Revolutionizing Education: The Emergence of Macedonian Printing Presses in the 19th Century
The 19th century was a time of great change and progress in many parts of the world, including the Balkans. One significant development during this period was the emergence of Macedonian printing presses, which played a pivotal role in the promotion and preservation of the Macedonian language and culture.
Before the establishment of local printing houses, books for printing had to be transported to distant cities like Budim, Vienna, Belgrade, and Russia, making the process both expensive and risky. The emergence of Macedonian printing presses, therefore, represented a significant effort to introduce the Macedonian language in churches and schools through printed books. In this article, we will explore the origins and impact of these printing houses on the spread of education and literacy in Macedonia.
The first printing house was opened in Thessaloniki between 1835 and 1838. Archimandrite Theodosius Sinaitsky, according to the Russian scientist Viktor Grigorovich, opened it in 1835, but it burned down in 1842. Five books were printed there:
1. "Првоначално учение со молитви утренија" ("Primer with Morning Prayers") by Anatoly Zografsky. The book has 14 pages printed in Church Slavonic letters. From the first edition printed in 1838, two copies have been preserved.
2. "Кратко описание двадесјат манастиреј обретајуштесја во Свјатој Горој Атонској" ("A short description of twenty St. Mount monasteries") has 10 lists and it is assumed that the translation was made by the teacher Kamche. The description of the monasteries is in the Church Slavonic language, except for Zograf, which is in the Macedonian vernacular.
3. "Служение еврејско и все злосторение нихно" ("The service of the Jews and all their crimes"). This book is the largest and is a translation from Romanian or Greek, and it is a criticism of the Jewish merchants in order to destroy their reputation.
4. "Утешение грешним" ("Consolation of sinners") by Kiril Pejčinović, for which Theodosius himself wrote a preface.
5. "Книга за научение трих јазиков" ("Book for learning three languages").
The second printing house was probably opened in 1848 by Daskal Kamche, and is known as Vatashka printing house.
Daskal Kamce is known to have been born in the village of Kureshtica, but he and his parents moved to Vatasha. There, he first sang in the church of the Vatas, and then he was a teacher - daskal. He lived on Mount Athos for a year and wrote, or rather translated, a description of the monasteries, and added his own additions to the Slavic monasteries. He gave the description to Theodosius of Sinai to print in his printing house.
In 1847 he went to Belgrade to buy materials to open his own printing house. The rich merchant Jovko Markovic from Kavadarci gave him money. It is assumed that the primer of Jordan Hadji Konstantinov - The Giant "Initial Teaching for Small Children" was printed in this printing house. There is no information about what happened next with this printing house.
In the second half of the 19th century, Kyriak Drzhilovic opened a printing house in Thessaloniki. There, in 1852, the "Koniko Gospel" was printed in a Macedonian dialect with Greek letters.
Although modest, the beginnings of Macedonian printing are very significant for the spread of education in the vernacular.