Stamatina Ouzounoglou: Some early Greek printed books from unknown local archives and the Greek Enlightenment (16th – 19th centuries A.C.)

This paper deals with the research of original bookbinding characteristics, from early Greek printed books and the printing houses that produced them, which belong to small ecclesiastical archives from the island of Naxos.

After the occupation of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 by the Ottomans, many things changed, not only in the political scene of the area, but also in the cultural evolution of Greece. Many Greek scholars moved from the Ottoman Empire to regions that were under Venetian influence and control (e.g. Naxos, Crete, Ionian islands), or even to Europe (Venice, Florence, Paris etc.). These people were responsible for the formation of the core of the Greek Enlightenment and linked their names with the preservation and dissemination of Greek culture in Europe and the Ottoman-occupied Greece.

The early printed books under examination cover the period between the mid-16th-century and the first decades of 19th century. Overall, their content is ecclesiastical since they all have belonged to unknown ecclesiastical archives.

This research focuses on the identification of the printing houses of the period, the detailed documentation of the surviving original bindings and makes a first attempt towards connecting their original bookbinding characteristics to specific printing houses.

In conclusion, the contribution of the scholars of the Greek Enlightenment, of the printing houses and the local archives in the cultural development of the island of Naxos from the mid-16th century until today, will be described.