Jean de Gagny: A Bibliophile Re-Discovered

Jean de Gagny was a theologian with a special interest in early Christian texts. A prominent figure both at the Sorbonne and at court, he became almoner to François I about 1536 and chancellor of the University of Paris in 1546. Well read in Greek and Hebrew, he tried to maintain an Erasmian middle path between the need to extend knowledge of sacred texts and conservative orthodoxy. Encouraged by the king, he travelled extensively, searching for ancient manuscripts of the texts that interested him. He took a keen interest in the typography of those that he published, and Claude Garamont, the great punch-cutter, acknowledges the help given him by Gagny in 1545 with his first publication, David Chambellan's Pia et Religiosa Meditatio. In 1547 Gagny set up his own press under his nephew, Nicolas Le Riche, with special types cut in imitation of those of the Aldine press. With these Le Riche printed some 18 books for Gagny, some old Christian texts, others by contemporary humanists. Le Riche also became the agent in Paris for the Aldine books, when the previous agent, Jean Picard, absconded. Gagny was also a considerable patron of fine book-binding, and the surviving books bound for him evince his original taste in this respect. After his death in 1549, a substantial part of his library passed to the royal library, together with the catalogue (lost in the 17th century). The appendix lists books by or printed for Gagny.