Martina Plantin
Early life and education
Early life and education
------------------------

Plantin was the second daughter of the publisher [Christophe Plantin](/wiki/Christophe_Plantin "Christophe Plantin") and Jeanne Rivière. Born in 1550, her birth followed her parents move from France to [Antwerp](/wiki/Antwerp "Antwerp") in 1548 or 1549\. The Plantins had five daughters: Margareta, Martina, Catharina, Magdalena and Henrica. There were two sons who did not survive through infancy.

She learned to read and write at a young age, possibly both French and Dutch, and may have been taught the basics of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. Her father planned the lessons for his daughters so that they would be skilled at managing households and businesses. He tailored the training for each daughter depending upon her strengths and capabilities. For instance, one of his daughters had been apprenticed to be an engraver, until she began to lose her sight. Christoper Plantin's daughters were expected to work in the family's businesses. By the age of five, Plantin corrected printed texts in the print shop. She ran the family's lace business beginning in 1567, when she was seventeen years of age. She continued to work there after she was married and ceased working at the lace shop in 1573\.

The Plantin daughters do not appear to have been unique. Of 16th\-century women from the Netherlands, [Lodovico Guicciardini](/wiki/Lodovico_Guicciardini "Lodovico Guicciardini") stated in his book *Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi*:


What was Christophe Plantin's plan for his daughters' education?