In textual and classical scholarship, the editio princeps (plural: editiones principes) of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts.
For example, the editio princeps of Homer is that of Demetrius Chalcondyles, now thought to be from 1488.
The most important texts of classical Greek and Roman authors were for the most part produced in editiones principes in the years from 1465 to 1525, following the invention of the printing press around 1440.
For a work with several strands of manuscript tradition that have diverged, such as Piers Plowman, editio princeps is a less meaningful concept.
The term has long been extended by scholars to works not part of the Ancient Greek and Latin literatures.