70 The Botanical Renaissance [ch. 



2. The Herbal in the Low Countries. 



In the sixteenth century, the Herbal flourished exceed- 

 ingly in the Low Countries. This was due in part to the 

 zeal and activity of the botanists of the Netherlands, but 

 perhaps even more to the munificence, and love of learn- 

 ing for its own sake, which distinguished that prince of 

 publishers, Christophe Plantin of Antwerp. In these 

 qualities he forms a notable contrast to Egenolph of 

 Frankfort, to whose shortcomings we have already drawn 

 attention. 



Plantin's life extended from about 15 14 to 1589, and 

 thus included the central years of that wonderful century. 

 He was a native of Touraine, and studied the art of printing 

 at Caen and other French towns. Towards 1550, he and 

 his wife, Jeanne Riviere, settled in Antwerp, where he 

 worked at book-binding, and his wife sold linen in a little 

 shop. Later, he returned to the profession of printing, 

 and his business in this direction gradually developed, and 

 was eventually transferred to the famous Maison Plantin. 

 Christophe's reputation grew to such an extent that great 

 efforts were made, in various quarters, to tempt him from 

 Antwerp. The Duke of Savoy and Piedmont, for instance, 

 did all he could to persuade him to come to Turin, promising 

 him extensive printing works and all necessary funds — but 

 he remained faithful to the city of his adoption. Perhaps 

 the most potent factor in his success was his keen judgment 

 of men, which enabled him so to choose his subordinates 

 that he gathered around him an unrivalled staff. 



One of Plantin's daughters married Jean Moretus, her 

 father's chief assistant and successor, and from him the 

 business descended through eight generations of printers 

 to Edouard Jean Hyacinthe Moretus, the last of his race, 

 from whom, in 1876, the citizens of Antwerp purchased the 

 Maison Plantin and its contents. The house had remained 

 practically unchanged since the days when Christophe 

 Plantin lived and worked there, and it is now preserved as 

 the Musee Plantin-Moretus. It is built round a rectangular 

 courtyard, and its beauty, both in proportion and in detail, is 

 such, that one feels at once that Plantin achieved the ambition 



