Dirk Martens

Dirk Martens was Belgium’s first printer. He learned his trade in Venice and worked successively in Aalst, Antwerp, and Louvain producing books for the international market for humanist writings.

Dirk Martens was born in Aalst, a Flemish country town between Brussels and Ghent. As his year of birth is unknown so is his youth. At one point he traveled to Italy where he learned how to use printing press either from his compatriot Girardus de Lisa of Ghent, or both had been trained in the shop of the same Venetian printer.

In 1473 Martens was back in Aalst where he established his printing press and entered into partnership with John of Westphalia that lasted until late 1474. From then until 1486 there is no trace of him, although it seems that he spent this time in Spain as a bookseller. In 1486 he was back in Aalst producing mainly devotional and scholastic books until 1492. In 1491 he published Alexander de Villa Dei’s Doctrinale, the first book in the Netherlands which includes Greek characters. From 1493 till 1497 he conducted his business in Antwerp. In 1497 he transferred his business in Louvain where he worked for four years, until in 14502 he returned to Antwerp for another decade. From 1512 Martens conducted his business from Louvain. While Martens was for the second time in Antwerp he became friend with Erasmus and also his business partner, as he printed over fifty books by Erasmus. Their friendship was such that in September 1518 Martens took Erasmus to his house even though Erasmus was diagnosed with plague by two different doctors.

In 1524 Martens left his business to his son Pieter, but he died later that same year so Martens continued his activity for another five years. In 1529 he returned to his native town and retired to the Williamite convent. During his career Martens printed mostly Latin authors, classical as well as humanist, but he also printed Greek and Hebrew grammars and also dictionaries.