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editions <strong>of</strong> Greek and L<strong>at</strong>in classical texts to books on military str<strong>at</strong>egy and by a wide<br />

array <strong>of</strong> European authors. 540<br />

The remarkable fe<strong>at</strong>ure <strong>of</strong> Wechel’s success was th<strong>at</strong> he openly held Protestant<br />

beliefs in France, and did not repudi<strong>at</strong>e <strong>the</strong>m even as confessional tensions grew. While,<br />

surprisingly, Chrétien Wechel seems not to have suffered <strong>at</strong> all for his choice <strong>of</strong><br />

confession, his son André was not so lucky: he was forced to flee to Germany twice,<br />

briefly in 1569 and <strong>the</strong>n permanently after <strong>the</strong> St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in<br />

1572. 541 The Wechel family had many connections in Germany, which proved invaluble<br />

in helping rebuild <strong>the</strong> business in Frankfurt. These connections with Germany were<br />

extensive: Chrétien started his business by buying out a Swabian book seller named<br />

Conrad Resch, André cultiv<strong>at</strong>ed contacts <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> Frankfurt book fairs and <strong>of</strong>ten hosted<br />

German travellers, to <strong>the</strong> extent th<strong>at</strong> he even became known as a host “der die Teutschen<br />

lieb h<strong>at</strong>te.” 542 In addition to his connections with <strong>the</strong>se scholars and students, André’s<br />

more influential contacts included Hubert Languet, a French convert to Lu<strong>the</strong>ranism who<br />

settled in Germany <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> court <strong>of</strong> Augustus, Elector <strong>of</strong> Saxony, <strong>of</strong>ten serving as his<br />

represent<strong>at</strong>ive to <strong>the</strong> French court. Languet’s huge and varied network <strong>of</strong> contacts<br />

throughout Europe provided Wechel with m<strong>at</strong>erial to publish in <strong>the</strong> years immedi<strong>at</strong>ely<br />

following his immigr<strong>at</strong>ion to Frankfurt and <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> means to survive <strong>the</strong> precarious<br />

540 Evans comments th<strong>at</strong> “<strong>the</strong> house <strong>of</strong> Wechel always asserted its identity and its claims as a quality<br />

undertaking”, noting th<strong>at</strong> “almost all its volumes involved considerable prepar<strong>at</strong>ion; many were very bulky<br />

and expensive...with...close-printed pages and heavy L<strong>at</strong>in” th<strong>at</strong> “called for a devoted audience.” Evans, 6.<br />

See <strong>the</strong> entire section entitled “The Wechels and <strong>the</strong>ir Authors” in R.J.W. Evans, The Wechel Presses:<br />

Humanism and Calvinism in Central Europe 1572-1627 (Oxford: The Past and Present Society, 1975), 6-<br />

19.<br />

541 Ibid, 3.<br />

542 Ibid.<br />

195

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