List of editiones principes in languages other than Latin or Greek explained

In classical scholarship, the editio princeps (plural: editiones principes) of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. The following is a list of literature works in languages other than Latin or Greek.

DateAuthor, WorkPrinterLocationComment
704-751[1] Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra (Chinese translation)BulguksaThe Great Dharani Sutra is believed to be the oldest surviving printed text in the world.
868Diamond Sutra (Chinese translation)Wang JieThis is the oldest printed text with a specific date.
953[2] Four Books and Five Classics (Chinese)Feng Dao
983[3] Chinese Buddhist canon (Chinese)This edition contained either 1,076, 1,081 or 1,087 texts according to different sources.[4] A list of these texts can be found here: http://jinglu.cbeta.org/cgi-bin/kaibao.pl. Only 14 fascicles from this edition currently survive.
1003[5] Records of the Three Kingdoms (Chinese)
1035[6] Records of the Grand Historian (Chinese)
1050 [7] Huainanzi (Chinese)The only original copy of this edition was lost in 1945, although facsimile copies exist. The earliest extant edition is the Daozang redaction of 1445.
1111-1118[8] Daozang (Chinese)The earliest extant edition was printed in 1445.
1180[9] Classic of Mountains and Seas (Chinese)You Mao
1341 [10] Ballad of Mulan (Chinese)Printed as part of the Music Bureau Collection (Yuefu shiji). An earlier Southern Song edition may exist but doesn't have a date.
1472Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy (Italian)Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi[11] Foligno
1476Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (Middle English)William CaxtonWestminster
1477The Travels of Marco Polo (German translation)Friedrich CreussnerNuremberg
1480Brut Chronicle (English)William CaxtonWestminster
1480Robert de Boron, Prose Merlin (Italian translation)Michele TramezzinoVenice
1485Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur (Middle English)William CaxtonWestminster
1488Prose Lancelot (French)Jean Le Bourgeois, Jean du PréRouen, Paris
1489Prose Tristan (French)Jean Le Bourgeois, Anthoine VérardRouen
1495Joseph and Aseneth (French)John de Vigny
1498Vulgate Merlin (French)Antoine VerardParis
c. 1510A Gest of Robyn Hode (Middle English)Jan van DoesbrochAntwerp
1512Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew)Constantinople
1512Il-yeon, Samguk yusa (Korean)Earliest extant edition.
1512Kim Bu-sik, Samguk sagi (Korean)Earliest extant edition.
1514Alphabet of Sirach (Hebrew)Salonica
1520-3Talmud (Hebrew, Aramaic)Daniel BombergVenice
1522Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Chinese)
1524–25Bible (Hebrew)Daniel BombergVeniceEdition included masoretic notes, Aramaic targums and Rashi's commentary, see Mikraot Gedolot.
1537-38Quran (Arabic)Paganino Paganini[12] [13] VeniceThe first-ever printed Quran in Arabic.
1558-1560Zohar (Aramaic)Mantua
1562[14] Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew)MantuaIncludes four commentaries.
1599Nihon Shoki (Japanese)Contains only the first two books. The whole Nihon Shoki was published in 1610.
1636Krákumál (Old Norse and Latin translation)Ole WormAmsterdam
1643Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Old English and Latin translation)Abraham Whelock
1644Kojiki (Japanese)Kyoto
1663Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood Newly Revived (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Bishop (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Butcher (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Beggar (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and Queen Katherine (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Tanner (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663The Noble Fisherman (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood and the Shepherd (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood's Golden Prize (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood's Chase (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Little John A Begging (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1663Robin Hood's Delight (English)W. GilbertsonLondon
1665Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda (Icelandic, Danish and Latin translations)P. J. ReseniusCopenhagen
1665Völuspá (Icelandic, Danish and Latin translations)P. J. ReseniusCopenhagen
1665Hávamál (Icelandic, Danish and Latin translations)P. J. ReseniusCopenhagen
1697Arabic Infancy Gospel (Arabic and Latin translation)Heinrich SikeUtrecht
1697Heimskringla (Icelandic, Swedish and Latin translations)Johan PeringskiöldStockholm
1704-1717One Thousand and One Nights (French translation)Antoine GallandParis
1730Questions of Ezra (Armenian)Constantinople
1732Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, The Life of Saladin (Arabic and Latin translation)Albert SchultensLeiden
1737Völsunga saga (Icelandic, Swedish and Latin translation)Eric Julius BiörnerStockholm
1737Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok (Icelandic, Swedish and Latin translation)Eric Julius BiörnerStockholm
1761Kālidāsa Shakuntala (Sanskrit)Calcutta
1765The Boy and the Mantle (Middle English)Thomas PercyLondon
1773Tale of Ragnar's Sons (Old Norse and Latin translation)Jacob Langebek
1780Orkneyinga saga (Old Norse and Latin translation)Jonas JonaeusCopenhagen
1782Egil's SagaHrappsey
1785Bhagavad Gita (English translation)Charles WilkinsLondon
1787Vafþrúðnismál (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Grímnismál (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Skírnismál (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Hárbarðsljóð (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Hymiskviða (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Lokasenna (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Þrymskviða (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Hrafnagaldr Óðins (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Baldrs draumar (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Alvíssmál (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Fjölsvinnsmál (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Hyndluljóð (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1787Sólarljóð (Icelandic and Latin translation)Arnamagnæan InstituteCopenhagen
1788Bhagavata Purana (French translation)Mariedas PoulleeParis
1795Robin Hood and the Potter (Middle English)Joseph RitsonLondon
1802Ywain and Gawain (Middle English)Joseph RitsonLondon
1802Sir Launfal (Middle English)Joseph RitsonLondon
1802Libeaus Desconus (Middle English)Joseph RitsonLondon
1804Sir Tristrem (Middle English)Sir Walter ScottEdinburgh
1806Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit)Sir William Jones
1806-1810Ramayana (Sanskrit and English translation)William Carey and Joshua MarshmanSeramporeThis 3-volume edition contains only the first two books of the Ramayana. The first complete edition of the Ramayana was published by Gaspare Gorresio in 1843–1850 in Paris.
1806Robin Hood and the Monk (English)Robert JamiesonEdinburgh
1810Sir Cleges (Middle English)Henry WeberEdinburgh
1815Beowulf (Old English and Latin translation)Grímur Jónsson ThorkelinCopenhagen
1816Kena UpanishadRammohun RoyCalcutta
1816Isha UpanishadRammohun RoyCalcutta
1817Katha UpanishadRammohun RoyCalcutta
1817Mandukya UpanishadRammohun RoyCalcutta
1818Mundaka UpanishadRammohun RoyCalcutta
1819Stanzaic Morte Arthur (Middle English)Thomas PontonLondon
1819Ascension of Isaiah (Ethiopic)Richard LaurenceOxford
1821Book of Enoch (English translation)Richard Laurence
1823Devi Mahatmya (English translation)Cavali Venkata RamasswaniCalcutta
1830Bhagavata Purana (Sanskrit)B.C. BandopadhyayaCalcutta
1834-1839Mahabharata (Sanskrit)Calcutta
1837Mahāvaṃsa (Pali and English translation)George TurnourColombo
1838Book of Enoch (Ethiopic)Richard Laurence
1838Kālidāsa Kumārasambhava (Sanskrit and Latin translation)Adolphus Fridericus StenzlerLondon
1838Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain (Middle Welsh and English translation)Lady Charlotte Guest
1838Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (Old French)Lady Charlotte Guest
1839Peredur son of Efrawg (Middle Welsh and English translation)Lady Charlotte Guest
1839Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1839The Awntyrs off Arthure (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1839Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1839The Greene Knight (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1839King Arthur and King Cornwall (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1839The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle (Middle English)Frederic MaddenLondon
1840Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram (Sanskrit and Latin translation)Otto Fridericus TullbergBonn
1840Geraint and Enid (Middle Welsh and English translation)Lady Charlotte Guest
1840Vishnu Purana (English translation)H. H. WilsonLondon
1842Culhwch and Olwen (Middle Welsh and English translation)Lady Charlotte Guest
1842The Avowing of King Arthur (Middle English)John RobsonLondon
1842Egyptian Book of the Dead (Ancient Egyptian)Karl Richard LepsiusLeipzig
1843The Dream of Rhonabwy (Middle Welsh and English translation)Lady Charlotte Guest
1843Epistle to the LaodiceansR. AngerLeipzig
1843Samaveda (Sanskrit)J. StevensonLondon
1843Hotsuma Tsutae (Japanese)Michimasa OgasawaraKyoto
1844Sir Perceval of Galles (Middle English)J. O. HalliwellLondon
1847Alliterative Morte Arthur (Middle English)J. O. HalliwellBrixton
1847FagrskinnaPeter Andreas MunchOslo
1848Solomon and Saturn (Old English)J. N. KembleLondon
1849Sahih Muslim (Arabic)Azim al-Din and Ghulam Akbar
1849-1874Rigveda (Sanskrit)Max MüllerLondon
1850Wycliffe Bible (Middle English)Josiah Forshall and Frederic Madden
1850Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart (Old French)W.J.A. JonckbloetThe Hague
1851Markandeya Purana (Sanskrit and English translation)Krishna Mohan BanerjeaCalcutta
1851-1853Sahih al-Bukhari (Arabic)Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri
1852-1859Yajurveda (Sanskrit)Albrecht WeberBerlin
1853Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (German)August Dillmann
1853-1877Lalitavistara Sūtra (Sanskrit)Rajendralal MitraCalcutta
1855Apocalypse of Elijah (Hebrew)Adolf Jellinek
1855Dhammapada (Pali and Latin translation)Vincent FausbollCopenhagen
1856Atharvaveda (Sanskrit)Rudolf von Roth, William Dwight WhitneyBerlin
1856Chrétien de Troyes, Erec and Enide (Old French)Immanuel Bekker
1856Popol Vuh (Spanish)Carl ScherzerVienna
1857Brahmanda Purana (Sanskrit)Venkateshvara Steam PressBombay
1857Linga Purana (Sanskrit)Bombay
1859Book of Jubilees (Ethiopic)August Dillmann
1863Apocalypse of Abraham (Old Church Slavonic)N. S. TikhonravovSt. Petersburg
18662 Baruch (Syriac)Antonio Maria CerianiMilan
1866-68Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval, the Story of the Grail (Old French)Charles Potvin
1870Tain Bó Fraích (Irish and English translation)J. O'Beirne Crowe
1873-1879Agni Purana (Sanskrit)Rajendralal MitraCalcutta
1874Matsya Purana (Sanskrit)Jagaddhitecchu PressPoona
1875Kurma Purana (Sanskrit in Telugu characters)Vartamanatarangini PressMadras
1876Ganesha Purana (Sanskrit)Jagaddhitecchu PressPoona
1876-1878Aided Con Culainn (English translation)Whitley StokesParis
1877-1897Jataka (Pali and English translation)Vincent FausbollLondon
1878Tochmarc Étaíne (Irish)Edward MüllerParis
1879-1883Vinaya Pitaka (Pali)Hermann OldenbergLondon
1880Second Book of Enoch (Old Church Slavonic)A. PopovMoscow
1880Compert Con Culainn (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1880The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1880Fled Bricrenn (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1880Serglige Con Culainn (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1882-1897Mahāvastu (Sanskrit)Emile SenartParis
1883Cave of Treasures (German translation)Carl BezoldLeipzig
1883-1885Compert Conchobuir (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerParis
1883-1885Aided Conrói maic Dáiri (Irish)Kuno MeyerParis
1884Epic of Gilgamesh (English translation)Leonidas Le Cenci HamiltonThis translation incorrectly calls the main character Izdubar instead of Gilgamesh and takes many liberties with the story. Partial translations were previously published by George Smith in 1876 and H.F. Talbot in 1877. The first translation to call him Gilgamesh was the William Muss-Arnolt translation of 1901.
1884-1904Samyutta Nikaya (Pali)Leon FeerLondon6 volumes
1885Sutta Nipata (Pali)Vincent FausbollLondon
1885-1900Anguttara Nikaya (Pali)Richard MorrisLondon
1886Divyavadana (Sanskrit)Edward Byles Cowell, R.A. NeilCambridgeTwo Chinese translations of the Ashokavadana had previously been published as part of the Chinese Buddhist canon in 983. Excerpts had also been published in French translation in 1844 by Eugène Burnouf.
1887Aided Meidbe (English translation)Kuno Meyer
1887Táin Bó Flidhais (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1887Táin Bó Dartada (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1887Táin Bó Regamain (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1887Táin Bó Regamna (Irish)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1888Cave of Treasures (Syriac)Carl BezoldLeipzig
1888Aided Derbforgaill (Irish and German translation)Heinrich ZimmerBerlin
1888-1925Majjhima Nikaya (Pali)V. Trenckner, Robert Chalmers, Caroline Rhys DavidsLondon4 volumes
1889Mesca Ulad (Irish)William M. HennessyDublin
1890Tochmarc Emire (Irish)Kuno MeyerParis
1890-1911Digha Nikaya (Pali)T.W. Rhys Davids and J.E. CarpenterLondon
1891Tochmarc Ferbe (Irish and German translation)Ernst WindischLeipzig
1892Aided Chonchobuir (French translation)Marie-Henri d'Arbois de JubainvilleParis
1892Imthechta Tuaithe Luachra 7 Aided Fergusa (Irish and English translation)Standish Hayes O'GradyLondon
1892Cath Ruis na Ríg (Irish and English translation)Edmund HoganDublin
1893Slavonic Life of Adam and Eve (Old Church Slavonic)V. JagicVienna
1893Aided Guill meic Garbada ocus Aided Gairb Glinne Ríge (Irish and English translation)Whitley StokesParis
1893Buddhacarita (Sanskrit)E. B. CowellOxford
1894Pyramid Texts (Ancient Egyptian)Gaston MasperoParis
1895Brahma Purana (Sanskrit)Hari Narayana AptePoona
1895The Voyage of Bran (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerLondon
1897Pararaton (Old Javanese and Dutch translation)Jan Laurens Andries BrandesBatavia
1899Apocalypse of ZephaniahGeorg SteindorffLeipzig
1900Ladder of Jacob (German translation)N. Bonwetsch
1900Testament of Isaac (Coptic)I. GuidiRome
1900Testament of Jacob (Coptic)I. GuidiRome
1901Enuma Elis (Babylonian)Leonard William KingLondonA partial English translation was published by George Smith in 1876. A complete translation by King was published in 1902.
1901Ana Kurnugê, qaqqari la târi (Akkadian)Peter JensenFirst transliterated edition. The first cuneiform edition was by François Lenormant in 1873.[15]
1902Nagarakretagama (Old Javanese)Jan Laurens Andries BrandesBatavia
1903Tochmarc Luaine 7 aided Arthirne (Irish and English translation)Whitley StokesParis
1904Táin Bó Cúailnge (English translation)L. Winifred FaradayLondon
1904Aided Áenfir Aífe (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerDublin
1906Aided Ceit maic Mágach (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerDublin
1906Aided Cheltchair mac Uthechair (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerDublin
1906Aided Fergusa maic Roig (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerDublin
1906Aided Laegairi Buadaig (Irish and English translation)Kuno MeyerDublin
1907-1910Apocalypse of Peter (Ethiopic and French translation)Sylvain Grebaut
1909Odes of Solomon (Syriac)James Rendel HarrisCambridge
1913Epistula Apostolorum (Ethiopic and French translation)Louis GuerrierParis
1915Nergal and Ereshkigal (Babylonian)J.A. KnudtzonLeipzig
1916Cath Airtig (Irish and English translation)R. I. Best
1921Tochmarc Treblainne (Irish)Kuno Meyer
1922Cath Leitrich Ruide (Irish and French translation)Margaret E. DobbsParis
1923Cath Findchorad (Irish and English translation)Margaret E. Dobbs
1926Cath Cumair (Irish)Margaret E. Dobbs
1926-1927Cath Aenaig Macha (Irish)Margaret E. Dobbs
1927Tibetan Book of the Dead (English translation)Walter Evans-WentzLondon
19283 Enoch (Hebrew and Modern English translation)Hugo Odeberg
1935Coffin Texts Spells 1-75 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1937Inanna's Descent to the Nether World (Sumerian)Samuel Noah KramerA more complete version was published by Kramer is 1942.
1938Coffin Texts Spells 76-163 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1947Coffin Texts Spells 164-267 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1951Coffin Texts Spells 268-354 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1954Coffin Texts Spells 355-471 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1956Coffin Texts Spells 472-786 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1959Gospel of Thomas (Coptic and English translation)Antoine GuillaumontFrench, German and Dutch translations were published at the same time.
1961Coffin Texts Spells 787-1185 (Ancient Egyptian)Adriaan de BuckChicago
1963Apocalypse of Adam (Coptic) and Pahor LabibHalle
1963Coptic Apocalypse of Paul (Coptic) and Pahor LabibHalle
1965Atra-Hasis (Babylonian)W.G. Lambert, A.R. MillardLondonAn incomplete English translation of the epic was published by George Smith in 1876. After the discovery of additional tablets, a complete English translation was published by Lambert and Millard in 1969.
1968Apocryphon of James (Coptic)Michel MalinineZürich
1976The Book of Giants (Aramaic)J. T. MilikOxford

Notes and References

  1. Diversity in Intellectual Property p. 263
  2. Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600 p. 801
  3. The Foundations of Buddhism p. 258
  4. Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia p. 163
  5. Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language p. xv
  6. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol. 2) p. 898
  7. The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China
  8. Chinese Publishing p. 69
  9. A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways p. 19
  10. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol.3 & 4)
  11. Christopher Kleinhenz, Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Routledge, 2004,, p. 360.
  12. Web site: 8 September 2012. The first complete Arabic Quran printed by movable type. Is the Quran the Word of God?.
  13. Web site: Saudi Aramco World : East Meets West in Venice. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102232102/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200802/east.meets.west.in.venice.htm. 2013-11-02. 2013-04-21. saudiaramcoworld.com.
  14. Web site: HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: ספר יצירה -- מיוחס לאברהם אבינו. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151207031534/http://hebrewbooks.org/11726. 2015-12-07. 2015-10-09.
  15. Book: pt-br. 2019. Curitiba. Kotter Editorial. 978-65-80103-41-6. Jacyntho Lins Brandão. 11.