Mihai Iștvanovici
Romanian typographer working in Georgia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Mihai Iștvanovici?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Mihai or Mihail Iștvanovici (Cyrillic: Мiхаи Iщвановичь,[1] Georgian: მიხაი იშტვანოვიჩი, romanized: mikhai isht'vanovichi, Hungarian: Istvánovics Mihály), also known as Ișvanovici, Iștanovici, Ștefanovici or Stepaneshvili (სტეფანეშვილი; fl. 1650–1713), was a Wallachian typographer, letter cutter, typeface designer, Eastern Orthodox clergyman and poet, mainly noted for his work in the Kingdom of Kartli (modern-day Georgia). His early life is entirely obscure, but possibly tied to the Transylvanian Principality, and his surname has been read by some authors as indicative of a more or less distant Hungarian origin—though his presumed father was a Serb. His debut as a printer was registered at Snagov Monastery, outside the Wallachian capital of Bucharest, but in 1699 he was active at Alba Iulia in Transylvania. Sent there by the Wallachian prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, who reinforced links with the Transylvanian Romanians, Iștvanovici put out the first-ever textbook in the Romanian language. He disappeared from Transylvanian records soon after, possibly due to increased pressures for a communion with Rome—which Brâncoveanu and Iștvanovici opposed.
Mihai Iștvanovici | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1650 |
Died | after (aged 63 or older) Wallachia, Habsburg Transylvania, or County of Holland |
Occupations |
|
In 1706, Iștvanovici was at Râmnicu Vâlcea, a printer and a subdeacon in service to the Wallachian Orthodox Metropolis. He had direct access to Metropolitan Anthim the Iberian, who was himself an engraver and printer; when Kartlian King Vakhtang VI asked for an expert typographer, Anthim selected Iștvanovici. The latter went on to establish the first printing press in Tbilisi and all of Georgia, which is traditionally dated to October 1709, and, alongside a group of Georgian or Romanian "servants", printed books using Georgian letters of his own design; his 1709 version of the Gospel includes a Romanian poem in Georgian script. Iștvanovici accomplished these feats in only three years, after which he left for the County of Holland, where he was to undergo further training. Scholars propose that he either died there, or that he returned to spend his later life in either Wallachia or Transylvania.