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Shaping Religious Reading Cultures in the Early Modern Netherlands: The “Glossed Bibles” of Jacob van Liesvelt and Willem Vorsterman (1532–1534ff.)

Abstract The historiography of Dutch Bible translations has largely focused on Jacob van Liesvelt’s 1526 “protestantizing” version, and Willem Vorsterman’s subsequent efforts to transform that version into a “Catholic” Bible (1528–1529). Less attention has been given to the following stage in the Antwerp printers’ competition to attract Bible readers: In 1532 Van Liesvelt published a Bible, containing a large number of annotations in the margins of the Old Testament, which chronologically situate the biblical events in the history of the world and the economy of salvation, next to other paratextual elements. Vorsterman responded by bringing a “catholicizing” glossed Bible to the market (1533–1534), in which typological annotations were also included in the margins. While giving an analysis of the text, paratext and imagery of the abovementioned Bibles, this article will investigate how the interplay of these elements on the page contributed to the creation of specific reading habits and strategies and stimulated the readers to perform specific reading and devotional activities. Also the inclusion of topical registers and liturgical reading schedules as navigational tools will be taken into consideration.