Heinrich Eggestein

Before he came to Strasbourg in the beginning of the 1440s, Heinrich Eggestein had already acquired the academic degree of a Magister artium liberalium at a university which is still unknown.

Already shortly after his arrival, he entered the service of Bishop Rupert of Palatinate-Simmern and held the office of Siegelbewahrer (keeper of the seal, also called Insiegler or Siegelträger) at the Strasbourg provost court.

It is assumed that Eggestein became personally acquainted with Johannes Gutenberg, the later inventor of printing books with movable type, during his stay in Strasbourg in the 1440s.

On 31 March 1466 the printer received a Schutzbrief of the Prince-elector Frederick I of the Palatinate, giving him special protection, somewhat like a patent.

Besides works of theology, Eggestein increasingly printed legal works of canon law and civil law, such as the Decretum Gratiani (1471), as well as the Decretales of Gregory IX and the Constitutiones of Pope Clement V. That put him in direct competition with Peter Schöffer, who also issued legal titles in on a large scale.