 | A series of talks on the history of the written word 28. Britain 1476-1557 (Contents list) |
24 October 2020
World Book Heritage. 28. Britain 1476-1557.
Westminster. Westminster was about the 80th centre to receive printing - London was not a major
European centre in the early years of printing.
William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) [ODNB]Born
between 1415 and 1424, in the Weald of Kent, in 1438 he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a wealthy London
silk mercer. Shortly after the death of Large, Caxton moved to Bruges where he was settled 1450. He went on
to become successful in business and governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London. At this
time Bruges was a wealthy cultured city, and Caxton became interested in reading and fine literature.
During his business travels, he observed the new printing industry in Cologne, which led him to start a
printing press in Bruges in collaboration with Colard Mansion. The first book to be printed in English was
produced in 1473 Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, a translation by Caxton himself. At this time
Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV, married the Duke of Burgundy and they moved to Bruges. Caxton became
friends with the Duchess and it was she who encouraged him to continue his unfinished translation of the
Troy stories (similar to those found in the Iliad), which he completed in 1471. A fuller account of this
period of Caxton's life is given in the section on early Netherlands printing.
In 1476 Caxon left for England with his printing types 2 and 3. There was a decline in the fortunes of
Margaret; Charles the Bold was fighting the Swiss and the French abd was twice defeated by the Swiss in
March and June 1476. In 1477 he was killed at the battle of Nancy. Also the wool trade was in
decline.
In 1476 at Michaelmas he paid 10 shillings rent for eight years tenancy of a shop in Westminster. This is
recorded in the sacrist's rolls of Westminster Abbey. The press was not in the Abbey itself but by the
chapter house. In the 1480s and 1490s he rented other shops in Westminster.
He may have chosen Westminster as he had relatives there. A William Caxton was buried in the Abbey in 1478,
and a Richard Caxton was a monk there. There was also the presence of a scriptorium, and there is evidence
that at times Caxton worked in conjunction with the scriptorium. But the most important reason for chosing
Westminster was the presence of the court and patrons like the Earl of Warwick and Earl Rivers. The
location is reflected in the choice of his texts which were courtly works and clients could come to him
easily. Had he been printing popular literature, it would have been better in the city of London, the
centre of distribution as his foreman and successor Wynkyn de Worde would find later.
Even now he was not solely a printer; he retained his links with the Mercers. He was paid for various
official services by Edward IV and Henry VII.
In 1476 on the 13 December appeared a letter of indulgence by John Sannt abbot of Abingdon, issued by Henry
Langley and his wife in the diocese of London. The date which is hand-written is within eleven weeks of
his paying rent. The indulgence was printed in type 2 except for the first word Johannes in type 3 (the
initial J is added in manuscript). The indulgence, which is in The National Archives, is described by A.
W. Pollard in The times 7 February 1928. It is the first piece of printing in England and Caxton
issued six other indulgences in the 1480s.
In about 1479 he printed a Sarum ordinal, which was accompanied by the first English poster, which reads:
"If it please any man spiritual or temporal to buy anypies of any two or three commemorations of Salisbury
use imprinted after the form of his present letter [...] let him come to Westminster at the Almonry at the
Red Pale and he shall have some good cheap. Supplicio stet cedula. [Please don't remove this notice]. Pie
or pica was a name given to the type size used, so the poster also acts as a type specimen. Two copies
survive. It is printed in type 3, a textura type.
Caxton's Sound of new patrons in the Woodville family, related to Edward IV by marriage. Caxton possibly
met Earl Rivers in Bruges.
In 1477, on 18 November, appeared Dictes and sayings of the philosophers, the first dated book in
English. This was translated from the French by Caxton's patron Earl Rivers. England was unlike most
other countries in that the first book printed was in the vernacular. It was printed in type 2. Caxton
found that Rivers had omitted the section on women by Socrates. He added an amusing section of his own: "I
suppose that some fair lady had desired him to leave it out of his book, or else that he was amorous on
some noble lady for whose love it would not set it in his book" or, he conjectures, the wind may have blown
over the leaf. It shows he was on good terms with the patron who also provided other works. In 1478, on 28
February, the Moral proverbs of Christian de Pisan, also translated by Rivers, was printed by
Caxton, and in 1479 Earl Rivers translated Caxton's edition of Les quatre dernieres choses, which
Caxton published under the title Cordial.
In about 1477 Raoul Le Fevre's History of Jason was translated by Caxton from the Bruges edition. It
was dedicated to the Prince of Wales - Earl Rivers probably used his influence with his sister the
Queen.
From 1477 to 1479 more than two dozen books in type 2 appeared from Caxton's press. Only one was translated
by Caxton himself, the Jason. He probably felt his time was better employed in establishing the
press. He published many English poets, often in slim volumes which will bring a quick return. They
included John Lydgate (1370-1415) The churl and the bird in about 1477 The temple of glass in
1478, Horse,sheepand goose in 1477, but Caxton's main work in this period was Chaucer's
Canterbury tales in 1478, which appeared in a volume of 372 leaves in type 2. It bore no date and no
title page, the lines of the prose sections were not justified. Later, having learned that the text was
corrupt, he reprinted it with woodcuts in 1484. In a preface he explained "one gentleman came to me and
said that this book is not according in many cases unto the book that Geoffrey Chaucer had made".
In 1479 the tpe 2 punches were trimmed and filed to make type 2a. About now his business expanded and he
obtained two tenements in the Almonry and the chamber above the Almonry gate. His techniques also showed
improvement. In about 1480 there was an early example of two colour printing of one pull, but generally he
remained isolated from improvements on the continent. In 1480 John Lettou established a press in the city
of London. Now there was competition and he followed Lettou in using signatures, also in cutting a new
smaller fount (type 4).
In 1480 he published Chronicles of England which was based by Caxton on the Brut chronicle and the
Description of Britain an extract from Ranulf Higden's Polychronicon which he published in
1483 using the English treanslation of John Trevisa of about 1387. Caxon had to change some of the "rude
and olde English". It was a universal history which was continued by Caxton from 1357 to 1460, making up
book eight of the publication, a folio of 450 leaves printed in type 4.
In 1481 The mirror of the world, translated from the French by Caxton, apppeared in a folio edition
of 100 leaves in type 2. This was printed for Hugh Brise, alderman and Mercer of the city of London. It
covered a wide range of subjects: the seven liberal arts, "of nature and how she worketh, and how the earth
holdeth him right in the middle of the world". It was his first use of woodcuts 34 in all. There are two
sets, one showing masters and scholars, the other diagrams without which the book "may not be rightly
understood". Unfortunately several were in the wrong place and the explanations were added by hand in all
copies. It was very poorly executed, although it was Caxton's first book with signatures.
In 1481 Reynard the fox, the first edition in English, was translated by Caxton from the Dutch
edition of Leeu in Gouda in 1479. Leeu later reprinted Jason from Caxton's Bruges edition.
In 1481 Caxton produced Latin treatises: Cicero of old age and of friendship and Scipio and Flaminius
"declamation of noblesse". The translator of De senectute is unknown but Caxton claims that great
effort was needed to obtain the manuscript. The two others were translated by John Tiptoft,Earl of
Worcester. He had been executed in 1470 and was a notable English humanist, although this was not
stressed by Caxton.
In 1481 The crusade of Geoffrey De Bouillon was the first book dedicated directly to the
King.
In 1483 there was a changein Caxton's fortunes. Edward IV died in April, the Woodvilles lost the power
struggle,and Earl Rivres was executed in June. Thus Caxton's patrons were lost, although between 1483 and
1485 he produced several books probably prepared for Rivers including several translations:
1483 the Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine, Caxton's largest work, a folio of 449 leaves in type
4a, a recutting of type 4, with headlines in type 3. It was his second illustrated book, with 17 woodcuts
to the full width of the page and 50 one column wide of old testament scenes and saints, also at the front
Caxton's largest woodcut, the saints in Glory.The cuts were the work of two different artists. Caxton
translated it himself, collating texts in English, French, and Latin. It was a vast task; he almost gave
up (the real reason was possibly political) but the Earl of Arundel promised to acquire a "reasonable
quantity" as well as a buck n summer and a doe in winter. It was the only work Arundel patronised - a
stop-gap but useful patron.
In 1483, in December, Cato was one of the next works dedicated to the city of London.It was
translated from the French by Caxton.
In 1484, in March, appeared The subtil histories and fables of Aesop a folio of 144 leaves, another
translation by Caxton from the French. It contained 186 woodcuts based on Johann Zainer's 1476/7 Ulm
edition, but much inferior. It also contained Caxton's only woodcut initial, a nine-line floreated letter
A, the first printed initial used in England.
The period from 1483 to 1486 was a time when Caxton produced books for anonymous patrons and books printed
for Mercers instead of for the nobility.
In 1483 The Canterbury tales second edition with clumsy woodcuts was printed for an anonymous
gentleman.
In 1485 Malory's King Arthur was printed for another anonymous patron. The only perfect copy
survives in the Pierpoint Morgan Library. The prologue is by Caxton and the book is a chivalric work, very
much to Caxton's taste.
About 1484 The order of chivalry, a similar work, appeared for an anonymous patron.
1485 to 1487 was a lean period. In 1487 he printed two books for the Mercers: The royal book and
The book of good manners. At about this period he introduced type 5, a textura smallerthan type
3.
In 1487 he printed Bonaventura's Speculum vitae Christi, a popular life of Christ translated in
about 1410 by Nicholas Love, prior ofIngleby Yorkshire. It was a work recommended by Thomas More. This
edition, and the word for word reprint of 1489, contained 25 woodcuts whose execution is much better than
in previous Puvlications.Some were used in the second edition of Mirror of the world and other
books.
In 1487 is the first use of his device: the initials "W C" with "7 ?" , a merchants mark perhaps or the
date of publication of his first book the Recuyell in 1474. It was used on the verso of the last
leaf of the Sarum missal, printed in Paris for him by Guillaume Maynyal. French printers were better able
to tackle the complex typography of service books, for example two-colour printing. In 1488 Maynyal
printed a Sarum legenda, the companion of the missal, for Caxton. We know that this cost 13/4d for 350
leaves.
Caxton was a bookseller as well as a printer. In 1488 he imported more than 1,000 books including
manuscripts. He was long a trader in manuscripts, and his stock in hand may have dictated the choice of
titles to translate or print.
In 1488/9 he rented a shop for 4d for a week. Parliament was sitting then, and it may have been to put on
a special display of stock.
In 1489 he found a new patron in John De Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, who probably presented him at court.
The result of this was:
In 1489 Christine De Pisan Le fait d'armes et de chevalerie, translated and printed from the
manuscript in the Royal Library by order of Henry VII. The translation was completed by the 9 July and it
was printed by the 14th in a new fount (type 6, based on types 2 and 2a), used for several works in the
next two to three years, for example two romances:
In 1489 Blanchardyn and Eglantine translated by Caxton from a French manuscript sold to the Queen
Mother Lady Beaufort, who ordered the translation.
In 1489 The four sons ofAymon, translated for and dedicated to John De Vere, his "singular and
especial lord", a new found patron, although he had to print the work at his own expense.
In 1490 Eneydos was translated by Caxton "having no work in hand", from a French romance based on
Virgil with a delightful prologue on the English language.It was presented to Prince Arthur - Caxton
clearly had an eye on the future.
In 1491 Fifteen O's, prayers starting with "O", an octavo printed by command of Queen Elizabeth of
York and the Queen Mother Margaret Beaufort. It is Caxton's only work with woodcut borders; the woodcut
of the Calvary on the second page is the most expressive in 15th century English printing. The cuts and
borders were used by de Words in a 1494 book of hours.
In 1491 he printed only religious works.
In 1492 there is an entry in the parish accounts of Saint Margaret Westminster: 7/8d for four torches at
the funeral and 6d for the bell. In previous year Maud Caxton had been buried at Saint Margaret's - his
wife, perhaps. Caxton himself died after finishing the translation of the Lives of the fathers as
the colophon of de Worde's publication tells us.
Caxton's position as pioneer printer was fortuitous:
1 - that he was English, almost all his immediate successors were aliens.
2 - other presses were soon work, in London John Lettou in 1480, in Oxford Theodoric Rood in 1478 and in
Saint Albans the Schoolmaster Printer in 1479.
Choice of texts. Caxton printed 103 works in all. Patronage was important, for 77 original works he
had a patron for 23. A patrons name lent distinction and was normal practice at the time. Caxton printed
for the elite, not for the masses. They were courtly works, not popular literature, but the market for the
latter was uncertain. Literacy had not spread deeply. Almost half the items were religious or didactic,
also many Chronicles and romances. Theere was a wide range: encyclopaedias, religious works, poetry,
history, classics, he even had planned Mandeville's Travels. About three quarters of them were in
the vernacular.
1. Practical works aimed at a special market or for special clients: law books, vocabularies,
religious books would keep the press is busy when other categories were not available.
2. Courtly works in three main subdivisions:
2a. Caxton's own translations. These formed the largest group with least 26 translated by himself
besides his additions and interpolations. Why translate? The Burgundian court was very fashionable and
Caxton got to know the literary taste there. The Burgundians too had a taste for the vernacular.
2b. English poets. All were courtly, especially Chaucer, Gower and Lydgate. He avoided Langland
and the alliterative poets.
2c. Prose works in English. There were also many translations, including works by Chaucer, Lydgate
and various nobles all of them in an elevated style.
The actual title chosen within a genre was often arbitrary, probably a manuscript recently arrived in his
book shop. These were similar in tone to those suggested to him by noble clients.
Caxton the translator would sometimes alter foreign place names to English or add interpolations and
anecdotes of his own of a pious or chivalric nature or to clarify the text. But in the main "plodding
fidelity" characterises his work. There were many mistakes as he was looking at an individual word, not
its context. Speed was his main principle. Passages were omitted even translated twice, and there were
many misreadings. This is all evidence that he seldom read over his work. Also the original language
colours his vocabulary and style. But though his standards were below today's, they compare favourably
with some of his contemporaries.
Caxton's prologues are homely and good humoured "in the common terms that be daily used". But they
lent heavily on models, either the prologues of original works extended and adapted or, of other writers he
knew for grand phrases, often oddly mixed into his own simple style. This patchiness is revealing in his
use of stock ideas.
Caxton's language. Caxton is claimed as a great innovator and standardiser of of the language, but:
1. Spelling: this was coloured by the language he he was translating from; there was no consistency,
unlike with de Worde.
2. Vocabulary: he was and more interested in this, but his own vocabulary was simple.Foreign words
were introduced under the influence of the source but not permanently added to his vocabulary. In the
Polichronicon there are many alterations of archaic words usually in favour of those used today, but
this is not comprehensive.
3. Style: Caxton was aware of courtly and "uplandish" style, but in practice his vocabulary and
rhetorical devices are usually carried over directly from the original. He attempted to avoid alliterature
features. His sentence structure is good only when he had a good the regional to lean on, otherwise he
tended to be rambling. Thus Balde's estimation that he excelled as a linguist is not entirely
true.
Caxton as an editor is seen as a scholar concerned for the accuracy of the text, and the
Canterbury tales is pointed out as an example of this. But he printed the first edition from the
first text to hand. Asked by a gentleman to print from a better manuscript, he merely wrote in corrections
to the text in the first edition and printed that. Changes in the order of tales and vocabulary were
indicated in the margin, as is evident from the nature of the errors. For The house of fame he used
an incomplete manuscript which he completed himself with 12 lines of doggerel. His degree of alteration
texts varied. Malory's Arthur was much altered to bring out Christian morality. Poetry was altered
less, especially not Chaucer. But he had little concern with the quality of the text. When he had several
sources, for example the Golden legend in English, French Latin, and other sources, he drew on all
regardless. If the original was in a courtly style he altered it less than if it was in an older
alliterative style. His prose works we usually divided into books and chapters. Tables of contents were
often added sometimes even in studio alphabetical index. He often added a prolonged but in general his
cavalier attitude to text was typical of the time.
Caxton's reputation should be assessed from the fact that he printed for the fashion of the day.
The fashion for chivalry was already there; he developed it by translating and enriched English literature.
He was criticised by the next generation when fashions had changed and humanism had taken root in England.
Caxton was aware of humanists like Poggio Bracciolini,but he was not one himself. Any link was purely
commercial, a name to bandy about. He printed few Latin texts and was criticised for this by Gibbon and
others in the 18th century. Now we wish he had printed more vernacular. Later antiquarians saw him as the
first printer of much English literature and thus he became a scholar, linguist, a printer for the common
man.
His literary influence is hard to assess. He confirmed the trend towards translation, but he did not start
it. Chaucer was pre-eminent before Caxtion confirmed his position. The resulting neglect of contemporary
English literature was made up for by de Worde. Caxton was too imbued with courtly life.
Caxton's achievement was that the first British press was set up on a sound commercial footing and lasted
for 60 years. This is due to his choice of texts, unlike so many continental printers of classics who
lasted for only a few years. It was a deliberate choice,and he was able to carve out a monopoly.There was
no need to vied with continental printers in technical improvements and his typography was poor. His
workmanship was careful, but little more than adequate, his eight types were all gothic, his ornamentation
was generally poor.
Perhaps his unbelievable industry in his business is his greatest achievement. In 78 works made ready for
the press there were 525,000 words, an average of over 1000 words a day six days a week.His own
translations amounted to 4,500 pages, a page a day six days a week. Caxton was not a scholar or a linguist
but a businessman and a very industrious and canny one.
Wynkyn de Worde [ODNB] was probably born in
either Wörth an der Sauer in Alsace or Wörth am Rhein in the Palatinate and may have come over to England
with Caxton. He was certainly in Westminster by 1480 when he is mentioned in an Abbey deed. His wife
Elizabeth probably died in 1490 and soon after, on Caxton's death in 1492, he took over his workshop. He
had probably been Caxton's foreman but there seems to have been lengthy litigation with Caxton's son-in-law
as few works were printed before the end of 1493. While Caxton printed for courtly circles, Wynkyn de Worde
printed for a wider public. After about 1500 his volumes became smaller and cheaper.
At first he mainly finished off Caxton's work, using his type at Westminster. Most of his early type came
from the Low Countries from where he obtained two black letter founts by 1500.
1491/2 Chastysing of Gods children was his first book after Caxton's death, using his type 6. It was
also the first Westminster book with a title-page, consisting of three lines of type in the middle of the
first verso. Many of his early books were unsigned.
1493 John Mirk's Liber festivalis was one of his first signed books and also the first to use his
own type.
1494 Scala perfectionis was printed for the Queen Mother.
Early on he reprinted large folio volumesof Caxton's Golden legend , Canterbury tales,both
of them well printed.
1495 Ranulf Higden's Polychronicon was reprinted. In the description of consonances by Pythagoras a
musical illustration was called for. In 1483 Caxton had left the space blank to be filled in by hand but de
Worde used quads or inverted types for the notes and rules for the staves. The first genuine music printing
be de Worde was in 1530 in the Book of song, a very good achievement with well designed types based
on German originals. The notes were printed with the text and the staves separately from rules.
1494 Vitas Patrum, or the lyff of the olde Auncyent holy faders was a work tanslated by Caxton in
the last year of his life. The folio edition was printed in two columns using de Worde's own types and it
was profusely illustrated with poor English woodcuts.
Wynkyn de Worde produced 800+ imprints to 1534.
Sections to add:
John Bydell. [Text to write.]
John Bydell. [Text to write.]
John Lettou [ODNB Text to write.]
William de Machlinia [ODNB Text to write.]
Richard Pynson. From Normandy. Took over premises of Machlinia. Finest work Sarum missal (1500).
Appointed King's Printer 1508. Died 1530, printed over 370 books.
1509 Barclay. Alexander. The ship of fools, a translation of Das Narrenschiff by Sebastian Brandt.
“This present boke named the Shyp of folys of the worlde was translated i[n] the College of saynt mary
Otery in the counte of Deuonshyre: out of Laten, Frenche, and Doche into Englysshe tonge by Alexander
Barclay preste: and at that tyme chaplen in the sayde College.” The woodcuts in Barclay's edition printed
by Pynson are not as detailed as the German originals but more accomplished than those in Watson's
translation, printed by De Worde. They were also used for the second edition of Barclay's translation,
which appeared in 1570.
Of unprofitable bookes (fo. 1r)
Lo in likewise of bookes I have store
But fewe I reade, and fewer understande,
I folowe not their doctrine nor their lore,
It is ynough to beare a booke in hande:
It were to muche to be in such a bande,
For to be bounde to loke within the booke,
I am content on the fayre covering to looke.
Sections to add:
Robert Redman [ODNB Text to write.]
Robert Redman [ODNB Text to write.]
Julian Notary [ODNB Text to write.]
William Faques Text to write.]
Robert Faques Text to write.]
John Rastell [ODNB Text to write.]
Robert Copland [ODNB Text to write.]
Richard Banks Text to write.]
Peter Treveris [ODNB Text to write.]
Robert Wyer [ODNB Text to write.]
Thomas Berthelet [ODNB]. Active 1524-39. Appointed
King's Printer 1530. Printed works by Sir Thomas Elyot including his Dictionary (1538)
Sections to add:
Richard Grafton [ODNB Text to write.]
Richard Grafton [ODNB Text to write.]
Majority of printers aliens until 1530s.
The English Bible. First English Bibles printed abroad. Tindale's New Testament issuedby Peter Schoeffer in Worms 1525, Miles Coverdale's (Bishop of Exeter) complete Bible probably printed at Marburg. 1537 Bible printed in Antwerp commended by Cranmer (Matthew Bible), published in England by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch. 1538 revised translation by Coverdale promoted by Cromwell. Printed in France but seized by the Inquisitor General, so Grafton and Whitchurch became printers. Great Bible completed 1539.
Richard Grafton King's Printer under Edward VI 1547-53, but printed accession of Lady Jane Gray.
John Cawood [ODNB]. King's Printer under Mary
This page last updated 24 October 2020
