1550 in literature

Events

• June – Robert Estienne leaves Paris for Geneva, where he sets up a printing press.
• July 17 – King Edward VI of England gives Humphrey Powell a grant to start printing in Ireland.
• unknown dates
• *The first book in Slovene, Catechismus, is written by Protestant reformer Primož Trubar and printed in Schwäbisch Hall, Holy Roman Empire, followed by his Abecedarium.
• *Nostradamus' first almanac is printed.
• *The Chinese shenmo fantasy novel Fengshen Yanyi is first published in book form.

  New books

Prose

• Leandro Alberti – Istoria di Bologna
• Martin Bucer – De regno Christi
• Thomas Cranmer – Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ
• Doddayya – Chandraprabha Purana
• Louis Maigret – Traité de la Grammaire française
• Ramamatya – Svaramelakalanidhi
• Richard Sherry – A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes
• Primož Trubar
• *Catechismus
• *Abecedarium
• The Facetious Nights of Straparola
• Giorgio Vasari – Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
• Rosary of the Philosophers

  Drama

• Thomas Naogeorgus – Agricultura sacra
• Hans Sachs
• *Der fahrende Schüler im Paradies
• *Das Wildbad

  Poetry

• See 1550 in poetry

  Births

• December 22 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher
• unknown dates
• *Wacker von Wackenfels, German diplomat, scholar and author
• *Zang Maoxun, Chinese playwright
• Probable year of birth – Philip Henslowe, Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario

  Deaths

• February – Marcantonio Flaminio, Latin-language poet
• July 9 – Jacopo Bonfadio, Italian historian, executed for sodomy
• December 8 – Gian Giorgio Trissino, Italian poet, dramatist and grammarian
• unknown date
• *Eguinaire Baron, French legal writer
• *William Lamb alias Paniter, Scottish writer, cleric and lawyer