whole, in my printing work I will always conduct
myself in accordance with the regulations of the
Holy Roman Empire and the Electorate of Saxony.
Fideliter, sine fraude et dolo [Faithfully, without
any intention of deceit], so help me God, through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
No Transcription available.