World Book Heritage. 27. Netherlands 1470-1550.

World Book heritage A series of talks on the history of the written word 27. Netherlands 1470-1550.

Netherlands:

The earliest items are the Costeriana associated with Haarlem, which have alreay been discussed in the section on Gutenberg.

Utrecht 1470

Sections to add:

Nicolaus Ketelaer and Gerardis de Leempt

Louvain

Jan Veldener

Alost 1473

John of Westphalia

Thierry Martens

Antwerp:

Mathias van der Goes

Gerard Leeu

Haarlem 1483

Jacob Bellaert

Brussels

Deventer

Zwolle

Bruges.

Printing was introduced in 1473/4, the same year as Barcelona, Budapest and Lyons, three years after Paris and Basel and four years after Venice. It was probably introduced by William Caxton, the first English printer.

TO CAXTON.

From "Laigh Lyrics to Heigh Men." Hail! mighty Caxton! friend to great and low

Accept the humble tribute of a man,

Who, but for thee, had not yet learned to know

The glorious objects of life's little span

[...]

But thou! great printer! never has thy name

By canting priest received its defamation:

Thou earn'dst an urn, so wear thy "honest fame"

And whilst I live thou'lt have my veneration. This poem, quoted by Timperley, seems to have been published in the Edinburgh magazine, December 1832.

William Caxton. Bruges 1474-1476 ; Westminster 1476-1492. Born: 1424? Died: 1492.

1424? William Caxton was born "in Kent in the Weald" according to his prologue to the History of Troy but this, may be a humility formula - Kent had a reputation for wildness. Caxton is a common name especially in Kent. Hints in his translation of the Golden legend hint at the neighbourhood of Stroud. The manor of Causton hear Hadlow, held by the Clare family and was later associated with the Caxtons. During the Festival of Britain in 1951 documents relating to a William, son of Thomas Caxton, born about 1415 at Little Wratting, Suffolk were acclaimed as the "Caxton documents" but there is no proven link between the two Williams. Caxton's father, although Kentish, could have invested in property in Suffolk. His father must have had important conncestion in London and the young William was sent to to school, as we learn in his prologue to Charles the Great.

1438. Robert Large of the London Mercers' Company paid a two shilling fee for Caxton's apprenticeship. Large was one of the most prominent members of one of the big twelve livery companies, serving as Lord Mayor 1439-1440. Caxton would have taken lodgings in his master's house in Old Jewry.

1441. Robert Large died 24 April, leaving his apprentice Caxton 20 marks, but no arrrangement for completing his apprenticeship.

1440s. Caxton went abroad to Bruges, where he spent most of the next thity years "but also in the countrys of Brabant, Flanders, Holland and Zealand" (History of Troy). This is a round number of years and until the 1460s he may have spent as much time in London as in the Netherlands. A William Caxton is recorded in Calais in the 1450s, associated with the wool trade.

1450. A Bruges document shows him as his own master when he stood joint surety for £110 for a stapler who defaulted.

1453. Caxton was in London for his first livery payment to the Mercers' Company.

1455. He was in London as witness in a lawsuit.

1462. Caxton became governor of the English Nation in Bruges, at that time an important centre of the textile trade, but soon to be affected by the silting up of the river. His appointment would indicate that he was a Yorkist - Edward IV had only been on the throne a short time. Caxton was linked to the Merchant Venturers, merchants engaged in overseas commerce who were organised into bodies in various towns. The Mercers' Company was pormenent in bodies that were organised overseas. He was probably a cloth merchant, exporting cloth and importing luxury goods which may have included manuscripts. His duties as a governor were onerous. He had order trade between England and the Netherlands and represent English merchants' interests in both countries. This included the administration of justice and settling disputes, and he had power to summon courts of jurisdiction in the King's name. He was also used as a negotiator and this maust have made him useful contacts. There were political problems. The relations of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, with England were bad as he supported the Lancastrians due to family connections.

1464. In October was among those who successfully concluded a commercial treaty, but the previous day Philip had banned the import of English cloth.

1464. In November Caxton and the Merchant Venturers were forced to move to Utrecht for some years.

1467. Charles the Bold succeeded and decided that it was better to enlist English support rather than risk being swallowd up by his feudal superior Louis XI.

1468. A new commercial treaty for thirty years was concluded. Although there were still restrictions on the import of cloth, some merchants returned to Bruges. Later that year Charles the Bold married margaret of York, the sister of Edward IV, despite his Lancastrian leanings. The wedding was celebrated at Bruges and Caxton as leader of the merchants must have played a part in the ceremonies and may have met some of his noble patrons there.

1469. On 1 March, according to Caxton, he began to translate Le recueil des histoires de Troie, compiled from Latin manuscripts in 1464 by Raoul Le Fevre, Duke Philip's chaplain. Philip has seventeen manuscripts dealing with Troy in his library. It was begun to "eschewe sloth and idleness" because he had "no great charge of occupation", perhaps due to the decline of the Bruges cloth trade. After five or six quires he gave up because of his faulty French.

1471. About this time Caxton left the wool trade and joined the service of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. His precise role is unclear but it gave him more time for translation. He mentioned his work to Margaret who insisted that he finish it. "This dreadful commendment I durst in no wise disobey because I am a servant unto her said Grace and receive from her a yearly fee ..." The translation was finished on 19 September 1471 on a visit to Cologne. "And for as much as in the writing of the same my pen is worn, mine hand weary and not steadfast, mine eyen dimmed with overmuch looking on the white paper, and my courage not so prone and ready to labour as it hath been and that age creepeth on me daily and feebleth all the body [he was nearly 50] and also because I have promised to divers gentlemen and to my friends to address to them as hastily as I might this said book. Therefore I have practised and learned at my great charge and expense to ordeyn this said book in print after the manner and form as ye here may see, and it is not written with pen and ink as other books been, to the end that every man may have them at once, for all the books of this story named the Recuel of the Histories of Troy thus imprinted as ye here see were begun in one day and also finished in one day."

BUT Caxton's account may not tell the whole tale. It is unlikely that Caxton ever entered Margaret's service, although she may have acted as a patron. The term "servant" is a set formula and the "yearly fee" could be paralleled bt gifts such as the Earl of Arundel's "buck in summer and a doe in winter". Printing for Caxton was a shifting of merchant activities, probably prompted by the restriction of the cloth trade and worsening relations with the Hanseatic towns, apart from Cologne. In 1468 the Steelyard in London closed and Caxton would have been involved in negotiations, probably meeting merchants from Cologne. Though he may have continued in the cloth trade in Utrecht, he shifted his emphasis to books. The English version of the Trojan histories was clearly aimed at the English market and so had to be printed. However conditions in England took a turn for the worse in July 1469 and this is probably the real reason for stopping the translation. His poor French is a weak excuse as he could have commissioned a translation. The eschewing of idleness is also a stock excuse for undertaking a literary work. By May 1471 Edward VI's position was again secure, so he enlisted the patronage of Margaret and used his Cologne contacts among printers. He had been given permission to reside there from 17 July 1471, two month before completing his translation.

1471-1472. Caxton was learning to print in Cologne. He remained there until at least 19 June 1472, the date of a residence permit valid for six months. Caxton's successor Wynkyn de Worde wrote in his epilogue to De proprietatibus rerum (1496):

And of your charity call to remambrance

The soul of William Caxted forstprinter of this book In Latin tongue at Coleyn himself to advance That any well disposed man thereon may look The only Latin edition of Bartholomaus in Cologne in this period was produced by the Printer of Flores Sancti Augustini, dated to 1472/3. This could on typographical grounds be Jan Veldener who matriculated at Louvain on 30 July 1473. It is possible that Caxton recruited de Worde at this time.

1469 began to translate Histories of Troy by Raoul de Fevre.
1471 joined service of Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, learned to print in Cologne.
1473/4. Caxton was back in Bruges setting up his press.

1474/5. Recuyell of the histories of Troy
Probably printed 6-7 vol. there before leaving for England.

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This page last updated 18 September 2020