Peter Mstislavets: the life path of the great inventor

Ivan Fedorov is rightly considered the founder of Russian book printing. However, not many know that he had a loyal assistant Peter Mstislavets. Moreover, it was thanks to his efforts that the great master was able to complete his work on the new printing house.

Therefore, it will be fair to talk about who was Peter Mstislavets? What successes did he achieve? And what historical information has been preserved about him?

The birth of a great genius

It is difficult to say to what estate Petr Mstislavets belonged. Biography of this person because of a number of circumstances is poorly preserved. It is only known that he was born in the early 16th century in the vicinity of Mstislav. Today this city is located on the territory of Belarus, and in former times it was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

If you believe the chronicles, the teacher of young Peter himself became Francis Skaryna. He was a famous scientist and philosopher, who became the author of many scientific works. Even today, many Belarusians remember him as a great genius, far ahead of his time. It was the master who taught his pupil the art of printing, which forever changed his fate.

Unexpected meeting

Historians still can not agree on why Peter Mstislavets went to live in Moscow. But it was here that he met Ivan Fedorov, a well-known Moscow deacon and a book-writer. At that time Fedorov already had his Printing House, but he needed urgent modernization.

Peter agreed to help a new acquaintance, since this work was to his liking. Therefore, in early 1563, they began to develop a new printing mechanism. This process lasted a whole year, but at the same time it fully paid back all the efforts it had made.

The first Moscow printing house

Their first work was the Orthodox book "The Apostle", published March 1, 1564. It was a copy of a well-known spiritual edition, used in those days for teaching priests. Such a choice was quite obvious, as Peter Mstislavets and Ivan Fedorov were truly believers.

In 1565, the masters released another Orthodox book called The Chapel. Their publication quickly scattered around the counties, which greatly angered the local scribes of books. The new printing house threatened their "business", and they decided to get rid of the grief-writers.

Departure from Moscow and the foundation of its own printing house

The bribed authorities accused Fedorov and Mstislavec of heresy and mysticism, because of what they had to leave their native city. The good fortune of inventors was accepted by the Lithuanian hetman G.A. Hadkevich. Here, the masters built a new printing house and even printed one joint book titled "The Teaching Gospel" (year of publication - 1569).

Alas, the story is silent, why the ways of old friends have parted ways. However, it is reliably known that Peter Mstislavets himself left the printing house in Zabludovo and moved to live in Vilna. It should be noted that Peter did not waste time and soon opened his own workshop. The brothers Ivan and Zinovia Zaretski helped him in this, as did the merchants Kuzma and Luka Mamonichi.

Together they produce three books: "The Gospel" (1575), "The Psalter" (1576) and "The Chapel" (circa 1576). The books were written in a new font developed by Peter Mstislavets himself. By the way, in the future, his creation will become a model for many evangelical fonts and glorify him among the clergy.

End of story

Sadly, the friendship of the new union did not last long enough. In March 1576, a court took place, which examined the right to own a printing house. By decision of the judge, the brothers Mamonichi took all the books they had printed, and Peter Mstislavets left the equipment and the right to the fonts. After this incident, the traces of the great master are lost in history.

And nevertheless even today there are those who remember who Peter Mstislavets was. Photos of his books often appear on the titles of the site of the National Library of Belarus, as it contains several copies of his works. And thanks to them the glory of the book master shines as brightly as in the old days, giving inspiration to young inventors.