Promotie J.M. van Duijn:Gods Woord gemeengoed. Een sociale geschiedenis van de Delftse Bijbel (1477-ca.1550)

Gods Woord gemeengoed gives a social history of the Delft Bible (1477) up to about 1550. As the first Bible printed in Dutch and as one of the earliest Dutch printed books, the Delft Bible, in the course of history, has had a lot of attention from collectors and researchers, and became known as a cultural and historical phenomenon. There has even been suggested that this Bible has helped shape Dutch (religious) identity. However, many questions concerning the Delft Bible are still inadequately answered or have never even been asked, such as to the early reception of this book.In his dissertation Mart van Duijn emphasizes the close relationship that existed between the Delft Bible and the society in which it originated and was first received. By successively going into the content, form and reception of this Bible a history is given that is characterized by cooperation, flexibility, individuality and independence. This is an image that contradicts the general view that in the Middle Ages the Bible was reserved for the clergy and that vernacular Bibles never even existed. Long before Martin Luther in the 1520s supposedly freed the Bible for the general public with his translation, printers like those of the Delft Bible already made steps in that direction.