William Caxton

1421?-1491

British Printer

In the late fifteenth century, as printing presses on the continent were gaining prominence, one man, William Caxton, had the foresight to bring printed works to England. Although his career began in textiles, Caxton retired from the textile business before learning the art of printing. He set up a printing business in Bruges in 1474, the same year he printed the first known book in the English language, Recuyell of theHistories of Troie, which he translated from the French. In 1476 Caxton returned to England and set up his printing and publishing business near Westminster Abbey. In the ensuing years his press introduced many of the literary masterpieces of his day, including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1478) and Malory's Morte d'Arthur (1485).

Born around 1421 in Kent, England, William Caxton received schooling before entering the Mercers' Company, an influential London guild, and being apprenticed to Robert Large, a leading textile merchant, in 1438. He learned the export trade in textiles and, around 1441, moved to Bruges, Belgium (modern Brussels), where he developed a successful trade business. In 1462 Caxton was appointed Governor of the English Nation at Bruges, an appointment for an organization created by the Mercers and the Merchant Adventurers. After some time devoted to diplomatic missions for this organization, Caxton retired from commerce and became secretary of the household of Princess Margaret of York, the Duchess of Burgundy and sister of King Edward IV of England. The Duchess was a noted scholar of literature, and she encouraged Caxton to begin producing fine manuscripts, which he copied by hand, making translations from the French.

In 1471 Caxton traveled to Cologne to learn the art of printing. He returned to Bruges and in 1474 set up a printing business with partner Colard Mansion, calligrapher and bookseller, whom it is thought Caxton taught the art of printing. The same year, the first known book published in the English language, Recuyell of the Histories of Troie by Raoul le Fevre, was produced. The duo also printed, in 1475, The Game and Playe of the Chesse Moralised, before Caxton moved his printing and publishing business to England.

In the vicinity of Westminster Abbey, conveniently near the court and members of Parliament he expected to serve, Caxton established his printing and publishing business in 1476. In December he produced the first piece of printing done in England, a Letter of Indulgence (a collection of rules showing how to deal with the concurrence of religious festivals). In November 1477 Caxton produced the first dated book printed in England, The Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophhres, translated from French, which had been translated from Latin. In 1481 Caxton's press also produced the first illustrated book in England, The Mirrour of the World, which included 27 crude woodcuts. Caxton did much to promote English literature, producing works fromChaucer, such as The Canterbury Tales (which he published in 1478 and, in second edition, in 1484) and Troilus and Creseide, Gower and Lydgate, Malory, and others.

Before his death in 1491, when Caxton left his press to his former apprentice and current foreman, the publisher produced about 100 printed works, including 74 books, of which 20 were his own translations from Latin, French, and Dutch (he even published a French-English dictionary). Because he adopted the language of London and the court, Caxton had a tremendous impact on fixing a permanent standard for written English. The products of his press, which included many of the first editions of the literary masterpieces of the Middle Ages, hold an eternal place of honor in English literature. Caxton's scholarly vision, as well as his anticipation of the importance of the printing press, made him very influential in the history of the written word.

This is the complete article, containing 628 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).