incunables

Incunabula, or incunables, are books and other printed matter produced in the early period of movable-type printing in Europe, roughly from the introduction of printing in the 1450s to about 1501. The term derives from Latin incunabula, meaning swaddling clothes or cradle, signaling the infancy of printed books. Although the word incunabula is standard in scholarly usage, some references also use the plural form incunables.

Most incunabula were produced in Europe and include a wide range of text types, such as Bibles, liturgical works, classical and humanist texts, grammars, and vernacular literature. The transition from manuscript to print is evident in their format, typography, and ornament, with common features including woodcut illustrations, decorative borders, rubrication, and blackletter or roman typefaces. Many early works were printed in Latin, with substantial production also in vernacular languages.

The defining moment of the period is often dated to Johannes Gutenberg’s introduction of movable-type printing in Mainz, with the Gutenberg Bible (c. 1455) among the most famous early examples. Regional printing centers expanded quickly to cities such as Venice, Paris, and Cologne, producing large numbers of editions before the end of the century. Incunabula are valued for their historical, textual, and paleographic significance, offering insights into early printing practices, book trade, and the cultural landscape of late medieval Europe.

Scholarly study of incunabula—the field of incunabula studies—continues to catalog, collate, and preserve these early printed works. Major libraries and national collections maintain extensive holdings and bibliographies to document their printers, places of production, and editions.