A short biography of Ivan Fedorov - first printer, for children and adults written

Today, for us, the usual publications are books, magazines, newspapers. They are inexpensive, they are generally available, because of which the attitude to them is often disrespectful and careless. And once books were more expensive than gold, they were owned only by very rich people. The creation of one book was spent many years, sometimes decades. It was a hard and laborious manual labor, and the right to be a copyist was considered a privilege, which not everyone could get.

In Europe, everything began to change in the middle of the 15th century, when the German Johann Guttenberg invented printing. In Russia, the first printing press on the orders of Ivan the Terrible in 1563 was built by Ivan Fedorov. What do we know about him today? A short biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children and adults will be very interesting. It is presented below.

Origin

For certain historians the date and birth place of Ivan Fedorov and his genealogy are unknown. It is believed, however, that he was born in Moscow somewhere between 1510 and 1530, he belonged to the Belarusian family of Ragozins. Many researchers of the life of the first printer insist that he was born in 1510 in the Kaluga province.

Beginning of biography

It is well known that Ivan Fedorov studied at the University of Krakow from 1529 to 1532 and received a bachelor's degree. This is preserved in the archives of the university. Perhaps it is here that he first heard about book printing.

Returning to the capital, the young man joined the church of St. Nicholas of Gostunsky. Educated, well-read, educated, he came under the patronage of Metropolitan Macarius. The latter was approached by Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and it is likely that he advised him to entrust the creation of the first printing house in Russia capable young man.

Construction of the first Russian printing house

A short biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children and adults reveals an important fact. In 1550, Fedorov's life made a sharp turn. By order of Ivan the Terrible he was instructed to organize a printing business. A large-scale activity on the design of the first Russian printing house was launched. The faithful assistants of the first printer in this difficult matter were Peter Mstislavets and Marousha Nerefyev. The works were completed only in 1563.

"The Apostle" and "The Chapel"

April 17, 1563 the masters began to create the first book "The Apostle". It was finished almost a year later. The official date of its publication is March 1, 1564.

Any short biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children or for adults written, necessarily mentions this book, but misses such interesting facts:

• The book had 268 sheets, of which 262 were numbered;
• Was published in the Old Slavonic language;
• The printing used red and black colors, while the red printed the title of the chapters;
• The first letter at the beginning of each new chapter was drawn by artists manually;
• Each chapter was decorated with a beautiful floral ornament handmade;
• The total circulation of the "Apostle" was 1000 copies, of which only 47 remained.

In 1565, the second book, The Chapel, was published in two editions. Out of 345 specimens, only 7 have reached our time.

Escape

Then a short biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children and adults written, tells that he had to flee from Moscow. There were several reasons for this:

• The first printer was attacked by a higher light because of fear that printing would make a literacy accessible to a simple people, and it would be much more difficult to exploit educated people;
• Dissatisfied were the scribes at the monasteries, who actually lost their bread;
• The clergy declared the printing press a diabolical fabrication.

The push to escape gave an arson in 1566, as a result of which the first printer Ivan Fedorov lost almost all the property. He went to Lithuania.

Lithuanian period

The Grand Lithuanian Principality cordially accepted the printing business of the master. First printer Ivan Fedorov with the help of Hetman Khodkevich built a new printing house in Zabludov. In the years 1568-1569. The "Gospel of the Teachers" was published, and in 1570 saw the light of "Psalter with the Heraldman."

For unknown reasons, Khodkevich suddenly stopped financing the printing press, gave Fedorov a small village and advised him to start farming. Ivan Fyodorov - the first printer, a short biography for children and adults which is described in the article, remained true to his work. He packed up his belongings and together with his family (it is known that he had a wife and children) moved to Lviv.

Work in Lviv

For the third time the first printer Ivan Fedorov began life anew. He organized a printing house, where in 1574 he published two books:

• "The Apostle" with additions and corrections;
• "Primer".

The latter is one of the most valuable books in the world. Until now, only 1 copy of it has come down. Today it is stored in the Harvard library.

Moving and sunset

In 1575, Fedorov received an invitation from one of the wealthiest gentry - Konstantin Ostrozhsky, to set up a printing house in Ostrog on Volyn. The printer accepted the offer and moved to a new location. There, with the money of the nobleman, he organized a printing house.

The Ostroh period was the most fruitful in the life of Ivan Fedorov. From 1578 to 1581 years. He published 6 books.

In 1582, the master returned to his family in Lviv, where he died in poverty in 1583. He was buried in the Holy Onufriev Monastery. This concludes with a brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, written for children and adults.