Figure 227
Roman and Gothic Types used in Complutensian Polyglot Bible: Guillen de Brocar, Alcalá
From a copy in the Boston Public Library (facsimile), Library of Congress (scan)
1514–17
…the first Polyglot Bible, the world owes to Cardinal Ximenez, who, to use his own phrase, produced it “to revive the hitherto dormant study of Holy Scripture.” It is in six folio volumes. In the first volume, the title appears in medium sizes of Spanish gothic type arranged in an inverted pyramid placed at the bottom of the page; and above it, printed in red, are the arms of Cisneros surmounted by a cardinal’s hat. At the top of the title-page, which is surrounded with a border of decorative strips of ornament, a four-line verse appears, in a smaller size of the gothic type used below. The prologue and introductory matter are set in a very handsome and Italian roman type, with head-lines of the fine gothic letter used in the title.… Still more remarkable is the evenness of colour in the presswork.