HANDDOUND
THE
BIOGRAPHY
AND
TYPOGRAPHY
OF
WILLIAM CAXTON,
ENGLAND'S FIRST PRINTER.
BY
WILLIAM BLADES.
Pontoon :
TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL.
gttrasisfiurg :
KARL I. TRUBNER.
1877.
LONDON :
PRINTED BV BLADES. EAGT & BLADES,
11, ABCHURCH LANE. E.C.
PREEACE.
HE "Caxton Celebration" is in
full progress, and many per-
sons are requiring information
about our first Printer, his life
and works. To supply that demand the present
Volume is issued. In 1861-63, two volumes
quarto were published, entitled " The Life and
Typography of William Caxton," in which the
most full information then obtainable was
afforded; but being both costly and cumber-
some, it has been thought desirable to issue a
new ''Life " in a more handy form.
The particulars of the biographical portion
have, where necessary, been re-cast ; but only
one additional fact of any importance has been
added, viz., that Caxton was married, and left
IV PREFACE.
behind him a married daughter, information
kindly supplied to me by Mr. Gairdner, of
the Record Office.
The bibliography has been necessarily cur-
tailed, the account of the old manuscripts of
Caxton's printed books having been omitted,
as well as the details under " Existing Copies "
and "statistics." On the other hand, some
new works, of which the "Ars moriendi,"
"Sex Epistolse," and the "Omcium beatse
Marise," are the chief, have been added to the
Catalogue of Caxton's productions, and de-
scribed in full. It has also been thought
necessary to retain the full Collation of each
work.
It is a pleasing task to acknowledge assist-
ance, and to It. A. Graves, Esq., of the British
Museum, I owe my best thanks for revising
the proofs of the biographical portion, and for
numerous suggestions.
The Plates, as in the former edition, are from
the skilful hand of G. I. E. Tupper, Esq., of
Pudding Lane, Eastcheap, whose ability in this
description of work is beyond praise. To him
also are due many of the remarks on the various
types, both in this and the former edition.
PREFACE.
But chiefly I am indebted to Henry Brad-
shaw, Esq., Librarian to the University of
Cambridge, for the use of his annotated copy
of "The Life and Typography of William
Caxton," which has enabled me to rectify
several mistakes in that work, and to assign
with a greater degree of accuracy the undated
books to their proper years.
Mr. J. C. C Smith, Probate Registry, Somerset
House, kindly informed me of the discovery of
another portion of the Will of Robert Large,
Caxton' s Master.
The woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces, and
initials are from the hand of Noel Humphreys,
Esq., who on this occasion kindly resumed his
pencil for the subject's sake.
W. B.
CONTENTS
PART I.
PACE
CHAPTEE I.
William Caxton — His Birthplace and Parentage ... 1
CHAPTER II.
William Caxton— An Apprenticeship ... 7
CHAPTER III.
Caxton Abroad ■•• 1 ; ">
CHAPTER IV.
Literature in the Fifteenth Century ... 33
CHAPTER V.
Development of Printing ... • • 39
CHAPTER VI.
Colard Mansion ... ... • •■•■• ••• ••• '''•'
CHAPTER VII.
< laxton a Printer ... ... ... ... • • • • • • { "»5
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER VIII.
Caxton at Westminster ... ... ... ... ... 69
CHAPTER IX.
The Master Printer — the Paper — the Type — Presses —
Pressmen — Ink — the Bookbinder — the Illuminator 94
APPENDIX.
Containing Mercers' Records — Will of Robert Large
Burge's Records — St. Margaret's Records — Docu-
ment from Record Office ... ... ... ... 143
PART II.— LIST OF PRINTED BOOKS.
Books printed in Type No. 1 ... ... ... ... 165
Books printed in Type No. 2 181
Books printed in Type No. 3 235
Books printed in Type No. 4 ... ... ... ... 243
Books printed in Type No. 5 309
Books printed in Type No. 6 329
Doubtful Works 359
Index ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 871
CHAPTER I.
BIRTHPLACE AND PARENTAGE.
WAS born and lerncd myn englissh in
Kente in the wceld where I doubte not is
spoken as brode and rude englissh as is in
ony place of englond." Thus briefly does
William Caxton record the place of his
birth and early years, and notwithstand-
ing prolonged and careful research nothing
more precise has been ascertained.
The name of " weald," rendered by Halliwell " forest," or
" woody country," betokens the nature of the district, which at
the time of the Conquest, and for centuries after, was covered
with dense woods where thousands of wild hogs roamed and
fattened. This extensive tract of country had no legally
defined boundaries, and one can easily understand how Lam-
barde, the Kentish historian, was so puzzled when he attempted
to describe it, that he declared it easier to deny altogether
the existence of the weald than to define its boundaries with
any accuracy. An approximate idea of its geographical
position may be gained by observing that a traveller, starting
from Edenbridge, and journeying through Tunbridge, Harden,
Biddenden, and Tenterden to the Romney marshes, would
pass through its centre.
A century before Caxton's birth a great change had com-
menced in the weald of Kent. Hitherto the wool for which
B
WILLIAM CAXTON.
England was famous had been purchased by merchants and
carried over to Flanders, for the purpose of being made into
cloth, which was brought back for sale in England. Edward
III, struck by the wealth and power which accrued to Flan-
ders from the cloth manufacture established there, determined
to try the experiment of establishing a factory in England.
The weald, covered as it then was with forests, was of
little value as land ; and hither, aided in his design by the
sanguinary feuds at that time raging among the trade guilds
of the Low Countries, the King induced about eighty respect-
able Flemish families to migrate and carry on the manu-
facture of cloth in the country which produced the wool.
Exempt from taxation, and favoured by the royal patronage
and many special privileges, the colony throve and grew
rapidly. The Flemish settlers soon became naturalised, and
increased in wealth and influence year by year ; so that in
the fifteenth century " their trade was of great importance,
and exercised by persons who possessed most of the landed
property in the weald." Thus writes Hasted in 1778, and
adds, " Insomuch that almost all the antient families of these
parts, now of large estates, are sprung from ancestors who
have used this staple manufacture."
We read Caxton's narrative of his birth in a new light,
when we bear in mind that the inhabitants of the Weald had
a strong admixture of Flemish blood in their best families,
and that cloth was their chief, and, probably, only manufac-
ture. We understand why the Kentish dialect was so broad
and rude, and we enter more heartily into the amusing
anecdote in Caxton's preface to the " Eneydos," where he
tells of the good wife of Kent who knew what the Flemish
word " eyren " meant, but understood not the English word
"eggs." "Certayn marchaunts," says Caxton, "were in a
ship in tamyse for to have sayled over the see into zelande,
and for lacke of wynde thei taryed atte forlond . and wente
to lande for to refreshe them And one of theym named
Khen'elde a mercer cam in to an hows and axed for mete . and
Bpe< v.,lly he axed after eggys And the good wyf answerde .
thai she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was
BIRTHPLACE AND PARENTAGE.
angry . for he also coude speke no frenshe . but wolde have
hadde cgges, and she understode hym not, And thenne at last
a nother sajd that he wolde have eyren, then the good wyf
sayd that she understod hym wel." Dr. Pegge, in his
" Alphabet of Kenticisms," gives " eiren " as the equivalent
of " eggs" in the Kentish dialect of old English.
Here, then, in some rural homestead, surrounded by people
who spoke English " not to be understonden," was Caxton born.
Kentish historians, anxious to localise the honour of having
given birth to so famous a man, claim the ancient manor of
Caustons, near Hadlow, in the Weald of Kent, as the original
seat of the Caxton family. In the fifteenth century the name
Caxton was usually pronounced Cawston or Caustim, the letter
a having a broad sound, and the u being frequently inserted
after it. Numerous instances are given in the " Archseologia
Cantiana," Vol. V., of names of Kentish towns having this
broad pronunciation. Thus Francklyn occurs in old deeds as
Frauncklyn ; M ailin g as Mauling, and Wanting as Waunting.
The letters s and x were often interchanged, and so Caxton
writes Alisaunder for Alexander, while to ask appears in the
" Chess Book " as to axe. We may further note that Caxton,
in Cambridgeshire, is spelt in old documents, Causton, and,
in the records of the Mercers' Company, a certain Thomas
Cacston appears as one of the liverymen appointed to wel-
come King Edward IV on his entry into London, and is
immediately after entered as Thomas Cawston. Many years
before Caxton's birth, the manor of Caustons had been alie-
nated from the Caxton family, by whom it had long been
held ; and although some offshoots may have remained in the
neighbourhood, the most important branch appears to have
taken root in Essex, and there adopted the name of the old
Kentish hundred for their new residence; for among the
wills now preserved at Somerset House is that of Johannes
Cawston, of Hadlow Hall, Essex, dated 1400. Nothing, how-
ever, of interest can be gleaned from it.
We therefore conclude that William Caxton probably de-
scended from the old stock of the Caustons, who owned the
manor of Caustons, near Hadlow, in the Weald of Kent. The
B 2
WILLIAM CAXTON.
evidence is not strong, but yet there is no other locality in
the "Weald in which can be traced the slightest connection,
either verbal or otherwise, with the family.
Caxton's pedigree is quite unknown,, no trace of any of his
relatives, except a married daughter, having been discovered.
The " "William Caxton" who was buried in 1478, in the church
of St. Margaret, Westminster, is asserted by some biographers
to have beeu the father of our printer. This may be possible ;
but no relationship can be assumed from mere identity of
name, for Caxtons, Caustons, or Gauxtons are to be found in
many parts of England during
the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. "William de Caxtone
owned a house in the parish of
St. Mary Abchurch, London,
in 1311 : a man of the same
name paid his tax to the City
authorities in 1441 : and there
was a family of Caxtons fa-
mous for centuries as mer-
chants at Norwich, who used as their trade-mark three Cakes
and a Tun. The will of Robert Caxton, alias Causton, is pre-
served at Canterbury; and at Sandwich, Tuxford, Newark,
Beckenham, Westerham, and frequently in the early records
of London does the name appear. The will of John Caxton,
of Canterbury, likewise still exists : he was " of the parish
of St. Alphage, Mercer," and left to the church some wooden
" deskys," upon which the following device may still be seen.
BIRTHPLACE AND PARENTAGE.
When was Caxton born ? To this question a more satis-
factory answer can be given, for the date of his apprenticeship
has fortunately been preserved in the records of the Mercers'
Company. It has generally been assumed that 1412 was the
date of his birth, upon the sole ground that Caxton himself
complained, in 1471, that he was growing old and weak, from
which the inference has been drawn that he must then have
seen at least sixty years. That this date, however, must be
advanced is proved by the following extract from the earliest
volume of the "Wardens' Accounts" in the Archives of the
Mercers' Company. The entry occurs in a list of fees for the
binding and enrolment of apprentices "pur Ian deunt passe
cest assauoir des Fest de Saynt John Bap te Ian xvj du Roy
Henr sisme ;" that is, "for the year last passed that is to say
from the Feast of St. John Baptist in the lGth year of King
Henry VI. [June 24, 1438]," and is literally as follows: —
Entres des Appntices.
Item John large, ) les appntices de
Item Will'm Caxston, ) Robert Largo
1 r V nil s
We have here recorded the interesting fact that in 1438
Caxton was apprenticed to Robert Large. It is the first
genuine date in his life with which we are acquainted, and
affords us a starting point from which can be reckoned, with
some degree of certainty, the date of his birth.
The age of twenty-one has always been considered as the
period when a man arrives at his legal majority ; but in the
fifteenth century there was also what may be termed the cirir
majority, which was not attained until three years later. This
custom prevailed to the end of the seventeenth century ; for
in 1G93 an Act of Common Council was passed enjoining the
Chamberlain to ascertain that every candidate for admission
to the freedom of the City had "reached the Ml age of
twenty-four." The phrase " quousque ad etatem suarn xxiiij
annorum peruenerit," so commonly found in old wills, refers
to this custom ; and in view of it the indenture of an appren-
tice was always so drawn that on the commencement of his
WILLIAM CAXTOX.
twenty-fifth year he might issue from his apprenticeship.
This necessarily caused a considerable variation in the length
of servitude, which ranged according to the age of the youth,
from seven years, the shortest term, to fourteen years. Taking
the "entries" and "issues" in the Mercers' records as a guide,
ten years appears to have been the term most usual in the
fifteenth century ; but if we calculate his servitude to have
lasted but seven years, Caxton coidd not have been more
than seventeen years of age when apprenticed, and would
therefore have been born not later than the year 1421.
That he was not much younger is evident from the position
he had gained for himself at Bruges only eleven years after he
entered his apprenticeship, when he was accepted as surety
for a sum equal to £1500 at the present day; so that we
cannot be far wrong if we assume 1422-3 as the date of his
birth.
*£-
CHAPTER II.
AN APPRENTICESHIP.
AXTON tells us, in his prologue to
" Charles the Great," that, previously to
his apprenticeship, he had been to school,
but whether in Kent or in London he
does not say. He only thanks his
parents for their kind foresight in giving
him a good education, by which he was enabled in after
years to earn an honest living. No other particulars of his
early history being known, we will pass at once to the year
1438, and imagine him, fresh from the Weald, already in-
stalled in the household of Alderman Large, and duly invested
with all the rights and privileges of a London apprentice.
When we remember how many of these apprentices were
young men about four-and-twenty years of age, we can readily
believe that very strict rules were required to keep them
within bounds, and that when they did break loose it was
sometimes beyond the combined power of all the city autho-
rities to restrain them. The Evil May Day, as it was called,
in 1517, when the apprentices rose against the foreigners,
especially the French, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the
Lord Mayor and aldermen, ravaged the City, burning houses
and killing many persons, is recorded by the old chroniclers.
The day was long remembered by the masters with fear, and
by the apprentices with pride — although twelve of the latter
ignominiously perished by the hands of the hangman after
the suppression of the riot by the Kings troops.
8 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The master's duties to his apprentice were to feed him,
clothe him, and teach him well and truly his art and craft.
Failing the fulfilment of these duties, the apprentice could, on
complaint and proof shown before the Court of Aldermen,
have his indentures cancelled, or be turned oyer to another
master. On the other side, the apprentice made oath to serve
his master well and truly, to keep all his secrets, to use no
traffic on his o\ni account, and to obey all lawful commands.
The London merchants of those days were very exclusive
in their reception of apprentices, and perhaps none of them
more so than the Mercers, who took precedence of all the
City companies. The leading men of the great companies, as
was natural, apprenticed their sons to one another, and thus
the family names of Caxton's fellow-apprentices are the names
also of the wardens, and the most substantial citizens of the
period. The family name of " Caxton " does not, indeed, figure
among those of the City magnates, but "William Caxton's
admission to the household of one of London's most eminent
merchants, and his being apprenticed at the same time as his
master's son, go far to prove the family to have been well
connected. In one case only does there seem a probability
of relationship. The records of the Mercers' Company contain
many notices of the " entries " and " issues " of apprentices,
and in 1447 it is recorded that one Richard Caxton finished
his term of servitude with John Harrowe, whose son was one
of the apprentices of Robert Large at the same time as
William Caxton. Large and Harrowe were fellow Mercers,
and evidently on friendly terms, so that it is probable the two
young Caxtons were of the same family.
Robert Large, Caxton's master, was one of the richest and
most influential merchants in the City. He was a Mercer,
and the son of a Mercer, and a native of the City of London.
In 1480 he filled the office of Sheriff, and in 1439-40 that
of Lord Mayor. The Mercer's Company was then, as now,
the oldest chartered company in existence, and among its
members were comprised the merchants of highest standing
in I lie City. It paid more money to the king's revenue, sent
i" a "riding" more well-mounted men, spent larger sums on
Plate I.
'torn Agt/as's Map of London, stowing the House of Alderman Large,
axtorts Master (marked \). The Arms of Large in right hand corner.
BIRTHPLACE AND PAEENTAGE.
its "liveries," and yielded from its ranks more sheriffs and
majors than any two City companies besides. Large was
elected "Gardein" (the old term for Warden) in 1427, and
appears to have made himself very popular, if we may judge
from the unusual expenditure on the Lord Mayor's Day when
he succeeded to the mayoralty. Carriages not having yet
come into use, the procession to "Westminster was on horse-
back, the Mercers on that occasion riding in new robes,
preceded by sixteen trumpeters, blowing silver trumpets pur-
chased for the occasion. A few liverymen who absented
themselves were heavily fined.
The house in which Alderman Large resided no doubt
presented a great contrast to Caxton's home in the Weald.
It stood at the north end of the Old Jewry, and appears to
have been a very ancient and extensive mansion. Stow,
writing in 1598, gives a curious account of its vicissitudes,
and sums up its history thus: — "sometime a Jews' Syna-
gogue, since a house of friars, then a nobleman's house, after
that a merchant's house, wherein mayoralties have been kept,
but now a wine tavern." Large resided there until his death.
The household of which Caxton had become a member
consisted of at least, eighteen persons, exclusive of domestic
servants — Alderman Robert Large and his second wife
Johanna ; four sons, Robert, Thomas, Richard, and John, all
under age (24 years), the last being bound apprentice at the
same time as Caxton; two daughters, Alice and Elizabeth,
both under age (21 years) ; two "servants," or men who had
served their apprenticeship, and eight apprentices. Large did
not long survive his mayoralty. His will is dated April 11th,
1441, and he died on the 24th of the same month. He was
buried in St. Olave's, Old Jewry, in the same grave as his
first wife Elizabeth, and their monument, with the following
inscription, existed in the time of Stow : — " Hie requiescat in
Gratia et misericordia Dei, Roberttjs Large, quondam Mer-
cerus et Maior istius civitatis." An imperfect copy of Largo's
will is preserved in the Principal Registry of the Court of
Probate at Somerset House. From it we learn that lie owned
the manor of Horham, in Essex, and that he left various sums
10
WILLIAM CAXTOX.
to the parish churches of Shakeston, Aldestre, and Overton,
where some of his relatives were buried. It would have been
interesting to find that Large had a family connection with
Caxton's native county; but although no trace of this can be
discovered, it is remarkable that two of his apprentices should
have had Kentish names, Caxton being merely another form
of Canston, a manor near Hadlow, and the hundred of Strete
being represented by Caxton's fellow-apprentice, Randolph
Streete. He left liberal bequests to his parish church of St.
Olave, Old Jewry, and for religious purposes generally, as well
as considerable sums for the completion of a new aqueduct
then in course of construction, for the repair of London
Bridge, for cleansing the watercourse of Walbrook, for mar-
riage portions of poor girls, for relief of domestic servants,
and for the use of various hospitals of London, among which
may be noticed " Bedleem," Bishopsgate Without, St. Thomas
of Southwark, and the Leper Houses at " Hakeney-les-lokes."
Among the many bequests in Large's will, the following are
worthy of notice as showing the names and approximate ages
of Caxton's fellow apprentices, of whom he appears, both by
the order in which he is mentioned, and by the dates in the
Mercers' records, to have been the youngest.
Richard Bonyfaunt (issued 1440). ..50 marks.
Henry Okmanton (entered 1434). ..50 pounds.
Robert Dedes ( )... 20 marks.
Christopher Heton (issued 1443). ..20 pounds.
William Caxton (entered 1437). ..20 marks.
Besides the above there were Randolph Streete, who issued
in the same year as that in which Caxton was bound, Thomas
Wclir. who issued in 1440, and John Harrowe, who issued
in 111:;. These are all entered in the Mercers' books as
"appntices de Rob*' Large."
Before proceeding with the account of Caxton, we may
here briefly state what is known of the subsequent history of
the family in which he lived. Mistress Large (whose son
Richard Turnat, by her first husband, is mentioned in Large's
will) was now again a widow, with a large fortune of her own
AN APPRENTICESHIP. 1 1
and the care of two stepsons, each of whom was also well pro-
vided for. Her second bereavement appears for a time to
have affected her most deeply. Over the body of her deceased
husband she thus solemnly and publicly vowed to devote the
remainder of her days to charity and chastity : — " I, Johanna,
that was sometime the wife of Robert Large, make mine
avow to God and the high blissful Trinity, to our Lady Saint
Mary, and to all the blissful company of Heaven, to live in
chastity and cleanness of my body from this time forward as
long as my life lasteth, never to take other spouse but only
Christ Jesu." At the same time a ring was placed upon her
wedding finger, and a coarse brown veil thrown over her by
the priest. Her celibacy was not, however, of long duration,
as in about three years she married for the third time, as we
learn from the following quaint entry in the second edition
of Stow's " Survey of London." "Writing of John Gedney,
Lord Mayor in 1427, he says, "This Godnay in the yeare
] 444 Avedded the widdow of Robert Large late Mai or, which
widdow had taken the Mantell and ring, and the vow to line
chast to God tear me of her life, for the breach whereof, the
marriage done they were troubled by the Church, and put to
penance, both he and she."
All the children mentioned by Large in his will were by
Elizabeth, his first wife. Robert and Thomas did not long
survive their father; John died soon after the expiration of
his apprenticeship, which, as we have seen, was contempo-
raneous with that of Caxton, and his name, accordingly, does
not occur in Large's will. Richard, the sole survivor, suc-
ceeded, as was his father's wish, to all the property devised to
his two elder brothers, and his claims were allowed by the
Court of Aldermen on his "attaining his age of 24 years" in
the year 1444. Large's daughter Alice does not appear to
have claimed her patrimony on arriving at her majority ; she
therefore, in all probability, died previously; but Elizabeth
married soon after her father's death, and her husband,
Thomas Eyre, son of the Lord Mayor, received her dowry in
1446.
The three years which Caxton passed as apprentice with
\2 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Large were very eventful, and, as it was during this period
that he must have received his most vivid impressions of life,
it may not he amiss to take a rapid glance at a few of the
events which agitated the minds of the people. Caxton, no
douht, was witness of the great jousts in Smithfield in 1438,
which lasted three weeks, and are so graphically described in
one of the Lansdowne Manuscripts in the British Museum
(No. 285), and his intense love for knightly sports may have
there been first developed. But though sights of knights at
tournaments were to be seen for nothing, common bread was
very dear, and many deaths from starvation occurred in the
same year. An old chronicle tells us that, "Men ate rye
bread and barly, and bred mad of benes, peses, and fetches :
ami wel were hym that myghte haue ynowe thereof." In his
own additions to the " Polycronicon " Caxton is more than
usually minute in his record of the events which occurred
during the time of his apprenticeship. Speaking of this year,
he recounts that "Corne was soo skarce that in some places
poure peple made hem brede of fern rotes." This makes one
cease to wonder at tumults and rebellion, and possibly some
chord of pity was struck in Caxton's breast when certain men
from his native county of Kent, called "Risers," were beheaded,
and the heads of five of them w r ere stuck on poles and left
to rot over the southern gateway of London Bridge. In 1439
Large was elected Mayor, and at his "riding" to Westminster
and back, all his apprentices no doubt assisted to swell the
shout in honour of their master, and to drink the wine which
flowed freely from the conduits. But ere that year was ended
a sad spectacle was seen on Tower Hill, when Richard Wyche,
Vicar of Deptford, an old man of eighty years of age, was
burnt for Lollardism. An old chronicler, at the end of his
account of this martyrdom, adds, "for the which Sir Richard
was made grete mom among the comyn peple;" and well they
mighi moan, for his love and charity had won for him the
afcrongesl affection among the poor. He was first degraded
"al PowlyV and then taken away to Tower Hill, where he
was roasted over a slow fire. The excitement among the
pie was intense, and on the night of this event all the
AN APPRENTICESHIP. 13
watches throughout the city were doubled, so great were the
fears entertained of a general rising. The impression made
on the mind of Caxton may be gathered from his own rela-
tion : — " This yere Syr Kychard wiche, vycary of hermettes-
worth was degrated of Ms prysthode, at powlys, and brente
at toure hylle as for an heretyk on saynt Botolphus day, how
wel at his deth, he deyde a good crysten man, wherefore after
his dethe moche people cam to the place -where he hadde ben
brente, and ofiryd and made a heepe of stones, and sette vp
a crosse of tree, and helde hym for a saynt till the mayer
and shreves, by commaundement of the kynge and bisshops
destroyed it, and made there a donghyll." Another grievous
event appears, in the following year, to have excited the com-
passion of our young apprentice. On three alternate days
Eleanor Chobham, the beautiful wife of Duke Humphrey, was
landed on the banks of the Thames, and, accompanied by the
mayor, sheriffs, and guilds of the city, walked to St. Paul's
barefooted, clad in a white sheet, and holding a taper, as
a penance for her presumed sorceries with the witch of Eye.
Caxton has narrated this at unusual length. There were great
tournaments again this year in the Tower, as well as a despe-
rate fight between the citizens and a body of courtiers, for
which the former, although first attacked, w^ere heavily fined
by the king. The old chronicler describes the fray as "a
great debate by the night time, where through shots of bows
there were many hurt foul and slain." But the chief event of
this period, considered in its bearing upon Caxton's destiny,
was the conclusion of a three years' peace between England
and Flanders. This, coupled with the termination of the war
which had raged furiously between Holland and Zealand and
Hamburgh, was probably a material cause in determining
Caxton's departure from England.
"We do not know what were the exact duties which de-
volved upon Caxton during his apprenticeship; but as an
assistant to Large, who had extensive connections, and was
doubtless in frequent correspondence with Bruges, the great
centre of English commerce abroad, he must have obtained
considerable insight into the customs of foreign trade, and
14 WILLIAM CAXTON.
become personally known to many Flemish merchants, who,
when in London, would probably stay in Large's house.
We must not forget that Caxton was not released from
his indentures by the death of his master. If he wished to
continue his career as a merchant, whether in England or
abroad, he was obliged to serve out his apprenticeship ; and
that he did so Ave gather from his admission in after years to
the livery of the Mercers' Company. Executors were bound
to provide the apprentices of a deceased trader with a new
home; and it would seem that the original master might
appoint a new master by his will, or of his own accord assign
the apprentice during his lifetime, without making the appren-
tice himself a party to the assignment. So far as we know,
Large made no arrangement of this kind; and it appears
probable that the usual course of providing a new master for
the bereaved apprentice was adopted by the executors in
Caxton's case. Moreover, it was not uncommon for young
men in his position to be sent to some foreign town to obtain
experience in trade. Wheeler says, "The Merchants Adven-
turers send their yong men, somies, and servantes or appren-
tices, who for the most parte are Gentlemens somies, to the
Marte Townes beyonde the seas, there to learne good facions
and knowledge in trade." Whether Caxton left England by
his own desire, or at the instance of his new master, or by
the invitation of a foreign friend, is unknown ; but that he
took up his abode in the Low Countries, and probably at
Bruges, in 1441, the year in which his first master died, we
gather from his own words in the prologue to "The Eecuyell,"
where he states that he had then, in 1471, been abroad for
thirty years. Thither probably he carried with him no more
than the twenty marks (equal to, about £150 at the present
day) bequeathed to him by Alderman Large.
CHAPTER III.
CAXTON ABROAD.
HE City of Bruges had long been not
only the seat of government of the
Dukes of Burgundy, but also the metro-
polis of trade for all the neighbouring
countries. Thither resorted merchants
from all parts of Europe, certain of
finding there the best market for
their wares. English traders especially abounded, having been
greatly favoured by Philip the Good, who had been almost
from a child brought up in the Court of England, and who
in 144G gave great privileges to the Merchant Adventurers
under the name of The English Nation, by which title they were
ever after commonly known in foreign parts. So greatly were
the Duke's dominions indebted to the trade in wool and cloth
with England, that Philip the Good, when he instituted in
1429 a new Order of Knighthood, adopted for its title and
badge "The Golden Fleece." The "Athemeum" for Decem-
ber 5th, 18C3, gives a curious account of the choice of this
name. " Philip, wearied with suggestions for the name and
badge of his new Order, at last said it might be named in
some reference to the season of the year in which the matter
had been discussed. That season included the months of July,
August, September, October and November. As the initial
letters of those months (the same in French and Dutch as in
English) made the word Jason, the name of the Hero of the
Golden Fleece, the conclusion was hilariously arrived at that
the new Order should be named accordingly."
16 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
Caxton issued out of his apprentices! lip about 144G, and
became a freeman of his guild, though, as this happened
abroad, no notice of it occurs in the Company's books. It
would appear that he immediately entered into ' business on
his own account, and that he prospered, for in 1450 we find
him in Bruges, and so far successfid as to be thought sufficient
security for the sum of £110 sterling, more than equal to
£1,500 now. This appears from the following curious law-
proceedings preserved in the archives of the City of Bruges.
AVilliam Craes, an English merchant, in the year 1450, sued
in the Town Hall of Bruges, before the burgomasters, mer-
chants, and councillors of the city, John Selle and William
Caxton, both English merchants, for a sum of money. William
Craes deposed that John Granton, of the Staple at Calais, was
indebted to him in the sum of £110 sterling, for which the
said John Selle and William Caxton had become sureties,
and that the said John Granton having departed from the
city without payment made, he, the said Craes, had caused
his sureties to be arrested. The defendants admitted that
they were the sureties for John Granton, but pleaded that as
(! ranton was very rich, complainant should wait and look to
him for payment, if indeed the money had not been already
paid. Judgment was given by Roeland de Yos and Guerard
le Groote in favour of the complainant, the defendants having
to give security for the sum demanded, but it was also decreed
that if John Granton on his return to Bruges should prove
payment previously to his departure, the complainant should
then pay a fine double in amount to that of the sum claimed.
We learn from their records that the Mercers were, at this
period, engaged in a considerable trade with the Low Coun-
tries, but this soon after received a check from an edict of
i lie Duke of Burgundy which prohibited the importation of
all English cloths. The item in the Mercers' accounts — " To
Richard Burgh for bearing of a letter over the sea, Gs 8d,"
probably refers to this, although from the small sum paid
in comparison with several similar entries, it may be inferred
that lie was not a special messenger, but that he took charge
oi the letter, having to go to Bruges on his own account.
- CAXTON ABROAD.
The date when Caxton was admitted to the freedom of his
Company does not appear, but it was doubtless shortly after
he had issued from his apprenticeship. It must have occurred
before 1453, for in that year he made a journey from Bruges
to London, accompanied by Richaert Burgh and Esmond
Eedeknape, when all three were admitted to the Livery of the
Mercers' Company, a privilege to which the admission to the
freedom was a necessary step. Like Caxton, Burgh and Rede-
knape were probably English traders settled at Bruges : Rede-
knape was most likely a relative of the W. Redeknape of
London, who appears farther on as a merchant trading with
Bruges, and we have already noticed Burgh as the bearer of a
letter to that city. We may likewise remark that the usual
fees on their taking up the livery seem to have been remitted,
the whole entry in the volume of accounts being erased by
the pen. The Mercers' accounts of the same year show
charges for sending two letters to the Duchess of Burgundy,
who was not above trading in cloth on her own account, with
the special privilege from her brother, Edward IV, of being
freed from the payment of import and export duties. In
14,") 3 Geoffrey Felding, Mercer, was mayor, and the names of
William Caxton, Ric. Burgh, Thos. Bryce, and William Pratt
appear, charged with fines of 3s. Acl. each for not attending
at his riding (quils fautent de chiuachier ouesque le mair).
As an English merchant residing in Bruges, Caxton would
necessarily be subject to the laws and regulations of the
Chartered Company called the Merchant Adventurers,
whose Governor had control over all English and Scotch
traders in those parts. All foreign trade was then carried
on by means of Trading Guilds. These associations, which
occupy a prominent position in the early history of European
commerce, had in most cities a common place of residence,
and were governed by laws and charters granted on one side
by the government of their own country, and on the other
side by the government of the country in which they had
settled. They appear to have originated in a common
necessity. The grader in a foreign country was always an
object of suspicion to the inhabitants, and often found him-
C
18 WILLIAM CAXTON.
self restricted by its laws as to the articles he should buy
or sell, and to the prices he should give or receive. These
laws being frequently unjust and subversive of all legitimate
trade, besides being often strained to the great injury of indi-
viduals, it was found expedient for all traders in foreign lands
to unite, aud by combined action to secure that recognition of
their rights which the individual could not obtain. Hence
arose the Association of Merchant Adventurers, which con-
sisted of English merchants, who ventured their goods in
foreign markets. The Mercers, whose foreign trade far ex-
ceeded that of all other Companies, appear to have originated
this Association hi the thirteenth century, under the name of
the Guild or Fraternity of St. Thomas-a-Becket, and to have
retained the principal management of its affairs until their
disconnection in the sixteenth century. Although Grocers,
Drapers, Fishmongers, and several other trade guilds yielded
their quota of members, and added their influence when
support was needed, yet there were more Mercers among the
Merchant Adventurers' than liverymen of any other company ;
the meetings of the Association at their head-quarters in
London were held in Mercers' Hall, and their transactions
entered in the same minute-book with those of the Mercers'
Company itself until 152G, when they became entirely inde-
pendent, although the last link was not severed before the
Great Fire of London in 1GG6 destroyed the office which the
Merchant Adventurers held of the Mercers under their Hall.
It appears, however, from the records of the Founders' Com-
pany, that the Merchant Adventurers became their tenants in
J a(i5 ; that the Founders borrowed a large sum of money
from them, for which, in 1047, £200 was paid for interest;
and that in 1G83 the Founders leased the Sising Room and
the Gown Room of their new Hall in Lothbury to the Mer-
chant Adventurers for £1G per annum. Several charters were
granted by English kings to their subjects in various parts of
Europe for their internal government. In 1407, Henry IV
granted authority to the English merchants in Holland, Flan-
ders, Prussia, and other States, to assemble and elect governors,
with power to rule all English merchants repairing thither,
CAXTON ABROAD. 19
and to make reasonable ordinances. Henry VI renewed these
powers in 1444. On the accession of the House of York,
the Mercers consulted the City Recorder and "Rigby" re-
specting their Corporation, and by the statute 1 Ed. IV, c. i.,
passed for confirming the titles of those who held under
grants of any of the three preceding kings, therein described
as " in fact and not in right " kings of England, all grants to
the wardens of the Mercers were specially confirmed. The
Merchant Adventurers now obtained a larger charter, dated
April 16th, 14G2, which Hakluyt calls " The Merchant Adven-
turers' Patent," for the better government of the English
merchants residing in Brabant, Flanders, &c, and under its
provisions William Obray was appointed " Governor of the
English Merchants " at Bruges.
Whether Obray died about this time is not known, but he
does not appear to have acted long in his new capacity, for
between June 24th, 1402, and June 24th, 14G3, the Mercers'
books record that William Caxton was performing the official
duties of governor, and was in correspondence not only with
the wardens of the Mercers' Company, but also with the Lord
Chancellor, writing to both about the best method of regu-
lating the buying of ware at Bruges. The charge for boat-
hire incurred by the wardens in delivering Caxton's letter to
the Lord Chancellor is thus entered in the annual accounts : —
Item for botehyre for to shewe to ye lords of ye coilsell the l're
y* came from Caxton & ye felaship by yond ye See vjd.
When Caxton's name next appears in the Mercers' books
there is no doubt of his position, as he is addressed by the
title of " governor." It was one of the duties of the governor
at Bruges by his "correctors" to see that all goods exported
to England were of just weight and measure, and at a Court
of Adventurers, held in Mercers' Hall on August 10th, 14c:>,
William Redeknape, William Hende, and John Sutton com-
plained that they had received both cloth and lawn deficient
in breadth as well as length; whereupon it was decided that
a letter should be dispatched to " William Caxton, Governor
beyond the Sea" for reformation of the abuse. Tin's being
c 2
20
WILLIAM CAXTON.
an unusually interesting .entry, we quote it here as it is
on folio cxl. of the original minute book : —
A xiiij c lxv°- Courts of avcnturers holdon the xvj th daye of
August the yere aboue written.
ffor cuell mesure ffor asmuche as Will 1 " Redeknape Willâ„¢ hende
cf cloth & lawnc. & John Sutton w* other complayne as well for
lak of mesure in all white clothe and brown
clothe as in brede of the same/ and in lykewise
in lawne nyvell & purpell hit is accorded that a
letter shal be made to Will m Caxton gouno r by
yonde the see as well for refourmacion of the
p'shlentes as other &c.
A lettre of the same and other was sent by henry
Bomstedthe iiij th day of September A°R S E. iiij u
iiij">.
"Whether Henry Bomsted was a special courier does not
appear; but the same year another letter. was sent at a cost
representing more than £15 at the present day, and entered
thus : —
Item to Jenyne Bakker, Currour for bcrying a letter
to Caxton ovir ye see xviiij s viij d
Caxton being now established in the city of Bruges, in the
influential position of Governor of the English Xation in the
'Low Countries, it may be as well to take a brief survey of
his duties and emoluments at this period. These are expressly
laid down in the charter already noticed, granted only two
years before. The governor had full power to govern by
himself or deputies all merchants and mariners, to make such
minor regulations for the conduct of trade (not contrary to
the International Treaties) as seemed needful, to decide all
quarrels, and to pass sentence in a court composed of himself
as governor and twelve justicers to counsel and advise him ;
the justicers to be chosen by the "common merchants and
mariners," subject to his approval, six sergeants being allowed
" to do the executions and arrests of the said court." He was
to appoint at pleasure correctors and brokers to witness all
bargains, as well as folders and packers to make up the packs
of the merchants (who were not allowed to pack their own
CAXTON ABROAD. %\
goods, lest any prohibited articles should be included), and he
was to be present at the unpacking of goods newly arrived.
No parcel was to leave the city without being sealed. The
officers were paid by a fee charged on packing or unpacking
every pack : the governor being paid at the rate of 2d. for
every pack sealed for exportation, and Id. for every bargain
witnessed by his deputies, besides several smaller levies which
are not mentioned in the charter, except under the term
" accustomed dues." From all this it will be seen that the
governor ruled over his countrymen with almost unlimited
authority. His duties must at times have been very onerous,
involving much responsibility, and requiring talents of no
mean order. To him likewise would be made all communi-
cations from the Government under which they lived, and to
his diplomatic skill and influence woidd be due to a large
extent the comfort or discomfort of aU the English residents.
By the charter Obray would appear to have been the
nominee of the king himself, but this was only a form, as the
custom seems to have been for the Court of the Adventurers
to recommend "a fit person" to the king, who thereupon
appointed him. The following example will show in whose
hands the executive power really resided : — The name of John
Pykering appears in the Mercers' books as the successor of
Caxton in the office of " Governor of the English Nation."
This Pykering, who was a Mercer of renown, having spoken
against the wardens of his Company, was summoned before
an assembly of the "Adventurers of the different Fellowships "
in London. There disdaining to "stond bare hed," and
speaking " alle hawty and roiall," he was by the advice of the
Court of the Mercers discharged from his office of governor,
and heavily fined. Shortly after, he appears to have repented
his boldness, for we find him humbly asking pardon on his
knees before a full Court. Nothing could more fully prove
the power exercised by the Mercers' Company, which was, in
fact, mainly instrumental in obtaining the new charter for
the Adventurers, or, as they are usually termed, "our felawship
by yond the See," for which in the year following they arc
charged by the Mercers' Company £47 Os. lOd.
22 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The " English Nation," as we hare already remarked, Avas
a very important body at Bruges, and like the Esterlings, the
Florentines, and other merchants, had their own " House,"
which existed in its original state when Sanderos, who calls
it " Praetorium peramplum," wrote his " Flandria Illustrata."
The engraving of the Domus Angliae, occupied by the Mer-
chant Adventurers, and in which William Caxton resided for
many years, is taken from this work, which contains numerous
illustrations of the ancient buildings of Bruges, including the
residences of the various guilds.
A great similarity prevailed in the internal management
of all foreign guilds, arising from the fact that foreigners
were regarded by the natives with jealousy and suspicion.
The laws which governed the Esterlings in London, who lived
in a strongly-built enclosure, called the Steel Yard, the site of
which is now occupied by the City station of the South Eastern
Railway Company, were much the same as those under which
the English Nation lived in Bruges and other cities. The
foreign merchant had, in Caxton's time, to brave a large
amount of popular dislike, and to put up with great restraints
on his liberty. Not only did he trade under harassing re-
strictions, but he resigned all hopes of domestic ties and
family life. As in a monastery, each member had his own
dormitory, whilst at meal-times there was a common table.
Marriage was out of the question, and concubinage was
followed by expulsion. Every member was bound to sleep in
the house, and to be in-doors by a fixed time in the evening,
and for the sake of good order no woman of any description
was allowed within the walls.
"When Caxton entered upon his duties as governor, he
acted under the articles of a treaty of trade between the two
countries, which had been many years in force, but which
would terminate on November 1st, 1465. It was highly neces-
sary that a renewal of this treaty should be made before that
date, and we accordingly find that the king issued a com-
mission, dated October 24th, 14G4, in which he showed great
wisdom by joining in one mission a clever statesman and a
successful merchant. These were Sir Richard Whitchill, who
Plate II.
The House in which Caxton lived at Bruges.
CAXTON ABROAD. 23
had already been employed in several important embassies,
and William Caxton, who, as the chief Englishman in Bruges,
and well acquainted with all trade questions was " a most fit
person." They were, however, unsuccessful, although for what
reason does not appear, and the treaty being still unrenewed,
a " convencion of lordes " was fixed to meet at St. Omer on
October 1st, 1465, to consider the matter. This convention
does not appear to have taken place, for on the 14th of the
same month, the wardens of the Mercers' Company wrote a
long letter to Caxton, informing him that " the convention
holdeth not ;" that the king, taking into consideration the
near approach of the term of the existing treaty, had written
to the mayor of London requesting him " to provide a person "
to go over to the Duke of Burgundy about the prorogation
of the intercourse ;" that the wardens of the Mercers with the
wardens of divers Fellowships, Adventurers, considering that
hitherto in similar cases the king, "with the advice of his
council, had made provision in that behalf," and that it was
not their part to take upon themselves a matter of such great
weight, had urged the mayor to write a letter to the king
in the most pleasant wise that he could, beseeching him " to
provide for this matter ; " and that, considering the near
approach of the term of the treaty and the uncertainty of any
speedy action by the king, Caxton had better consult with his
fellow merchants at Bruges in as " goodly haste " as possible
as to the best means of protecting their goods and persons
until such time as the treaty might be renewed. This inte-
resting letter, which appears in full in the Mercers' books, was
signed by the four wardens, and addressed " a W. Caxton."
A very anxious year must this have been with Caxton, for
not only was the treaty unrenewed, but the Duke of Bur-
gundy decreed the exclusion of all English-made cloth from
his dominions. This of course induced retaliation, and the
importation of all Flemish goods into England Avas prohibited
by Act of Parliament ; but neither the Flemish nor the English
merchants could suffer their trade to be paralyzed, and so the
traffic was carried on by a more circuitous and expensive
route, being smuggled through the neighbouring States. Next
1>4 WILLIAM CAXTON.
year the Earl of Warwick "(the nobleman to whom Caxton
afterwards dedicated the first edition of his " Chess Book "),
wrote to Caxton, calling upon him to enforce the Act of Par-
liament forbidding the purchase of wares by English traders
in the Duke of Burgundy's dominions. Caxton immediately
communicated this order to the lord mayor and to the wardens
of the Mercery at London, in a letter dated 27th May, 14 (50,
desired to be informed what the "lordes intent" was, and
whether they had received a letter which he had sent by way
of St. Omer, at the same time requesting early news of any
" ioperdy that shulde fall." The letter arrived in London on
June 3rd, when a full court of Adventurers was instantly
summoned, at which it was determined that an immediate
answer should be returned. This was accordingly despatched
next day by the hands of Simon Preste, addressed " a Will 111 '
Caxton, Gunor de la nac' dcng s " and signed by the four
wardens. In it Caxton was instructed that the Act of Par-
liament must be observed and the fines enforced in every case
of infringement ; that, being themselves ignorant of the
intention of the Lords, they could give no information on
that point ; and, that as to any threatened jeopardy, it was
likely to be known sooner in Bruges than in London.*
Matters remained in this unsatisfactory state until the death
of Philip the Good, June 15th, 14G7, who was succeeded by
his son, Charles the Bold.
The tide of affairs now turned in favour of England, and
in the following year the Lords Hastings and Scales, John
Russell, and others were sent as ambassadors to conclude a
treaty of marriage between Charles the Bold, Duke of Bur-
gundy, and the Princess Margaret, sister of King Edward IV.
Lord Scales, afterwards Earl Rivers, was in later years one of
Caxton's most liberal patrons, and his translation of "The
Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers" was the first book
with the date of imprint which issued from Caxton's press.
John Russell, "Docteur en Decret, and Arcediacre de Berk-
Verbatim copies of all these letters maybe seen in " The Life
and Typography of William Caxton," Vol. I., pp. 110-92.
CAXTON ABROAD. 25
Buir," who subsequently became Bishop of Lincoln and Lord
High Chancellor, appears to have been an ancestor of the
Bedford family, and his oration delivered at the investiture of
the Duke of Burgundy with the Order of Garter, on February
4th, 1470, is also one of the earliest works printed by Caxton.
The marriage was solemnized in Bruges on the 5th of June,
14 08, with the greatest possible pomp ; and long accounts of
the splendour of the ceremony, and of the accompanying
festivities, are given by the old chroniclers. Caxton, by reason
of his ^position as " governor," would no doubt take part in
them, and be in close intercourse with the many English
nobles frequenting the Flemish court. It is not improbable
that it was at this period that he attracted the notice, and
gained the good-will, of the duchess herself, for he was cer-
tainly in her service two years later.
The nuptial feasts were soon followed by negociations for
treaties of trade. The king having, by the advice of his
counsel, determined to send an embassy to the Duke of Bur-
gundy for the " enlarging of woollen cloth in his dominions,"
issued a special command to the Mercers' Company that they
would present unto him certain persons of their number " to
go out in embassage with diverse ambassadors into Flaunders,"
the Mercers thereupon nominated William Bedeknape, John
Pykeryng, and William Caxton. This took place on Septem-
ber 0th, 1468, and the three ambassadors having been approved
by the king, the Court of the Mercers met again on the 28th
of the same month, and voted £40 " out of the Cundith mony "
for the costs and charges of Bedeknape and Pykeryng in this
embassy. The omission of Caxton's name from this grant
leads us to infer that he was then engaged in the discharge of
the duties of governor at Bruges, and would therefore not
require any travelling expenses. The mission was successful,
and the intercourse was renewed between the two countries
in October of the same year.
The duties of Caxton's office must necessarily have occu-
pied a great portion of his time, and obliged him, in the
interests of the traders he represented, to pay visits to the
various towns in which the English merchants resided. The
•20 WILLIAM CAXTON.
old records of Utrecht of the years 1464, 1465, and 1467,
mention free passports having been granted to Caxton, his
servants and goods. Nevertheless, he seems to have found
leisure for those literary pursuits to which he was so much
attached. It was in March, 1468, or, as we should now say,
1469, that he began to translate the favourite romance of that
age, " Le Recueil des Histoires de Troye." This, he informs
us in a Prologue, he undertook to avoid sloth and idleness ;
and indeed the constant use of phrases in which he excuses
himself for his translations by urging the duty of eschewing
sloth and idleness, would almost lead one to imagine that
Caxton was of an indolent nature, did not the whole of his
life, and especially those few last years in which he performed
such prodigies of literary labour, give a satisfactory denial.
Phrases of this kind were among the conventionalities of the
age, and nearly every writer in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries seems to have considered the avoidance of sloth as
the proper excuse for bringing forward any literary work.
In the manuscripts of Caxton's time, these deprecatory pre-
faces are very common ; and a comparison with the French
original will show that these sentiments, although adopted by
Caxton, are in reality those of the original author, and not
the spontaneous avowal of the translator. This explana-
tion is necessary in order to prevent too great weight being
attached to Caxton's phraseology in the Prologue to the
".Histories of Troy," for he was still " governor," an office
necessarily entailing a considerable amount of responsibility
and work, when he commenced that translation. Indeed, if
Anderson be correct when he states in his " History of Com-
merce," that there Avere at this period sometimes more than a
hundred vessels in Sluis, the port of Bruges, Caxton must
have had ample work upon his hands. But whether he really
had " no great charge or occupation," or whether he was too
busy to devote the needful time to his translation, he himself
tells us that he then proceeded no further than with five or
six quires. Each quire or section consisting of eight or ten
leaves, this would amount to between forty and sixty leaves
of manuscript. At this point, dissatisfied with the results of
CAXTON ABEOAD. 27
his labour, lie laid them aside, without any intention of ever
completing his translation.
About two months later Caxton appears to have had more
" occupation " than he could get through alone ; for, although
still acting as " governor," a judgment was delivered in his
name, wherein he was styled " William Caxton marchant
dangleterre maisfcre et gouverneur des marchans de la nation
dangleterre par deca." The case in dispute being between an
Englishman and a Genoese merchant, they agreed to submit
it to the arbitration of William Caxton and Thomas Perrot as
mutual friends ; but Caxton being obliged to leave Bruges
for some cause not mentioned in the document, a fidl court
of merchants was summoned, and the judgment delivered in
the names of the arbitrators. This judgment is dated May
12th, 1409, and is the latest instance, as yet discovered, in
which Caxton's name appears in his official capacity.
There is, however, another notice of Caxton lately dis-
covered in the archives at Bruges, but Avhether it is to be
referred to a period before or after his resignation of office is
uncertain. It is a document containing a list of persons who,
on August 18th, 14G9, were considered by the town council
to be of sufficient importance to share in the gifts of the
"Vins d'honneur" usually distributed on great public occa-
sions. Caxton received four kans of wine, but whether it was
presented to him as " governor," or as an official in the ser-
vice of the Duchess of Burgundy, is unknown. Treaties were
certainly being negociated by ambassadors from England who
were at Bruges in 1469, and received, on June 11th, a present
of " trois pieces de vin," but this was two months earlier than
the date of the gift to Caxton.
On February 4th, 1470, an imposing ceremony took place
at Ghent, ambassadors being sent by Edward IV to invest
the Duke of Burgundy with the Order of the Garter, but there
is no direct evidence to support the supposition that Caxton
Avas present on this occasion. That he was at Ghent, though
apparently a year later, is stated in his prologue to "The
Ptecuyell," and he appears to have been connected with the
printing of the Latin oration delivered by Dr. B,ussell.
>>X WILLIAM CAXTON.
In October of the same year Edward IV, accompanied by
many of his nobles, took refuge in the capital of the duke's
dominions from the machinations of the Earl of "Warwick.
Here Caxton, either as "governor" or as a servant of the
duchess, had an excellent opportunity of assisting his country-
men, who were in great need, until the restoration of their
sovereign. That he did so may be inferred from the royal
favour extended to him in after years.
The exact date when Caxton entered the service of the
duchess, as well as that when he relinquished his governor-
ship, is uncertain. The two events may have borne the rela-
tionship of cause and effect. Caxton's own narrative shows
that about two years after his first essay at translating "The
Recuyell," or about March, 1471, he was in the service of the
duchess, receiving a yearly salary and other benefits. He was
then instructed to resume his literary work, and the " dreadful
command " of his royal mistress seems to have been obeyed
with wonderful alacrity ; for, although he was at one time at
Ghent and at another time at Cologne, the translation was
not again neglected till, on the 19th of September, 1471, the
whole was completed, and offered by Caxton to the duchess,
by whom he was handsomely rewarded for his trouble.
The nature of the service rendered by Caxton to the
duchess is very uncertain. He says of himself that he was
her servant, receiving a yearly fee, and other good and great
benefits. That it was an honourable office admits of no doubt,
and that it was moreover one in which Caxton's knowledge
and talents as a merchant would be serviceable seems very
probable. We must not forget that in those days princes,
nobles, and even ecclesiastics, did not consider it inconsistent
with their dignity to trade on their own account, and this
they frequently did under special exemptions from the taxes
to which the ordinary merchant had to submit. Edward IV
and many of his nobility owned ships of merchandise. In
L475 the "Wardens of the Mercers' Company wrote to
Antwerp concerning a ship called "The Sterre," belonging
to Earl Rivers, and a document of the year 1472 throws some
light on the nature of the services which a merchant like
CAXTON ABROAD. 20
Caxton might have rendered to his royal mistress. Edward
IV in that year granted to his sister, the Duchess of Bur-
gundy, special privileges and exemptions with regard to her
own private trading in English wool. The late duchess, wife
of Philip the Good, likewise engaged in similar transactions,
in which, if we may judge from the following entries in the
Mercers' accounts, her ladies also were apparently in some
degree interested : —
1450. Item paid to John Stubbes for perys to the
Gentilwoman of the Duchesse of Burgeyn vj d
1451. Item paid to Hewe Wyche for a writ directe
to Sandewyche for the gownys of the
gentil womans of the duches of Burgeyn ij s vj d
1454. Item — Pour la copie dune lettre enuoie a la
duchesse de Burg e xij s
1455. Item — a M Gervers pour une lettre & la copie
enuoi a la duchesse de Burg e xx s
The question naturally arises — How; was it that Caxton,
holding the influential and lucrative position of "Governor
of the English Nation " at Bruges, resigned that post to enter
upon duties of a much less ambitious character ? There is
no reference in the Mercers' records to any disagreement
between Caxton and the home authorities, nor had he at this
time (1469) entertained the idea of returning to his native
country. "We must, however, remember that during a very
eventful and anxious period he had for some years held an
office of the gravest responsibility, and we may assume from
his complaint of two years later, that age was daily creeping
upon him and enfeebling his body, that the troubles of official
life had undermined his health. We can, therefore, easily
imagine that he would gladly embrace the opportunity of
exchanging the cares of office for the easy service of the
Duchess of Burgundy, which would allow him to indulge
in the congenial pursuit of literature and the " strange
meruaylous historyes" in which he so much delighted. Or
perchance his complaint of "age creeping upon him" was
simply one of the conventional self - depreciating remarks
common to writers of his time, while the real cause of his
30 WILLIAM CAXTON.
resignation was a wish to marry and to enjoy those home
joys and comforts which had hitherto been impracticable.
That Caxton was a married man, and that he conld not
have married much later than 14G9, is a new fact in the
biography of Caxton, discovered by Mr. Gairdner, of the
Public Record Office, who recently came across a paper docu-
ment, without seals or signatures, and therefore only a copy
of the original, made for production in court in connection
with some law-suit. It was found among the miscellaneous
records of the Exchequer, formerly preserved in the Chapter
House at Westminster, and was first printed in the "Academy"
for April 4th, 1874. The tenor of the document, which is
given in full in the appendix, is as follows: — A variance
having arisen between Gerard Croppe, merchant tailor, of
Westminster, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of William
Caxton, the matter was brought before the archdeacon and
the king's chaplain, who heard the case in St. Stephen's
Chapel, Westminster. It was then agreed that they should
live apart, and not vex, sue, or trouble one another, each
being bound under a penalty of £100 (which woidd represent
about £1500 at the present day). Upon the signing of a
deed to that effect, the said Gerard Croppe was to receive
from the executors of William Caxton "twenty printed
legends," valued at 13s Ad each (the sum total of which
would now be equivalent to £200), and to give the executors
a full acquittance of any further claim upon the estate. This
document, which is dated May 20th, 1496, throws no light
upon the cause of quarrel, unless it were concerning a legacy
left by Caxton to his daughter.
Now, assuming that Caxton was married in 14G9, which
was about the period when he resigned his official position
and entered the royal service, and that his daughter Eliza-
beth was born soon after, she would have been about twenty-
one years of age at the time of her father's death in 1491,
and twenty-six years of age when separated from her hus-
band. We have already seen how John Stubbs and Hugh
Wyche were in communication with the gentlewomen of the
Duchess of Burgundy. Caxton, no doubt, was also in fre-
CAXTON ABROAD. 31
quent attendance upon them, and may perhaps hare induced
one of them to become his wife. Whether this be so or not,
it is now an ascertained fact that after some forty-six years
of compulsory celibacy, Caxton took to himself a wife, who,
it may be hoped, was truly his helpmate and solace of his
declining years. It is not unlikely that the following entry
in the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Margaret, Westmin-
ster, under the year 1490, may refer to Caxton's wife: —
" Item. — Atte bureying of Mawde Caxton for torches &, tapres iij s ij d."
Reverting to the " Histories of Troye," and the presenta-
tion of a manuscript copy to the duchess, no doubt can be
entertained that this was the turning-point in Caxton's life.
In the Prologue to Book I. he narrates in simple language
the causes which led him to undertake the translation : —
" Whan I remembre that euery man is bounden by the
comandement & counceyll of the wyse man to eschewe
slouthe and ydelness whyche is moder and nourysshar of vyces
and ought to put myself vnto vertuous occupation and besy-
nesse/ Than I hauynge no grete charge of ocupacion folow-
ynge the sayd counceyll/ toke a frenche boke and redde
therein many strange and meruayllous historyes where in I
had grete pleasyr and delyte/ as well for the nouelte of the
same as for the fayr langage of frenshe . whyche was in prose
so well and compendiously sette and wreton/ whiche me
thought I understood the sentence and substance of euery
mater/ And for so moche as this booke was newe and late
maad and drawen in to frenshe/ and neuer had seen hit in
oure cnglissh tongue/ I thought in my self hit shold be a
good besynes to translate hyt in to oure englissh/ to thende
that hyt myght be had as well in the royame of Englond as
in other landes/ and also for to passe therwyth the tyme . and
thus concluded in my self to begynne this sayd worke."
The new "Historie" was a welcome novelty to his
countrymen, who had hitherto been accustomed to read such
works only in French, which still retained its pre-eminence
as the language of the court and of literature, notwithstand-
ing the great advance and improvement which had been
m
WILLIAM CAXTON.
made in English. The demand for Caxton's translation soon
became greater than could possibly be supplied. His hand
grew "wery and not stedfast" with much writing, as he
states in the epilogue of the printed edition, and his eyes
were "dinied with overmoch lokyng on the whit paper."
Then it was, with Colard Mansion at hand to teach and
help him, that he turned his attention to the new-burn Art
of Printing.
CHAPTER IV.
LITEEATURE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
gKSggp gfl HE revival of literature in Europe, com-
Wffl&^'^mfo niencing with the latter part of the four-
teenth century, its steady growth, and
its wonderful development in the suc-
ceeding age, have been dwelt upon by
many writers. Nowhere was this revival
more strongly marked than in France and the Low Countries.
The French kings and the princes of the royal blood had
been for many generations the constant patrons of authors
and of all engaged in the production of books. In 1850,
-John II, who has the credit of having founded the library
of the Louvre, ascended the throne of France. No parti-
culars concerning the library of this monarch have been
preserved, and it was probably of no great extent ; but his
literary tastes descended to each of his four sons, and from
the inventories which have come down to us of the libraries
of these princes, we obtain very interesting information as
to the number, the description, the illuminations, the bind-
ings, and the market value of the books which they contained.
Charles, the eldest son, who succeeded his father in 13(14,
had a highly-developed taste for every thing connected with
the fine arts. He greatly increased the number of volumes in
the Louvre library, so that in the ninth year of his reign,
when Gilles Mallet drew up a catalogue, they amounted to
910, the greater number of which were written on fine
i)
;',| WILLIAM CAXTON.
vellum, and were magnificently bound, and enriched with
gold clasps and precious stones. This library, the Duke of
Bedford, when Eegent of France, is supposed to have trans-
ported to England in 1429. In after years, a few of the
volumes returned to France, but the famous library of the
Louvre never recovered its ancient splendour. Louis, Duke
of Anjou, second son of King John, shared to a great degree
the love of books and works of art displayed by his elder
brother. The third son, John, Duke of Berry, formed an
extensive library at his chateau at Bicetre, near Paris, inferior
only to that of the king himself. But of all the king's sons,
Philip, who soon equalled his eldest brother in power, un-
surpassed him in the number and splendour of his literary
treasures. King John's second wife was Jane, widow of the
Duke of Burgundy, and in her right he succeeded to that
duchy on the death of her only son. When dividing his
kingdom among his four sons, King John apportioned Bur-
gundy to the youngest, Philip the Hardy, who, by his marriage
with Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Louis, Count of
Flanders, inherited, on the death of his father-in-law in 1 384,
a large extent of territory. Philip, who has the character of
having been a generous prince, was well read in the literary
lore of his age. He was passionately addicted to music and
to the collection of fine books, and he spared no expense in
the employment of artists, and in the purchase of their most
choice productions. Nor did he rest satisfied with the en-
couragement of artists alone, but gathered round him some
of the most learned and able authors of his time, who enriched
his library with new works. This prince died in 1404, and
was succeeded by his son, John the Fearless, who, although
distracted by continual wars, maintained and even added
somewhat to his father's library. Christine de Pisan received
one hundred crowns for two books which she presented to
him. But all previous patronage is eclipsed by the encourage-
ment given to literature by Philip the Good, who succeeded
to the dukedom of Burgundy upon the decease of John in
1 1 19, At Bruges, where he kept his court, he gave continual
employment to a crowd of authors, translators, copyists, and
LITERATURE IX THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 86
illuminators, who enriched his library with their best pro-
ductions, and did not forget to sing the praises of their
generous patron. David Aubert, a celebrated scribe, thus
describes the duke in 1457 : †” " This renowned and virtuous
prince has been accustomed, for many years past, to have
ancient histories read to him daily. His library surpasses all
others, for from his youth he has had in his service numerous
translators, scholars, historians, and scribes in various coun-
tries, all diligently working, so that now there is not a prince
in all Christendom who has so varied and so rich a library."
In the account which M. Barrois gives of the library of this
sovereign, he enumerates nearly two thousand works, the
greater part being magnificent folios on vellum beautifully
illuminated, and bound in velvet, satin, or damask, studded
with gems, and closed by gold clasps, jewelled and chased.
Many of these are still preserved in the Eoyal Library at
Brussels.
The taste of successive rulers spread its influence among
their subjects, and fashion lent its aid in multiplying libra-
ries. No present was more acceptable than a beautifully
executed manuscript, and the opulent nobles of the Trench
and Burgundian courts offered costly books to their sove-
reigns and their friends. The records and inventories of this
period contain numerous entries of such gifts, often with their
estimated value.
Among the nobles at the court of Philip the Good, many
emulated the literary taste of their sovereign, but none
showed greater judgment and liberality in the formation of
his library than Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse.
This nobleman, who had risen by his talents to the highest
position, received, at his chateau of Oostcamp, near Bruges,
in 1470, Edward IV of England, when he sought refuge
from the Lancastrians in Flanders, and was afterwards re-
warded by that king with the title of Earl of Winchester.
His library was scarcely inferior to that of his sovereign,
and nearly the whole of the manuscripts were the production
of Flemish artists at Bruges or Ghent. The large size of the
volumes, thebeauty of the vellum, the elegance of the writing,
it -1
36 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
the artistic merit of the illuminations and ornaments, and
the luxury displayed in the bindings, are evidences of the
deep interest taken by the Seigneur de la Gruthuyse in the
formation of his library. On his death it passed to his son,
Jean de Bruges, and was soon after added to the collection
already existing at the chateau of Blois, belonging to the kings
of France. Great pains were then taken to obliterate the
armorial bearings, devices, and monograms which showed the
former ownership of the manuscripts, which efforts were but
partially successful, as about a hundred volumes, now among
the most precious treasures of the Bibbotheque Rationale at
Paris, still attest that they once belonged to this celebrated
collection. As the patron of literary men and of artists,
Louis de Bruges takes a high place in the annals of his
country, whilst the friendly attitude he assumed towards
Golard Mansion, in the early career of that unfortunate
pioneer of the press, should ever endear his name to biblio-
graphers. This passion for beautiful books was not confined
to the dukedom of Burgundy, but existed equally in France,
Italy, Germany, England, and other countries. Henry VI of
England had a valuable library, and many of the books written
and illuminated for him are still among the Royal MSS. in
the British Museum. The Duke of Bedford, whose love for
literature was no doubt greatly stimulated during the time he
held the office of Regent of France, was surpassed by none of
his countrymen in his patronage of the fine arts, and the
celebrated Missal, written and illuminated for him, still re-
nin ins as one of the choicest productions of his age. Hum-
phrey, Duke of Gloucester, the protector of England during
the minority of Henry VI, was also greatly attached to his
library, and many manuscripts are extant, over which the
antiquary pauses with respect and interest as he reads the
boldly-written autograph, "Cest a moy Homfrey."
Owing to these causes, the various artists connected with
bookwriting and bookbinding, as well as the trades necessary
to them, received much encouragement, while, to ensure ra-
pidity as well as excellence of workmanship, division of labour
was carried out to a great extent. Indeed, so important a
LITERATURE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. St
branch of commerce had the manufacture of hooks now he-
come, and so numerous were the different classes of craftsmen
thus employed in Bruges, that there sprang up in that city a
guild, apparently very similar to the trade companies in
London, to which, in 1454, the duke granted a formal charter
and special privileges. The company is styled "der ghilde
van sinte jan Ewagz," or " The Guild of St. John the Evan-
gelist," who was the patron saint of scribes ; and the volume
of receipts and expenditure of this guild, beginning with the
entrance fees of the original members, exists still in a perfect
state of preservation in the city archives of Bruges. Van
Praet gives some interesting extracts from this volume, which
show that the guild comprised members of both sexes, to
whose names their respective trades are affixed, thus indicat-
ing the various branches of industry employed at that time in
the manufacture of books.
Librariers et bockvcrkopers (Booksellers).
Ptenter-vercoopers (Printselleri).
Scilders {Painters).
Vinghette makers {Painters of Vignettes).
Scrivers et bouc-scrivers {Scriveners and copyists of boohs).
Verlickters {Ilium inators).
Prenters {Printers, whether from blocks or types).
Bouc-binders {Bookbinders).
Reimmakers ( Curriers).
Drooch-scherrers {Cloth shearers).
Parkement makers et fransyn makers {Parchment and Vellum
makers).
Guispel snyders {Boss carvers).
Letter sniders {Letter engravers).
Beelde makers {Figure engravers).
Similar corporations existed in other cities. Thus, at
Antwerp, the Guild of St. Luke was formed before 1450, and
included trades like those of the Guild of St. John at Bruges ;
and at Brussels there was a guild of writers called " Les
Freres de la Plume." These guilds supported their own
chapel and chaplain, and sometimes had considerable pro-
perty. Nearly all the early printers whose names are now
famous in the annals of Flemish typography were enrolled
in one or other of these associations.
88 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The object of the foregoing sketch, and its bearings on the
subject of this memoir, will be evident to the reader who
recalls to mind that it was while the pursuit of literature in
Bruges was most ardent — that it was during the reign of the
greatest bibliophile of the fifteenth century, when Bruges
teemed with authors, translators, scribes, and illuminators,
who resorted thither from all parts of Europe to Philip the
Good as to a second Maecenas — that it was during the time
when the bibliographical treasures of Philip the Hardy, en-
riched by the numerous additions of his son and grandson,
and the libraries of Louis de Bruges and other nobles of the
Flemish court were concentrated in the same city — that
"William Caxton was, for thirty-three years at least, a resident
in Bruges. Access to these libraries would be easy to him,
and that he availed himself of the privilege seems all the
more probable, since we find, without exception, that the
books which he translated for his own press may be traced
in the catalogues of these noble libraries. As " Governor of
the English Nation," through whom all negotiations between
the English and the Burgundian governments would be car-
ried on, Caxton would be well acquainted with the nobles and
officers of the court, and hence he would naturally become
the agent for the literary wants of his countrymen. He
would also be brought into close contact with the most clever
authors, scribes, and illuminators of the time, among whom
were Colard Mansion and Jean Brito, originally artistic book-
writers, but afterwards the first to introduce the art of print-
ing into the city of Bruges.
.-â– 6
CHAPTER V.
DEVELOPMENT.
OSTUME, that sure guide of the historian
and the antiquary, is perhaps nowhere
more discernible than in literature, not
merely in the dress of language and ex-
pression, but also in the visible exponents
of that dress — writing and printing. Thus,
a manuscript or a printed book may, by the character of its
writing or printing alone, be ascribed to a determinate era.
In other words, a careful investigation of the mode of con-
struction will, in most cases, enable us to determine the
approximate age of any book, from the early manuscript to
the machine-printed volume of the present day.
In tracing the early development of printing, we are able
to note those successive deviations from the form of its parent,
Caligraphy, which were necessitated by the peculiarities of
the new art. Commencing simply as a substitute for manu-
script, it was naturally a close imitation thereof, and hence
the first printers laboured under many inconveniences, which
were shaken off as the capabilities of the new discovery be-
came better understood. These changes often afford the only
satisfactory evidence of the place and date of printing, as well
as weU as of the printer's name. We propose, therefore, as an
aid to chronological arrangement, to notice the points of
similarity between the earliest printed books and manuscripts,
especially with reference to the productions of Colard Mansion
40 WILLIAM CAXTON.
and William Caxton, and. then to trace the novelties, purely
typographical, introduced by the printers.
1 . There was a selection of material. The scribe natu-
rally wrote his choicest productions on fine vellum, carefully
sorted in order to secure evenness in tone and quality ; and
with the same idea the early printers sorted out their paper
before beginning to print. This is frecpiently seen when two
or three copies of the same book are compared together. One
is found to be printed entirely on thick, while another is
wholly on thin paper — one has no defects, whereas another is
made up of what the modern stationer calls " outsides." The
two copies of Oaxton's "Knyght of the Toure" preserved in
the British Museum present a remarkable instance of this
plan of selection.
2. It was a common practice with the scribes, when em-
ploying paper for their books, to use parchment for the inmost
sheet of every section. The object of this was to give a firm
hold to the thread of the binder, and thus strengthen the
volume, but the alternation of paper and parchment did not
present a pleasing appearance to the eye. Caxton adopted a
modification of this plan, and instead thereof pasted a strip of
vellum down the centre of the section. In books which have
had the good fortune to escape the modern bookbinder, the
observer may still see either the slips themselves or their
traces in the brown stains left by the paste.
3. When commencing a book, the scribes had a custom of
passing over the first leaf, and beginning on the third page,
probably with the intention of protecting the first page during
the execution and binding of the work. This practice was
followed in the early works which issued from the presses of
Flanders and of England, but unfortunately, in most of these
books, on which an expensive modern binding has been
placed, the blank leaf has been rejected as too coarse for a
fly-leaf, thus causing many volumes, although perfect as re-
gards the print, to be described by bibliographers as wanting
the title-page.
4. The scribe necessarily wrote but one page at a time,
and, curiously enough, in this the early printers also assimi-
DEVELOPMENT. 41
lated their practice. Whether from want of sufficient type to
set up the requisite number of pages, or from the small size
of the platen of the early presses, there is certain evidence of
the first books from Caxton's press having been printed page
by page. Thus, in all the books printed with type No. 1,
instances are found of pages on the same side of the sheet
being out of parallel, which could not occur if two pages
were printed together. A positive proof of the separate print-
ing of the pages may, however, be seen in a copy of " The
Recuyell of the Histories of Troye," in the Bodleian Library ;
for there the ninth recto of the third quinternion has never
been printed at all, while the complementary page, which falls
on the same side of the sheet, has been properly printed. A
variation in the colour of the ink, though often very notice-
able, is not a sure proof that the two pages so differing were
printed separately, as that may have occurred through imper-
fect beating.
5. Many bibliographers, neglecting the study of manu-
scripts, and confining their examination of early books to the
products of the printing press, have written and argued as if
" signatures " were an invention of printers. This is an erro-
neous idea. It was as necessary for the scribe to mark the
sequence of the sheets which he wrote as for the typographer
to mark the order of those which he printed ; because when
the sheets, whether manuscript or printed, had to be bound,
it was an absolute necessity for the binder to have every sheet
signed, for the signatures were his only guide in the collation
of the volume. There would seem to have been, for a long
time, an antipathy to these useful little signposts, which, being
needed only so long as the book remained unbound, were
placed by the scribe as near as possible to the bottom of the
leaf, that they might disappear under the plough of the binder.
This is what has happened in the great majority of cases, but
in every instance of the manuscript being preserved uncut
they may still be seen.
It is interesting to notice the manner in which the early
printers adopted and afterwards modified this custom of the
scribes. As it was very inconvenient for them to print sig-
42 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
natures of one or two letters away from the solid page, at
the extreme margin of the sheet, and as the idea of disfiguring
the text by making them a part of it was objectionable, they
continued the old practice for some time, and actually signed
every sheet by hand with pen and ink after it was printed.
The uncut copy of " The Recuyell," at Windsor Castle, is an
example of a book with manuscript signatures at the extreme
foot of every sheet. After some time, however, the prejudice
was overcome, and the signatures were printed close up to
the bottom line of the page. They were first introduced at
Cologne in 1472 and adopted by Caxton in 1480.
6. The upper portion of the first written leaf of a manu-
script was frequently left blank, for an illustration by the
vignette-painter. Space was also left at the beginning of
every chapter, and sometimes of every sentence, for an illu-
minated initial. For many years the early printers likewise
followed this plan, every book they issued requiring the hand
of the illuminator to complete it. This illumination was a
distinct branch of trade, and the workmen employed in it
did nothing but paint in the initials and paragraph marks.
Through carelessness or ignorance a wrong initial was occa-
sionally painted in, but as far as possible to prevent this, both
scribes and printers inserted a small letter as a guide, which
was usually covered over by the coloured capital.
7. When transcribing a book, it was seldom thought a
matter of any importance to add the date of transcription
and the writer's name, though occasional instances of this
are found. It was probably a like feeling which made the
early printers follow a practice which has caused the modern
bibliographer much doubt on many chronological points of
the greatest interest. So needless was it thought to inform
the reader when, where, or by whom a book was printed, that
out (if twenty-one works known to have issued from the press
of Colard Mansion at Bruges, not more than five have a date
aifixed to them, and of nearly one hundred publications
assigned to Caxton's press, considerably more than two-thirds
appeal without any indication of the year of imprint.
8. The similarity, amounting almost to identity, between
DEVELOPMENT . 4?,
the printed characters of the early typographers and the
written ones of their contemporaries, must also be noted.
It was this similarity which probably first gave rise to the
now admitted fable of Fust selling his bibles at Paris as
manuscripts, his impeachment before the parliament as a
sorcerer, and the necessity he was under of revealing his
secret to save his life.
The first printer, when he set about forming his alphabet,
could not have been troubled as to the shape he should give
his letters. The form which would naturally occur to him
would be that to which both he and the people to whom he
hoped to sell his productions had been accustomed. It is not
therefore at all wonderful, that the types used in the earliest
printed books should closely resemble the written characters
of the period, nor that this imitation should be extended to
all the combinations of letters which were then in use by
the scribes. Thus the bibles and psalters which appeared in
Germany, among the first productions of the press, were
printed in the characters used by the scribes for ecclesiastical
service-books, while the general literature was printed in the
common bastard-roman. When Sweynheym and Pannartz,
emigrating from Germany, took up their abode in the famous
monastery of Subiaco, near Rome, they cut the punches for
their new types in imitation of the Roman letters indigenous
to the country. In the dominions of the Duke of Burgundy,
where the labours of the scribes had been most extensively en-
couraged, the same plan was pursued. Colard Mansion, the
first printer at Bruges, was also a celebrated caligrapher, and
the close resemblance between his printed books and the best
manuscripts of his time is very marked. The same character
of writing was also in use in England, and Caxton's types
accordingly bear the closest resemblance to the hand-writing
in the Mercers' books, and to the volumes of that period in
the archives at Guildhall. Nevertheless Dibdin thus censures
Caxton for not adopting Roman types : — " That perfect order
and symmetry of press work, so immediately striking in the
pages of foreign books of this period, are in vain to be
sought for among the volumes which have issued from
44 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
Caxton's press; and the uniform rejection of the Roman
letter so successfully introduced by the Spiras, Jenson, and
Sweynheym and Pannartz is, unquestionably, a blemish on
our printer's typographical reputation."
9. The short spacing - of the early printer's also deserves
remark.* — The uneven length of the lines, so noticeable in
manuscripts, was a necessity, as the writer could not forecast
the space between the words so as to make all the lines of
an even length. But it certainly was no necessity with the
printer ; for although in this respect the time-honoured custom
of the scribes was followed for a few years, the improved
appearance which evenness gave to the work was soon
observed, and thus a typographical step in advance was estab-
lished. At Mentz and Cologne this occurred at a very early
stage. The first Psalter, printed in 1457, and the Mazarine
Bible of 1455 show, now and then, lines slightly deficient in
length, as do some of the earliest productions of Ulric Zel ;
but this rudeness soon gave way to a systematic plan of
spacing the lines to one even length. In the early specimens
from the Bruges and Westminster presses, the practice of
* We may here observe, that bibliographers often misuse the word
''justification" -when referring to the practice of placing all the space
at the end of lines. The printer's term "justification " does not neces-
sarily refer to the spacing out of the words in a line. Every line in
a page must be "justified" or made of the normal length, and the
last line in a paragraph, containing perhaps no more than one word,
must be justified equally with the full-length line. Short lines are
justified with quadrats, or pieces of metal, which fill up the line, but,
being lower than the type, do not print. What is called " short," or
"bad," or "imperfect justification," is sure to reveal itself, to the
dismay of the compositor, by allowing the faulty line to drop out when
the "forme," or mass of type, is lifted. The probable reason why
Colard Mansion and Caxton did not space their lines to an even length
is, that at that time they had not begun to use the setting-ride. This
useful little slip of metal enables each letter as it is picked up by the
compositor, to be passed along on an even surface to its destination,
instead of catching in every unevenncss or burr of the previous line.
Its absence would entail many obstructions to the spacing-out of lines,
and render the plan of leaving all the spare space at the end, which
was actually adopted, at once more easy, expeditious, and free from
accident.
DEVELOPMENT. 45
placing all the spare space at the end of the lines, instead of
dividing - it between the words, gives a very rude appearance
to the page, and in these books it is carried to a greater extent
than in the works of any German, Italian or French printers.
Colard Mansion abandoned this practice in 1479, and Caxton
in 1480.
It will be apparent, from the foregoing remarks, that the
books of our first printers bore no slight resemblance to
manuscripts, and indeed, until quite recently, a copy of the
Mazarine Bible, in the Library of Lambeth Palace, was so
regarded ;* but this resemblance was soon modified, in many
particulars, to suit the requirements of typography.
The execution of manuscript capitals being both tedious
and expensive led to the early introduction of large letters en-
graved on wood, which were either printed in black at the same
impression as the other portion, or in red by a subsequent
operation. Colard Mansion seems never to have adopted them,
although several of his books are illustrated by large and
numerous woodcuts. Caxton inserted illustrations engraved
on wood in two or three books before 1484, the date of
"iEsop," in which w r oodcut initials first appear.
Title-pages, likewise, are purely typographical in their
origin, the scribes having been content with heading their
page with " Hie incipit " and the name of the treatise.
Caxton followed the usage of the scribes in this particular;
for, with one exception only, and at the very end of his
career, where the title of the book is printed alone in the
centre of the first page, his books appear without any title-
page whatever.
Wynken de Worde adopted the use of title-pages imme-
diately after the death of his master, but Machlinia of
London, and the schoolmaster-printer of St. Alban's, never
used them.
* In 1856, an old established bookseller, in one of our largest cathe-
dral towns, marked a copy of Caxton's " Statutes of Hen. VII " as an
old MS., and sold it for 2s. 6d.! See also the remarks on Verard's
" Euryalus et Lucrece," in the Catalogue of the Harlcian MSS., vol. 111.
No. 4392.
4f> WILLIAM CAXTON.
These minute details may appear, at first sight, to be
hardly worthy of record ; but when we remember that two-
thirds of Caxton's books are without any date, and that, by
careful examination of the workmanship, we can trace the
printer gradually developing the changes from manuscript to
typographical character, we appreciate the existence of a mass
of technical evidence which, like the strata of the earth, or the
mouldings of a cathedral arch, affords chronological data quite
independent of any other source, and enables us, with a near
approach to accuracy, to determine the age of any undated
book. To this evidence may be added some other important
signs which sometimes bear witness to the date when a book
was printed. Such are the size of the printed page, its depth
and width, the nuniber of lines in a page, the number of
sheets in a section, and, above all, the sequence in the use of
various types. In Caxton's books this sequence is very re-
markable, as will be seen by the annexed table, where only
books with fixed dates are entered, so that the reader may
form his own judgment as to the chronological order of the
above-mentioned pecidiarities.
Some interesting facts may be gathered from this tabic.
1 . The types used by Caxton bear a definite chronological
relation to one another. Type No. 1 goes out of use, and is
succeeded, in 1477, by No. 2. Type No. 3 is principally em-
ployed for headlines during the use of Nos. 2 and 4. In 1480
type No. 4 makes its appearance, but not till No. 2 is about
to disappear. In 1483 type No. 4* supersedes its predecessor,
and, in its turn, makes way for Nos. 5 and 6, which close the
list. If the books were added which give the dates of their
translation, which almost always coincide with those of their
printing, the result would be the same.
2. All the books printed before 1480 were with lines of an
uneven length, whilst all printed subsequently were spaced out
evenly.
3. Signatures and even spacing of the lines were syn-
chronous improvements, and both, when once adopted, Mere
never afterwards abandoned. In the signatures themselves a
curious fact may be noted — that whereas the custom of Caxton
DEVELOPMENT.
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WILJJAM CAXTON.
was generally to use letters and Roman numerals, as i) j, for
his signatures, yet in the three years 1481 to 1483, and at no
other period, he used Arabic numerals, thus 6 1, or 2 1.
We may further add that the use of the paragraph mark
(CI) never appears before 1483; that the great device makes
no appearance, till 1487, the printed date to the third edition
of the "Dictes" notwithstanding; and that initials in wood
first appear in the "iEsop" in 1484.
By the application of these tests to the undated books we
are enabled to assign each of them, with tolerable certainty,
to a particular period.
CHAPTER VI.
COLAED MANSION.
RUGES, the old metropolis of Flanders,
offers many points of the greatest inte-
rest to the historian and the antiquary.
In the fifteenth century, it was the chosen
residence of the sovereigns of the House
of Burgundy, and to its marts resorted
the most opulent merchants of Europe. There the arts, as
well as commerce, were developed to a degree of excellence
unequalled since the Augustan age, and even Paris was sur-
passed in literary and artistic treasures. Artists and crafts-
men were consequently numerous, and, as we have already
seen, those of them who were connected with the production
of books, were enrolled as a trade guild. And this pre-
eminence is not immaterial to our enquiry, for William
Caxton was not only for more than thirty years a constant
resident in Bruges, holding for a considerable period a posi-
tion of great authority, but in this city likewise took his first
lessons in typography and obtained the materials necessary
for the introduction of the New Art into his native country.
Colard Mansion is generally admitted to have been the
first printer at Bruges, but of his history little is known. His
name occurs many times in the old records still preserved in
the municipal library, and always in connection either with
his trade of fine-manuscript writer, or with the guild of St.
John. The first time it appears it is written "Collinet,"
a diminutive of Collaert, from which Van Praet, his first
E
50 WILLIAM CAXTON.
biographer, thinks he was at that time under age. In
1450 " Colinet " received fifty-four livres from the Duke of
Burgundy for a novel, entitled " Romuleon," beautifully
illuminated and bound in velvet. This copy is now in the
Royal Library at Brussels, and another copy, written in
characters exactly like the types used twenty years later by
Colard Mansion, is in the British Museum. Both the Seig-
neur de la Gruthuyse and the Seigneur de Creveceur were his
patrons ; the former, indeed, was at one time on such friendly
and familiar terms with Mansion, that he stood godfather to
one of his children. It does not, however, appear that in
later years, when poverty laid its heavy hand on the unfor-
tunate printer, any of his patrons came to his assistance.
From 1454 to 1473 the name of Mansion is found, year by
year, as a contributor to the guild of St. John, the formation
of which has been already noticed. In 1471 he was " doyen "
or dean, an office which he held for two years, at the expira-
tion of which time he is supposed to have left Bruges for a
twelvemonth in order to learn the new art of printing. This
is a needless assumption, grounded solely on his subscription
for 1473 having been paid through a brother of the guild.
From 147G to 1482 his name does not appear at all as a
contributor, although the dates of the " Boece," the " Quadri-
logue," and the "Somme rurale," show that he was still at
Bruges, and pursuing his vocation. His subscription to the
guild is again entered in 1483, and his name occurs in the
guild records for the last time in 1484. This was a disas-
trous year to Colard Mansion ; for, although not overtaken
by death, as his early biographers have assumed, disgrace,
poverty, and expatriation awaited him. He appears to have
been in straitened circumstances for some years, as in 1480
he could not execute the commission of Monseigneur de
Gazebeke for an illuminated copy of " Valerius Maximus," in
two volumes, without several advances of money. The re-
ceipts for these instalments are still preserved, as is also a
notice of Mansion's place of residence, which was in one of
the poorest streets in Bruges, leading out of the Rue des
Cannes. His typographical labours were carried on in one of
COLARD MANSION. 51
two rooms over the porch of the church of St. Donatus, for
which we may assume that he paid the same rent as the next
tenant, six livres per annum. It was in this room that
Colard Mansion, in May 1484, finished his beautiful edition
of Ovid's " Metamorphoses," a magnificent folio of 386 leaves,
full of woodcuts, printed-in separately from the text. We
know nothing of the sale of this noble production ; but the
expenses connected with it were probably his ruin, for about
three months later he left the city. The Chapter of St.
Donatus, feeling uneasy about their rent, soon made inquiries
as to the probability of his return, there being an opportunity
of letting the room to a better tenant ; but all was in vain,
and in October 1484 the apartment in which Mansion had
for so many years been labouring at those volumes which are
now prized as among the glories of Bruges, was made over to
Jean Gossin, a member of the same guild as Mansion, and,
like him, engaged in the manufacture of books. The Chapter,
however, took care not to lose by their tenant's flight, for the
conditions upon which his room (and probably a large stock
of printed sheets besides) was made over to G-ossin were that
the latter should pay up all arrears of rent. Nothing more is
known of Mansion after this sad event ; and it is mournful to
contemplate the poor man turning his back upon his native
city, to begin life anew at the age of nearly sixty, after so
many years spent in literary labour. It has been suggested
that he took refuge in Paris, as the names of Paul and Robert
Mansion appear as printers in that city in 1650; but on this
point there is no evidence whatever.
In examining the productions of Colard Mansion's press,
it is somewhat perplexing to the lover of accuracy to find that
he, like all the earliest printers, issued most of his produc-
tions without date, and many without even name or place.
In this he merely followed the example of his predecessors,
the scribes, who seldom affixed their names, or the date of
the transcript. Van Praet enumerates twenty-one works from
his press, and another has been since discovered. These, to
the eye of a printer, naturally divide themselves into two
classes.
e 2
52 WILLIAM CAXTON.
1st. Those printed in a large bold Secretary type.
2nd. Those printed in a smaller semi-roman character,
known as " Lettres de Somme."
No one acquainted, although but slightly, with the prac-
tical features of typography can doubt that the early books
attributed to Caxton, and the early books issued by Mansion,
came from the same press. Mansion employed for his first
type a very bold secretary, exactly similar in character to
the type first used at Westminster. In PL II and III they
may be seen in juxtaposition. It also closely resembled in
shape and size in the character in which Mansion was accus-
tomed to execute his manuscripts. He likewise printed, at
the head of each chapter, the summary in red ink ; and here
he displayed so curious an instance of typographical ingenuity
that the reader's attention is particularly requested to it. If
we closely examine into the appearance which the red ink,
as used by Mansion in his " Boccace" " Boece," " Somme
rurale," and "Ovide," presents, it will be noticed that it is
very dirty in colour, and moreover that the black lines, nearest
the reel, have their edges tipped with red, a defect which the
separate printing of lines in red ink affords no opportunity
for producing. The foUowing explanation will satisfactorily
show the ?nodus operandi. The two colours were printed by
one and the same pull of the press, all the type, both for
black and red, being included in the same form. But it was
impossible to beat the form with the balls, and leave a single
line in the middle untouched ; so the whole page was inked
black, and then (a space for play being always left above and
below) the black ink was carefully wiped from the intended
red line, and that line re-inked with red by the finger, or by
other means, after which the sheet was pulled. A two-fold
inconvenience attended this clumsy process, — the black could
never be removed so completely that it would not taint the
ensuing red, and the utmost care would not usually prevent
the black lines nearest the red receiving a slight touch from
the red finger, or ball. In fact, both these defects appear in
every book printed by Colard Mansion, in which the two
colours were used, and to these was frequently added a third
COLARD MANSION.
— the loss of a portion of the black ink nearest to the red
caused by the wiping process. Actual experiment shows that
this mode of working both colours at once is the only solution
of the appearance, and the inducement for its adoption was
in all probability the perfect accuracy of " register " it secured,
as there was thus no fear of the red lines not fitting exactly
in their proper places — an accuracy very difficult to obtain, by
separate printings, at a rudimentary press. This peculiarity
of workmanship in the Bruges printer is not found in any
book from the Mentz or Cologne presses ; indeed all the typo-
graphical habits of the Bruges and Cologne printers were so
distinct and opposite that it is difficult to believe in any con-
nection between them.
It has been already shown that in early books uneven
spacing is a sure sign that the workmanship is prior to that
of books from the same press in which the lines are all of
equal length. The dated books of Colard Mansion are only
six in number, which fully bear this out.
Le Jardin de Devotion before 1476 uneven lines
Boccace du Dechict de.? Nobles Homines 1476 „
Boece de la Consolation de Philosophic 1477 „
Le Quadrilogue d'Alain Chartier 1478* even lines
La Somme rurale 1479 „
Les Metamorphoses cl'Ovide 14S4 „
Taking, then, 1478 as the year in which Mansion changed
his practice, we may assume, without fear of error, that all
the undated books, with short-spaced lines, were anterior, and
all the undated books, with their lines spaced to one length,
posterior to the " Quadrilogue." On this basis his undated
productions may be thus arranged.
Before 1478, having lines of an uneven length : —
Les Dits moraux des Philosophcs short-spaced
Les Invectives contre la Secte de Vauderie „
La Controversie de Noblesse „
Debat entre trois valeureux Princes „
* The only date in the volume is 1477, which was the year when
the Prologue was composed : the printing must have been later than
this.
54
WILLIAM CAXTON.
After 1478, haying lines of an even length : —
Les Advineanx amoureux. Edit. 1 full-spaced
Le Doctrinal du temps present „
La Doctrine de bien vivre „
L'Art de bien mourir ,,
La Pm-gatoire des man vais Maris „
L'Abuse en court ,,
Les Evangiles des Qnenonilles „
Le Donat espirituel ,.
Les Adeuineaux amoreux. Edit. 2 „
Dionysii Areopagiticaj liber „
Colard Mansion seems never to have produced works from
his press with rapidity ; therefore, as the "Boccace of " 1470
contained nearly GOO pages in large folio, and the " Boece " of
1477 about the same, we may fairly assume that the five other
short-spaced works were anterior to the "Boccace." This
hypothesis would make Mansion a printer in Bruges about
the time when Gaxton finished his translation of " Le Recueil
des Histoires de Troyes."
In the next Chapter it is proposed to show how all the
peculiarities noticeable in the printed productions of Colard
Mansion may be traced in those attributed to William Caxton.
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CHAPTER VII.
CAXTON A PRINTER.
HE evidence as to where and from whom
Caxton acquired his knowledge of the Art
of Printing has been considered by nearly
every bibliographer as being confined en-
tirely to the information obtained from
Caxton's own Prologues and Epilogues,
with the one addition of the well-known cpiatrain of Wynken
de Worde, at the end of his " Bartholoma3us de Proprietatibus
Eerum." The argument from technical peculiarities in the
books themselves has hitherto been almost entirely overlooked,
although a mass of the truest, because unintentional evidence
may be found from the attentive study of these dumb witnesses.
Mr. Bradshaw, of Cambridge, has most truly observed, in
his " Classified Index," that the bibliographer should " make
such an accurate and methodical study of the types used and
habits of printing observable at different presses as to enable
him to observe and be guided by these characteristics in
settling the date of a book which bears no date upon the sur-
face." * But the great difficulty in the way of this systematic
study is the impossibility of having the books side by side, for
their rarity is so great that in no one existing library can
they all be found.
The books printed in Caxton's type No. 1, used only at
* A classified Index of the fifteenth-century hooks in the collection
of M. J. de Mever. 8vo. London. 1870.
56 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Bruges, are five in number, although we can trace his direct
connection with but two of them.
1. "The Recuyell of the Historjes of Troye," with Pro-
logues and Epilogues.
2. "Le Recueil des Histoires de Troye."
3. " The Game and Playe of the Chesse," with Prologue by
Caxton.
4. " Les Fais et Proesses du Chevalier Jason."
5. " Meditacions sur les Sept Pseaulmes penitenciaulx."
To these must be added one book printed at Bruges in type
No. 2.
6. " Les Quatre Derrennieres Choses."
Before analysing the evidence supplied by Caxton's re-
marks and dates, it is necessary to explain how easily a
mistake may be made, and an erroneous conclusion drawn,
unless care be taken to remember the effect of the change of
style upon the commencement of the year. In England, from
the thirteenth century until 1752, the new year began on
March 25th; while in Holland and Flanders it commenced on
Easter Day. Neglect of this fact has led to many historical
errors. Thus, one historian states that Charles I. was be-
headed on January 30th, 1648, whereas others assert that the
event took place on the same day in 1649 ; one dates the
flight of James II. from his kingdom in February, 1688,
whilst others date it in 1689. In these and many other
instances one writer takes the old style of beginning the year,
whilst others take the new style, each being right from his
own stand-point. In a lately discovered tract printed by
Caxton, and known as the " Sex Epistolae," we have the text
of several letters which passed between the Pope and the
Doge of Venice, which will be more particularly described
under " Books in type No. 4." It is merely mentioned here
as affording an apt illustration of the foregoing remarks.
The letters commence on December 11th, 1482, and succeed
one another in due order until the 7th of January, 1482, and
the end of February, 1482. This was no blunder, for the old
year continued until March 25th, which was New- Year's Day,
1 1:83. Returning now to the consideration of Caxton's first
CAXTON A PRINTER. 57
lessons in the Art of Printing, we will examine each of the
hooks attrihnted to him, commencing with
" The Recuyell." — This occupies the foremost place,
because Caxton himself tells us that with it he began his
career as a printer. Its Prologues and Epilogues contain
curious and interesting gossip from Caxton's own pen, telling
us how the Duchess of Burgundy, in whose service he then
was, commanded him to complete the translation, which he
had begun but not advanced with. He tells us that he began
to translate the work at Bruges on March 1st, 14G8, which,
as the year in Flanders did not then commence till Easter,
was really 14G9, that he continued it at Ghent, and finished
at Cologne on September 19 th, 1471, thus making a period
of two years and a half ; that on its completion he presented
it it to the Duchess, who rewarded him handsomely; that
many persons desired copies of it, so that, finding the labour
of writing too wearisome for him, and not expeditious enough
for his friends, he had practised and learnt, at his great
charge and expense, to ordain the book in print, to the end
that every man might have them at once. As was natural
to a person making practical acquaintance for the first time
with the effects of typography, Caxton ends with noticing
what in his eyes, accustomed to see one copy finished before
another was begun, was the most wonderful feature of the
new art, namely, that all the copies were begun upon one day,
and were finished upon one day.
The periods of time here mentioned by Caxton require
notice. He began to translate on March 1st, 1469, but soon
relinquished his self-imposed task, after writing no more than
five or six quires (or sections of four or five sheets each).
After the lapse of two years, in March, 1471, he resumed the
translation, and in the following September he presented the
Duchess with the completed work. Now, six months would
have been a very likely time for the translation and a fair
copy thereof to take 5 but it would have been impossible to
have accomplished the printing also in that space of time,
especially as the whole translation was finished before the
first sheet was printed, as will be hereafter shown! We may
bS WILLIAM CAXTOX.
also notice, that the duration of Caxton's visit to Cologne
must have been very short, as Ins absenee from Bruges lasted
no more than six months.
"Le Eecueil" has but one date, and that evidently
refers to the literary compilation alone, and affords no clue
whatever to the year of printing. Indeed, the numerous
copies still extant in manuscript prove that the work enjoyed
considerable popularity before it came under the hands of the
printer. Tho date of the printing of this book has been
fixed, by several writers, between 1464 and 1467, from the
consideration that Le Fevre, the compiler, is spoken of in the
prologue as chaplain to the Duke of Burgundy, and in such
a manner as to signify that the duke was then living. But
in the English version there is a material difference : Le
Fevre is not styled there as in the French, " Chappellain de
montres redoubte seigneur Monseigneur le Due Phillipe de
Bourgoingnc," but " chapelayn vnto the ryght noble glorious
and mighty prynce, in his tynw, Phelip due of Bourgoyne."
Philip, therefore, was alive when " Le Recueil " was printed,
but dead when "The Recuyell" went to press. The duke
died in 1467; and it is therefore inferred that "Le Recueil"
must date between 1464 and 1467, while "The Recuyell"
must be later than 1467. That this should be considered as
proving anything more than that the original French was
compiled during the lifetime of Philip, and that when Caxton
translated the same the duke was dead, seems unaccomitable.
All the copies of " Le Recueil," both manuscript and printed,
followed the wording of the original, and the printer would
no more think of altering it in 1476, the probable date of
imprint, than the transcriber would in copying the same
twenty-five years later. The National Library at Paris has a
manuscript of this very book written after 1500, but repro-
ducing exactly the clause which, in the printed edition, is
considered to be a proof of its having been executed prior to
1467. Caxton altered the prologue of Le Fevre to suit his
own time, because he was translating; but, in printing from
the manuscript of another (assuming his connection with " Le
Recueil"), he would have been in opposition to the practice
CAXTON A PRINTER. 5'J
of his age had he altered the original. His translation was
in its turn printed and reprinted, word for word, long after it
was out of date.
There is, therefore, no reason whatever for asserting that
"Le Recueil," written in 14G4, was printed before "The
Recuyell," translated in 1474, and sent to press about the
same date. In fact, the whole tone of the epilogue to Book
III. of "The Recuyell," leads unquestionably to the conclu-
sion that that was the very first occasion on which Caxton
had busied himself with typography. He would never have
said, "I have learned to ordain this look in printe at my
great charge and expense," if he had already printed one or
two others. M. Bernard assumes that Caxton had nothing
to do with the printing of "Le Recueil," and that it was
executed before he turned his attention to the new art. This
opinion, however, has not a single fact to support it.
" The Chess Book " affords but little evidence of value,
its prologue being, for the most part, merely a translation of
that written by Jehan de Yignay for the French original. It
offers, indeed, one date ; but that is open to question in its
application. "Fynysshid the last day of marche, 1474," are
the concluding words of the epilogue. But what was finished,
the translation, or the printing ? From the context it was
probably the translation, although the printing was not many
months later. This date also must be advanced a year ; for,
as already noticed, the new year did not commence, in
Flanders, till Easter Day, which fell, in that year, on April
10th ; so that March 31st, 1474, was, according to the
modern reckoning, March 81st, 1475.
The prologue to the second edition throws a little light
on the history of the first. Caxton there says, in reference to
his connection with the book : " .... an excellent doctor of
divinity .... made a book of the Chess moralised, which, at
such time as I was resident in Bruges, came into my hands.
.... And to the end that some which have not seen it, nor
understand french nor latin, I deliberated in myself to translate
into our maternal tongue ; and when I had so achieved the
said translation, / did do set in imprinte, a certain number of
(10 WILLIAM CAXTON.
them which anon were depesshed and sold." He here appears
to mean that upon the completion of the translation he em-
ployed some one else to print it : — " I did do set in imprinte."
" Did do," according to the idiom of those days, was commonly
used for doing a thing through the medium of another. The
phrase was borrowed from the French — "plain pouoir de
prendre et faire prendre les larrons," is the wording of an
ordinance dated in the fifteenth century. "He did do be
said to the messenger," for " he caused to be said," is found
on folio 22 of the " History of Jason." " The Emperor did
do make a gate of marble" occurs in the second edition of the
" Chess Book," fol. 85. Similar examples abound, so that we
may fairly conclude that Caxton did not himself print the
first edition of the " Chess Book," but that both the transla-
tion and the printing were executed in Bruges.
The other books, namely, the French "Jason," the "Medi-
tacions," and the " Quatre Derrennieres Choses," contain the
bare text without remark or date of any kind, being, as
bibliographers say, sine ulla notd.
The whole of the literary evidence therefore may be briefly
summed up thus: " The Kecuyell " was translated in 1471,
and printed some time after ; the " Chess Book " was printed
after 1474, and probably in the latter half of 1475 ; and "Le
Becueil" was compiled in 1464, but, like the other four,
affords no evidence of date of the printing, which was pro-
bably about 1476.
We will now examine the testimony afforded by a com-
parison of the technical peculiarities of these six books. In
collating " The Recuyell," the make-up of the sections, at the
beginning of the volume, is worth noting. It was the practice
of Caxton, as of other printers, to commence the printing of
his books with the text, any preface which might be requisite,
being added afterwards in a separate section, with a different
kind of signature. When, however, the whole of the manu-
script, prologue as well as text, was complete before it came
into the printer's hands, there was no occasion for any such
arrangement. This appears to have been the case with regard
to "The Kecuyell," where nothing has been added at the
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CAXTON A PRINTER.
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beginning, as the first section of five sheets includes all the
introductory matter, as well as a portion of the text. Now
the first page, which bears the date of the conclusion of the
translation, being on the same sheet as a portion of the text,
it is evident that the whole volume must have been in
manuscript before any part was set up in type. We may
infer, indeed, from his own description of the effect that so
much writing had upon him, that Caxton issued several
manuscript copies before he thought of using the printing-
press. The copy presented to the Duchess was undoubtedly
manuscript ; or else how could Caxton have chronicled in the
printed work her acceptance of the book and his reward for
the present ? And this again leads to the supposition that
the portion of the epilogue relating to the printing was added
by Caxton to his original manuscript when he determined to
print it.
For precisely similar reasons, Caxton's prologue to the
" Chess Book," which was a translation or adaptation of the
original French, is also a portion of the first section of the
volume. None of the other books under review having pro-
logues, we will proceed to a comparison of some other typo-
graphical particulars.
The following table will show some of the technical features
"of each book, and some of what may be called the " habits "
of the printer : —
Xo. Title. Size.
Type
Xo.
Xo. of
Sheets
in a
Section.
Xo. of
Lines
in a
page.
Measure-
ment of
Page.
Inches.
Spacing
of
Lines.
o
u
a
a
to
55
1 TlieRecyuell Fol.
2 Le Recueil Fol.
3 The Chess Book ... Fol.
4 Les Fais du Jason . Fol.
6 Les 4 tre derrennieres
1
1
1
1
1
2
5
5
4
4
4
4
31
31
31
31
31
28
5 x 7f
5 x 7f
5 x 7|
5 x 7f
5 x 7|
5 x 7f
uneven
uneven
uneven
even
even
uneven
none
none
none
none
none
none
From this table we perceive, —
First, That the first five books are printed with the same
62 WILLIAM CAXTON.
types, are all of the same size, and all without signatures ;
that all agree exactly in the size of the page; and that the
even spacing of the lines in the " Meditacions" and the
"Jason" proves that they were produced later than the
others.
Secondly, That the five books in type No. 1 may be con-
sidered as the production of one printer.
Who, then, was this printer ? When we attentively ex-
amine the shape of the letters in type No. ], we notice a
remarkable similarity between it and that of the writing of
many Bruges manuscripts of the same period, which would
induce us, at first sight, to attribute the design of the type
to some artist of that city.
M. Bernard, whose opinion is of great weight, where his
nationality is not concerned, traces the pattern of type No. 1
directly to Colard Mansion of Bruges. Speaking of a manu-
script in the National Library at Paris, written by Colard
Mansion's own hand, he says, " This book is written in old
batarde, and in exactly the same character as the types of
'Le Recueil des histoires de Troycs;'" yet he attributes the
cutting of the types to a French artist, and the printing to a
German, Ulric Zel. The paper he also claims for a French
mill, on account of the fieurs de lis, and the Gothic p with the
quatrefoil, ignoring the fact that these are common Flemish
watermarks of the fifteenth century, and found in abundance
in the books from the Bruges and Westminster presses.
That any of these books in type No. 1 were printed by
Ulric Zel, or any other Cologne printer, I cannot for a moment
believe. It is possible, of course, that Zel, if employed to do
so, could have designed and cut types of the gros-batarde
pattern, although, as a fact, he never used such types himself;
but all the Cologne printers of that period had their own
peculiarities and habits, which were not at all those of the
Bruges printers. Zel, from an early period, printed two pages
at a time, as may be easily verified where a crooked page
occurs ; for the other page printed on the same side of the
sheet will in every case be found crooked also. Now, the
" Iteeuyell " was certainly printed page by page, as were like-
CAXTON A PRINTER. G3
wise all the books from Mansion's press. And Caxton, when
printing his smaller books, even cut the paper up and printed
one page only at a time. This accounts for the entire rejec-
tion by Mansion,* and the sparing use by Caxton of the
quarto size for their productions, as it necessitated twice as
much press-work as the larger size. But stronger evidence
is to be found in the fact that Zel, after 1467, always spaced
out the lines of his books to an even length, and would have
taught any one learning the art from him to do the same ;
yet this improvement was not adopted by either Mansion or
Caxton until several years later. Whoever may have been the
instructor of Mansion and Caxton, and whatever may have
been the origin of their typography, the opinion that either
of them, after learning the art in an advanced school such
as that of Cologne, woidd have adopted in their first produc-
tions, without any necessity for so doing, primitive customs
which they had never been taught, and returned in after years
by slow degrees to the rules of their original tuition, has only
to be plainly stated to render it untenable.
The printer of all these works was undoubtedly Colard
Mansion, who had just before established his press at Bruges
— who cast the types on his own model for Caxton, and in-
structed him in the art while printing in'fh and for him
"The Recuycll" and the "Chess Book" — who certainly
printed "Les Quatre Derrennieres Choses" — who supplied
Caxton with the material for the establishment of a press
in England — who, about the time of Caxton's departure, used
the same type for " Le Recueil " — and who, at a still later
period, printed alone the "Jason" and the " Meditacions."
We will now examine " Les Quatre Derrennieres Choses," of
which the only copy known is in the Old Royal collection in
* Van Praet. Brunet, and especially Campbell in his " Annales de
la Typographic Neerlandaise," err in describing " Le purgatoire des
mauvais Maris," printed by Colard Mansion, as a "petit in-4<>." The
copy described is cut a little more than usual, but the watermark which
M in the middle of the page proves the size to be folio, whereas had it
been quarto the watermark must have been in the back and partly
hidden by the binding.
64 WILLIAM CAXTON.
the British Museum. Like all Colard Mansion's books, and
unlike any one of Caxton's, it is in French. It is printed in
type No. 2, the type of the " Dictes " of 1477, and all the
early books which issued from the Westminster press. Then
the peculiar appearance of the red ink at once attracts atten-
tion. The two colours have been evidently printed at the
same pull of the press, as was Colard Mansion's practice.
Here the same process of wiping the black ink off lines
purposely isolated, and then re-inking them with red, has
been resorted to, and here, too, as in the acknowledged
productions of the Bruges press, the same defects have been
produced; the red ink having a tarnished appearance from
the subjacent remains of the black, and the black lines nearest
the red having received a red edging which, however inter-
esting as a connecting link between two celebrated printers,
by no means increases their typographical beauty. Now, as
no Cologne printer is known to have resorted to this unique
method of working in colours, I feel no hesitation in ascribing
" Les Quatre Derennieres Choses " either to Colard Mansion or
to Caxton working under his tuition ; and as this peculiarity
is nowhere found in Caxton's productions of the Westminster
press, the former would seem the more likely conjecture.
The connection thus established between the types used
by Caxton in his first attempts in England and those used by
Colard Mansion is still further strengthened by the fact that
the form of the &c, peculiar to type No. 1, is in several
instances, by an evident mixing of the founts, used instead
of the proper sort belonging to type No. 2. This furnishes
positive proof that the two founts were under one roof, whether
at Cologne or Bruges, or elsewhere. Whoever printed the five
books in type No. 1 most certainly owned type No. 2 also.
Against all this, however, has to be placed the direct
assertion of Wynken .de Worde, who, in the proheme to his
undated edition of " Bartholomasus de Proprietatibus Eerum,"
gives the following rhyme : —
" And also of your chary te call to remembraunce
The soule of William Caxton first prynter of this boke
In laten tonge at Coleyn hysclf to auaiice
That euery well disposyd man may thereon loke."
CAXTON A PRINTER. (J5
The phraseology of this verse is very ambiguous. Are we
to understand that the editio princeps of " Bartholomseus " pro-
ceeded from Caxton's press, or that he only printed the first
Cologne edition ? that he issued a translation of his own,
which is the only way in which the production of the work
could advance him in the Latin tongue ? or, that he printed
in Latin to advance his own interests ? The last seems the
most probable reading. But though the words will bear
many constructions, they are evidently intended to mean that
Caxton printed " Bartholoma3us " at Cologne. Now this seems
to be merely a careless statement of Wynken de Worde ; for
if Caxton did really print " Bartholomajus " in that city, it
must have been with his own types and presses, as the
workmanship of his early volumes proves that he had no
connection with the Cologne printers, whose practices were
entirely different. The time necessary for the production of
so extensive a work would have been considerable ; therefore,
as Caxton's stay at Cologne on the occasion of his finishing
the translation of " Le Recueil " was but short, the printing
of this apocryphal " Bartholomasus " would have been at a
subsecpient visit, of which there is no record. No edition has
yet been discovered which can, by any stretch of the imagina-
tion, be attributed to Caxton, although there is more than one
old undated edition belonging to the German school of print-
ing. Accuracy of information was in those days not much
studied, and to a general carelessness about names and dates
Wynken de Worde added a negligence peculiarly his own.
We may excuse him for using Caxton's device in several
books which by their dates and types are known to have been
printed by himself, as well as for putting Caxton's name as
printer to the edition of the " Golden Legend," printed in
1493, two years after his master's death. Such inaccuracies
were at that time thought but little of. But how can we
account for the blundering alteration in the 1495 edition of
the " Polycronicon," where Wynken de Worde, making himself
the speaker in Caxton's prologue, promises to carry the history
down to 1485; or for the still greater error in the "Dictes"
of 1528, in which, while adopting Caxton's epilogue, but
v
CO WILLIAM CAXTON.
substituting his own for Caxton's name, he makes all the trans-
actions there related happen between Earl Rivers and himself ?
Wynken de Worde's blunders in statements are well matched
by his blunders in workmanship, of which, however, we will
quote but two. In Caxton's edition of the " Stans Puer ad
Mensam," the third and fourth pages of the poem were acci-
dentally transposed ; yet Wynken de "Worde, notwithstanding
the break of sequence, blindly reprints the error ! Again, in
his edition of " The Horse, the Shepe, and the Ghoos," he
actually omits a whole page without discovering his mistake !
Other examples might easily be quoted, but enough has been
adduced to show that Wynken de Worde was by no means
careful in his statements.*
We must remember that Wynken de Worde, moreover,
was too young to have had any personal knowledge of Caxton's
early efforts, and that the vast importance of the art to the
entire world, and the interest attaching to its origin, were
ideas which would find no place in the mind of a fifteenth-
century printer. We must not, therefore, regard De Worde's
statement as deliberately made for the purpose of telling
posterity something about Caxton. Lewis, Caxton's first
biographer, was very sceptical concerning this Cologne edition
of " Bartholonueus." "Its having a Latin title," he says,
* William Caxton, except in the occasional interchange of i and y,
which were at that period considered as equivalents, never altered the
orthography of his name, a fact the more noticeable as the name
certainly varied in pronunciation : but Wynken de Worde, although
mentioning his master's name but eight times, contrived to make the
four variations of Caxton, Caxston, Caston, and Caxon. With regard
to his own name Wynken de Worde appears to have tried how many
variations he could invent, of which the following list is not even
complete : —
Wynken de Worde. Wynandus de Worde.
Wynden de Worde. Wynandus de word.
Wynkyn de Worde. winandus de worde.
Wynkyn Theworde. Vunandus de worde.
Wynkyn t ho Worde. Vuinandi de vnorde.
Wynkyn de Word. Winand i V Vordensi.
Winqnin do Worde. Winandi de Wordensis.
CAXTON A PRINTER.
"might possibly deceive De Worde, and make him think it
was printed in Latin. However this may be, it does not
appear that any edition of it, printed by Caxton or any one
else, either in Latin or English, that year, is now in being."
Perhaps De* Worde, who reprinted the "Recueil," had
some vague recollection of Caxton having stated that he had
been at Cologne, and so carelessly adopted the idea as giving
point and rhyme to his verses.
The following anecdotes illustrate in a curious manner
the typographical connection between Mansion and'Caxton.
A bookseller of Paris purchased an old volume for the moderate
sum of one louis. He took it to M. de La Serna Santander,
and asked him if he thought two louis too dear. "No,"
replied the wary bibliographer, and gave him the money.
That volume is now in the National Library at Paris, and
contains, bound together in the original boards, the " Quadri-
logue," printed by Mansion at Bruges, and the French "Jason,"
printed in Caxton's type No. 1. Something similar to this
happened in 1853, when Mr. Winter Jones discovered in the
Library of the British Museum, "Les Quatre Derrenieres
Choses," in Caxton's type No. 2, bound up with the " Medi-
tacions," in type No. 1, and with contemporary handwriting
running from the last page of one work to the first of the
other, the volume being evidently in its original state, just as
it was printed and bound at Bruges, in the little workshop of
Colard Mansion over the church porch of St. Donatus.
Here, perhaps, I may be excused if I venture to build a
brief history, founded, in the absence of sure foundation,
in many parts on probability only, but which may neverthe-
less be welcome to some as an attempt to draw into a con-
sistent narrative the scattered threads of Caxton's career
between 1471 and his establishment at Westminster.
Caxton, having finished and been rewarded for his trouble
in translating "Le Ptecueil" for the Duchess of Burgundy,
found his book in great request. The English nobles at
Bruges wished to have copies of this the most favourite
romance of the age, and Caxton found himself unable bo
supply the demand with sufficient rapidity. This brings us
F '2
C8 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
to the year 1472 or 1473. Colard Mansion, a skilful cali-
grapher, must have been known to Caxton, and may even
have been employed by him to execute commissions. Man-
sion, who had obtained some knowledge of the art of printing,
although certainly not from Cologne, had just begun his typo-
graphical labours at Bruges, and was ready to produce copies
by means of the press, if supported by the necessary patron-
age and funds. Caxton found the money, and Mansion the
requisite knowledge, by the aid of which appeared "The
Recuyell," the first book printed in the new type, and more-
over the first book printed in the English language. This,
probably, was not accomplished till 1474, and was succeeded,
on Caxton's part, in another year, by an issue of the " Chess
Book," which, as we are informed in a second edition, was
" anone depesshed and solde." Mansion, finding success at-
tended the new adventure, printed the French "Recueil,"
and, after Caxton's return to England, the French " Jason "
and the " Meditacions." The three French works were
doubtless published by Mansion alone, as Caxton is not
known to have printed a single book in French, although
perfectly acquainted with that language. Caxton, having
thus printed at Bruges "The Recuyell" and the "Chess
Book" with types either wholly or in part belonging to
Mansion, now obtained a new fount of the pattern of the
large batarde already in use by Mansion, but smaller in size,
with the intention of practising the art in England. To test
its capabilities, "Les Quatre Derrennieres Choses" was then
produced under the immediate supervision of Mansion.
Early in 147G Caxton appears to have taken leave of the
city where he had resided for five and thirty years, and to
have returned to his native land laden with a more precious
freight than the most opulent merchant-adventurer ever
dreamt of, to endow his country with a blessing greater than
any other which had ever been bestowed, save only the intro-
duction of Christianity.
CHAPTER VIII.
WESTMINSTER.
N" the preceding chapters Caxton's career as
an Apprentice, as a Merchant, as Governor
of the Merchant-Adventurers, as a Magis-
trate, and as an Ambassador, has been
traced ; the revival of literary tastes in
Europe has been briefly sketched, as well
as the literary influences by which Gaxton was surrounded ;
and we have seen his translation of a romance for the
Duchess of Burgundy obtain such popularity that he was
forced to have recourse to the new art of printing, in order
to multiply copies quickly: but avc have yet to investigate
the most important period of his history — those last fifteen
years, to which the whole of his former life seems but the
introduction — that short period which alone has caused the
name of Caxton to be inscribed on the tablets of history, and
the typographical relics of which form the best and only
memorial which England possesses of her first printer.*
We left Caxton early in 1476 preparing to return to Eng-
land, after having disposed of his printed copies of the "Chess
Book" in Bruges. The next certain notice of him is after
* There is certainly the Koxburghe tablet in St. Margaret's Church,
Westminster ; and, better still, there is a " Caxton Pension" in connec-
tion with the " Printers' Corporation," by which the needs of some
afflicted successors in Caxton's craft arc alleviated ; but a memorial
worthy of our first printer and of his countrymen has never yet been
attempted.
<" ;l WILLIAM CAXTON.
liis settlement at Westminster, when, in November 1477, he
had printed his first edition of the "Dictes and Sayings of
the Philosophers." This book is, in fact, the earliest we have
from Caxton's press with an indisputable imprint. It is
evident that his arrangements for settling in England, the
engagement of assistants, and all the other matters inseparable
from a novel undertaking, must have occupied a considerable
time. If, therefore, we assume that Caxton commenced his
new. career in this country about the latter half of 147G we
cannot be far wrong. A cautions man, he began to try his
powers, and ascertain the probable sale for his productions, by
printing small pieces. Copland, one of his workmen, who
served with Wynken de Worde after his first master's death,
has a curious remark upon this in the prologue to his edition
of " Kynge Apolyn of Thyre," with which romance he appears
to have commenced his career as a printer. " Whiohe booke
1, Roberte Copland, have me applycd for to translate oute of
the Frenshe language into our maternal tongue, at the exhor-
tacyon of my forsayd mayster [Wynken de Worde], gladly
followynge the trace of my mayster Caxton, begynnynge with
.-.mi/// storyes ami pamfletes, and so to other." That West-
minster was the locality in which Caxton first settled, there is,
fortunately, no room to doubt; but as the exact spot has
given rise to considerable discussion, it may be useful to
collect all the instances in which Caxton connects his own
name with a definite locality. We therefore give the follow-
ing extracts taken verbatim et literatim from his works : —
1477. Dictes and Sayings. First edition. Epilogue, en-
prynted by me william ( 'axton at westmestre.
1478. Moral Peo verbs. Colophon. I haw enprinted
At westmestre.
1 180. Cheonicles of England. First edition. Colophon.
enprinted />// me William Caxton Jn thabbey of west-
mynstre by /ma/on.
1480. Description of Britain. First edition. Prologue.
the comyn cronicles ofenghnd ben .... now lateen-
printed al westmynstre.
WESTMINSTER.
1481. Mirrour OF the World. First edition. Prologue.
And emprised by me . ... to translate it into our
maternal tongue .... in thabbay of westmestrc by
london.
1481. Keynard the Fox. First edition. Epilogue, by me
wilVrn Caxton translated . ... in thabbey of west-
mestre.
1481. Godfrey of Bologne. Epilogue, sette in forme and
emprynted .... in thabbey of westmester.
1483. Pilgrimage of the Soul. Colophon. Enprynted at
westmestrc by william Caxton.
1483. Liber Festivalis. First edition. Colophon. Em-
prynted at Westmynster by wyllyam Caxton.
1483. Quatuor Sermones. First edition. Colophon. En-
prynted by Wylliam Caxton at Westmestrc
1483. Confessio Amantis. Colophon. Enprynted at west-
mestre by me willyam Caxton.
1483. Golden Legend. First edition. Epilogue, fynysshed
it at ivestmestre.
1483. Caton. Colophon. Translated . ... by William
Caxton in thabbey of Westmynstre.
1483. Knight of the Tower. Colophon, enprynted at
Westmynstre.
1484. iEsop. Epilogue, enprynted by me william Caxton
at westmynstre in tliabbay.
1484. The Order of Chivalry. Epilogue, translated
. ... by me William Caxton dwellynge in Westmynstre
besyclc london.
1485. King Arthur. Colophon, emprynted and fynysshed
in thabbey wesimestre.
1485. Paris and Vienne. Colophon, translated . ... by
wylliam Caxton at Westmesfre.
[1489.] Directorium Sacerdotum. Colophon. Impressum
.... apud Westmonesterimn.
1481). Doctrinal of Sapience. Colophon, translated ....
by wyllyam Caxton at Westmestrc.
To these must be added Caxton's Advertisement, printed
about 1480.
72 WILLIAM CAXTON.
" If it plcse ony man spirituel or temporal to bye ony pyes
of two and thre comemoracios of salisburi vse enpryiitid after
the forme of this preset lettre whiche ben wel and truly cor-
rect, late hym come to ivestmonester in to tlw almonesrye at the
reed pale and he shal haue them good chepe."
The following quotations are from titles or colophons of
books printed by Wynken de Wbrde in the house of his late
master, only three of which are dated.
Scala Perfections, 1493.
And Wynkyn de Worde this hath sett in print.
In Will ia in Caxstons hows so fyll the case.
Directorium Sacerdotum, 1495. In domo Carton Wynkyn
fieri fecit.
Lyndewode's Constitutiones, 1496. Apud Wcstmonasie-
riwn. In domo caxston.
The xii Profytes of Tribulacyon. Enprynted at West-
myster in Caxtons hous.
Donatus Minor. In domo Caxton in ivestmonasterio.
Whital's Dictionary. Imprynted in the late hous of Wil-
liam Caxton.
Accedence. Prynted in Caxons house at westmynstre.
The Chorle and the Byrde. Emprynted at westmestre in
Caxtons house.
Doctrynalle of Dethe. Enprynted at westmynster Jn
Caxtons hous.
Ortus Vocabulorum. prope celeberrimum monasterium quod
westmynstre appellatur impressum.
Adding to the foregoing the testimony of Stow, we shall
have before us all the evidence of any authority.
" Neare vnto this house westward was an old chappel of
S. Anne, ouer against the which the Lady Margaret, mother
to King IT. the 7. erected an Almeshouse for poore women
.... the place wherein this chappeU and Almeshouse standeth
was called the Elemosinary or Almory, now corruptly the
Ambry, for that the A1m.es of the Abbey were there distri-
buted to the poore. And therm Islip, Abbot of Westmin.
WESTMINSTER.
erected the first Presse of booke printing that ener was in
England about the yeare of Christ 1471. William Caxton,
cittizen of London, mercer, brought it into England, and was
the first that practised it in the sayde Abbey."
Reviewing the foregoing quotations, it will be noticed
that although the precise expression, Printed in the Abbey of
Westminster, is affixed to some books, yet the more general
phrase Printed at Westminster is also used, and evidently
refers to the same locality, for otherwise we must suppose
Caxton to have carried on two separate printing-offices for
many years. The word "Abbey" did not assume its modern
sense, as applying only to the fabric, until after the Reforma-
tion ; and the phrase " dwelling at Westminster," used in
1484, just after "printed in the Abbey," 1483, and before
"printed in the Abbey," 1485, proves that Caxton himself
attached to the word no very restrictive idea. We find also,
from the above-mentioned advertisement, that " Westminster "
in that instance meant " The Almonesrye," where Caxton
occupied a tenement, called " The Red-pale." The Almonry
was a space within the Abbey precincts, where alms were dis-
tributed to the poor ; and here the Lady Margaret, mother of
King Henry VII., and one of Caxton's patronesses, built alms-
houses. Other houses were also there ; and we therefore con-
clude that by the words in the Abbey Caxton meant nothing
more than that he resided within the Abbey precincts.
The position of St. Anne's Chapel and the Almonry, in
relation to that of the Abbey Church, seems to have been
misunderstood by all the biographers of Caxton. Dr. Dibdin,
Charles Knight and others, place them on the site of the
Chapel of Henry VII, which is the east end of the Abbey.
The Almonry was considerably to the west, and the following
statements, gathered from Stow, will give its exact locality.
After describing the monastery and the king's palace, he pro-
ceeds to say, "now will I speake of the gate house, and of
Totehill streete, stretching from the west part of the Close ....
The gate towards the west is a Gaile for offenders .... On
the Southside of this gate, king H. the 7. founded an almes-
liouse .... Neare vnto this house westward was an old chappel
74 WILLIAM CAXTON.
of S. Anne .... the place wherein this chappel .... standeth
was called the Almory." The Almonry was therefore west-
south-west of the western front of the Abbey.
It has been argued that Caxton was permitted by the
abbot to use the "Scriptorium" of the abbey as a printing-
office. Printing, even in these days of improvement, is neces-
sarily in some parts a very unclean operation, but it was much
more so in its earlier years, some of the processes employed
being extremely filthy and pungent. The Abbot of West-
minster would never have admitted into the scriptorium any
thing so defiling, much less within the sacred walls of the
church itself. There is, indeed, no evidence that any portion
of the abbey was ever appropriated as a scriptorium: no
mention of such a place is made by any historian, nor has
any manuscript been recognised as having issued thence.
The Abbot of Westminster, at the time of Caxton's arrival
in England, was John Esteney, who succeeded to that office
in 1474, upon the promotion of Thomas Milling to the
Bishopric of Hereford. Those writers who maintain that
Caxton returned to England before 1474 have mentioned
Milling as his patron. George Fascet succeeded Abbot
Esteney in 1498, and was in turn succeeded by John Islip in
1500. Stow's chronology is very faulty in ascribing to Abbot
Islip any connection with Caxton, whose death occurred about
nine years before Islip's election to the abbacy.
There is nothing to lead to the supposition that Caxton
and Abbot Esteney were on intimate terms; indeed, the pro-
bability is that they knew but little of each other. Our
printer mentions Esteney but once, and that only casually, as
illustrating the difficulty which even educated men experienced
in deciphering documents of a bygone age. In the prologue
to the " Eneydos," Caxton says, " My lord abbot of West-
mynster did do share to me late certayn euydences wryton
in old Englisshe, for to reduce it into our Englisshe now
raid." The sense of "Did do shewe," as already noticed,
would seem merely to signify "caused to be shewn;" or in
other words, the abbot only sent the documents. Caxton
always appears to have recorded, in prologue or epilogue, the
WESTMINSTER. 75
names of those by whom he was employed ; and if he had
received any favour or patronage from the abbot, he would in
ah likelihood have dedicated one of his numerous translations
to him, as he did to so many of his patrons, some of whom,
like Hugh Bryce and William Praat, were plain "Mercers"
only.
It is unlikely, therefore, that Caxton went to 'Westminster
by invitation of the abbot, or that he occupied any place
within the church itself, or that he stood in any other rela-
tion to the abbot than that of tenant. The rent-roll of the
abbey was under the immediate charge of the abbot's cham-
berlain, and with him Caxton woidd have to agree as to his
tenure of "The Red-pale" in the Almonry.
The reason of Caxton's preference for the Almonry is not
at all evident, though his being a Mercer may, possibly, have
had some connection with his choice, as the Mercers' Com-
pany held certain tenements of the abbots of Westminster.
Some of these were in the parish of St. Martin Otewich
(Broad Street Ward), within the city walls; and there was
also a tenement called " The Pye," and another called " The
Grehounde," the localities of which are not mentioned. The
rents paid for these are duly entered in the " Renter Wardens'
Account-books," at Mercers' Hall. But whatever induced
Caxton to settle at Westminster, we may safely infer, from his
own mention, not more than two or three years later, of " The
Red-pale" as his house, that it was there he originally estab-
lished himself, that there his translations were made and works
printed, and that there, surrounded by his books and presses,
and soothed by the loving attentions of his daughter, he
breathed his last.
Wynken de Worde, his immediate successsor, printed
several books in the same place, dating them from " Caxton's
house in Westminster." This phrase was considered, by the
early biographers of Caxton, as proving that he had migrated
from the side chapel, where they assumed he first set up his
press, and established himself in a new residence. Bagford,
with his usual fertility of invention, identified the very street
and house into which Caxton moved, and assigned reasons
70 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
for his ejection from the abbey. For many years an old
house in the Almonry was currently believed to have been
that in which our first printer dwelt ; bnt Mr. Nichols, who,
as well as Knight, gives a woodcut of it, is of opinion that
the house could not be older than the time of Charles I.
Upon its demolition in 18-4(5, portions of the beams were
made into walking-sticks and snuff-boxes, and presented to
various patrons of literature as genuine relics of the famous
printer. Interesting, indeed, would it have been if we could
have identified the exact spot where the first press was placed
on English soil, and still more so if we could have stood in
the very room where Caxton worked ; but uncertainty hangs
over all this part of our history.
The printers of the fifteenth century, especially in Hol-
land and Flanders, very frequently used armorial bearings for
their trade-marks, the shield being repre-
sented as hanging from the branch of a tree.
A broad band down the centre of the shield
is, in heraldic language, called a " pale," and
this, if painted red, would be a " red pale."
Doubtless this was the sign used by Caxton
to designate his house. The woodcut oppo-
site, taken from Holtrop's " Monumens Typo-
graphiqnes," pi. 71, shows a house of the
fifteenth century, which has two tenants, both printers, each
of whom has a sign. This was in Antwerp. The printers
at Delff, in Holland, used a "black pale" for their
marks.
We have already mentioned " The Greyhound " as being
held by the Mercers' Company from the Abbots of West-
minster. From the same " Account-book " it appears that in
1477 the "livelihode" made a "visitation," and "kept a
dinner" at "The Greyhound," which cost them 26s 8d, be-
sides 2d for washing the table-cloth. There is nothing to
indicate the locality of this tenement ; but from the fact that
mercers, as well as drapers, dealt largely in cloth and various
woollen goods, they would necessarily he much interested in
the great staple of wool, held at fixed intervals, not far from
WESTMINSTER.
77
the abbey walls.* They would therefore require a place in
the neighbourhood for meeting during their visitation which
would, at the same time, afford them good accommodation fur
a dinner at its close.
And here we may remark that, although so much of his
attention was devoted to translating and printing, Caxton
probably still took considerable interest in his old vocation.
The wool-staple at Westminster was an important mart, and
many of the merchants resorting thither were fellow mercers
* Stow says the Abbots of Westminster had six wool-houses in the
Staple granted them by King Henry VI.
78 WILLIAM CAXTON.
and benefactors to St. Margaret's Church. Some of them
were also fellow members with Caxton of the "Fraternity
or Guild of our Blessed Lady Assumption." Several of the
"Account-books" of this brotherhood are still preserved in
the vestry of St. Margaret's ; and although they nowhere state
its objects, it seems, from the entries of salaries paid to
priests, from money spent in obits, wax, and vestments, and
from the granting of a few pensions, to have been somewhat
like the " benefit societies" of the present day, with the addi-
tional advantage of prayers for the repose of the souls of
deceased members. And yet, if only a religious guild, it is
not apparent why they required certain tenements in Alder-
mary, which they leased of the Mercers' Company, not far
from the Steel Yard of the Hanse merchants, where large
quantities of raw wool were stapled. But whatever may have
been the objects of this guild, their accounts, made up by
their clerk every three years, show that towards the end of
the fifteenth century they were in a flourishing state, with a
good balance to their credit; and that, on Midsummer-day,
they, too, had a " general feast," on which they spent a large
portion of their income. The expenses of these lavish feasts,
each time filling at least two folio pages, are entered in the
accounts with great minuteness, from the amount paid to the
"chief cok" as a reward (which was more than twelve guineas
of modern money), down to the boat-hire for the " turbuts,"
and nearly £4 for "pottes broken and wasted at the same
fest." * Of this guild Caxton was a member for some years
before his death.
* After an enhy of the payment of six priests' salaries, there occur —
" Costcs and pcelles allowed by the hole Brotherhode toward thcxpeiices
of the ^en-All fest in i i j de yere of this accompt."
These "Costs and Parcels" occupy two folio pages, and contain the
following among other items : —
" A tonn of wyne vj \[ "
" Paide to John Drayton chief sok for his re-
ward xxv s ••
"Also for the hire of xxiiij doseyn of crtlicn
pottes for ale & wyne iiij s"
WESTMINSTER. 79
It is pleasant to think of onr printer as retaining the
friendship of the city merchants after all official relationship
between them had been dissolved. That this was the case is
proved by his warm eulogy of the City of London, and his
continuance as a member of the Mercers' Company. He, no
doubt, had many personal friends and supporters ; indeed, it
would be hardly a stretch of the imagination to fancy that,
during the holding of the great wool-staple at Westminster,
Caxton would be no disinterested observer, and that at its
close, when the wardens and the " livelihode " flocked to the
"dener kept at the grehounde," if not there by right as a
liveryman of the Mercers' Company, the printer would be
always a welcome guest. Surely, before parting, in remem-
brance of past associations and services one of the drinking
pledges would be, " The health of William Caxton, late gover-
nor of our fellowship beyond the sea."
But to return to facts. There is no doubt that Caxton
was residing in his tenement in the Almonry when he printed
the "Dictes" in 1477. He would, therefore, be in the parish
of St. Margaret : and it is somewhat remarkable that a person
bearing the same name was buried there about two years
later. In 1479 the parochial records show an entry among
" Also for erthen pottes broken & wasted at
the same fest vj s viij d "
" Also to iiij players for their labour xij s x d "
" Also to iij mynstrelles ix.s xd "
" Also for the mete of diuers strangers xvj s "
"Also for russhes ij s iiij d "
" Also for vj doseyn of white cuppes iij s "
" Also for portage and botehyre of the Turbut iiij d "
"Also for ix Turbutts xv s ij d"
Besides scores of " Capons, chekyns, gese, conyes, and peioncs
(pigeons), the chief "cok" provided them with "swannys" and
"herons," with all sorts of fish, including oysters and "see pranys." or
prawns, with all sorts of meats and game, with jellies in " ix dosen gely
dishes," and with abundance of fruits. The quantity of ale, wine, and
ypocras provided by the butler is marvellous, and one cannot wonder at
the heavy entries for "pottes and cuppes broken and wasted." The
cook seems to have been paid much more liberally than the wai'dens,
who had but xxx s between them "for their diligence."
80 WILLIAM CAXTON.
the receipts of the burial fees of twenty pence for two torches
and three tapers at a low mass for William Caxton. Dibdin
assumes this man to have been our printer's father : possibly
so, but there is no evidence of kindred. We may notice,
however, that although the amount paid may to us seem
trifling, yet it was more than double the average burial fees
of that period, as is evidenced by the same accounts. About
this time the king ordered a payment of £30 (equal to £400
or £-450 now) to be made to Caxton for " certain causes or
matters performed by him for the said Lord the King."
Might not this have been for assistance to Edward IV and
his retinue when fugitives at Bruges ?
Caxton, as might be expected, held a high position in his
parish ; and, within a very short time of his arrival, his name
appears as auditor of the parish accounts. The parish audit
seems to have been a very simple affair. It was open to all
the parishioners, and the accounts were probably read aloud
by the clerk who was engaged by the churchwardens to keep
them. The balance in cash, and the custody of the " trea-
sures" in the church, were then handed over to the incoming
wardens, and the names of the most substantial parishioners
present were added by the clerk to the usual form declaring
the correctness of the accounts. The business on these occa-
sions, was fitly concluded by a good " supper." Caxton's
name appears annexed to the audit for the years 1478-80,
1480-82, 1482-84 ; and it would have been most gratifying
to have found that the signatures at the end of these and
other accounts were genuine autographs. All the names, how-
ever, are in the same handwriting, which is that of the scribe
or priest engaged to keep the parish books.
Caxton did not enter upon his new adventure of printing
! ionics without good and able patronage. Edward IV, as we
have seen, paid him a sum of money for certain services per-
formed; and Caxton printed "Tully" and " Godfrey" under
the king's "protection." Edward's sister Margaret, Duchess
of Burgundy, was his friend and supporter, and perchance may
have paid a visit to her old servant at the "Red-pale," when
she visited England in 1480. Margaret, Countess of Rich-
WESTMINSTER. 81
mond, mother of King Henry VII, also favoured his designs.
Earl Rivers, brother to the queen, was a fast friend, with
whom Caxton seems to have enjoyed a considerable degree of
intimacy, and the Earl of Warwick likewise must have had
some knowledge of him, as Caxton dedicated to him the
"Chess-Book." The "Order of Chivalry" Avas dedicated to
Eichard III. Henry VII personally desired Caxton to trans-
late and print the " Fayts of Arms," and the " Eneydos " was
specially presented to Arthur, Prince of "Wales. Master
William Daubeney, King Henry VI's treasurer, was his " good
and synguler friend." William, Earl of Arundel, took great
interest in his progress, and allowed him the " yearly fee " of
a buck in summer and a doe in winter. Sir John Fastolf,
a great lover of books, of whose library several volumes still
exist ; Hugh Bryce, mercer and king's ambassador ; William
Pratt, a rich mercer ; and divers unnamed " gentylmen and
ladyes," are known to have employed him. Some of these,
like the " noble lady with many faire doughters," for whom
he produced " The Knyght of the Toure," engaged him to
translate as well as to print.
In 148G death deprived Caxton of his old friend William
Pratt, who, on his death-bed, requested him to print " The
Book of Good Manners." The terms in which Caxton men-
tions Pratt as a fellow mercer, an honest man, and " a singular
friend of old knowledge," show that a close bond of union
existed between the two. It is to be hoped that their mutual
object — "the amendment of manners, and the increase of
virtuous living" — was promoted by the publication.
In 1490 died, and was buried at St. Margaret's, one
"Mawde Caxton," of whose relationship to William Caxton
there is no direct evidence. It may have been the Maude
who, twenty-nine years earlier, became his wife while he was
yet in Bruges : if so, it will explain, in a most interesting
manner, the reason why he in that year suspended printing
the " Fayts of Arms," until he had finished a new under-
taking, " The Arte and Crafte to Die Well."
The history of Caxton after his settlement at Westminster
is almost confined to a catalogue of the productions of his
Cr
s->
WILLIAM CAXTOX.
press. Fortunately many were printed from liis own manu-
script, and have additions whieh often afford the date of
translation or of printing. The following table presents an
arrangement of these books, from which we may obtain some
DATES-
TRANSLATION.
I'iilXTINC.
1477
-Nov. 18...
-Feb. 20...
-Feb. 3...
Mar. 24...
-Apr. 22...
June 10 ...
Aug. 18 ...
—Jan. 2...
Mar. 8...
Mar. 12...
June (> ...
June 7 ...
Aug. 12...
Nov. 20...
-Julv 2...
Oct. 8...
— .1 une 1 . . .
June C> ...
June 30...
Sept. 2...
Not. 20...
Dec. 23...
-Jan. 31...
Mar. 2(3...
Sept" 13...
-June 18...
July 31...
Aug. 31...
Dec. 1 ...
Dec. 10...
—June 8 . . .
May 11...
-Jan. 23...
May 7...
July 8...
—June 15 ...
June 22...
July 14...
Dictes, 1st edition (e)
Moral Proverbs (e)
Cordyale (b)
Cordyale (c)
1 178-
1479-
1-J-SO-
Ovid, 15th Book (>)...
Chronicles, 1st edit, (e)
Description, 1st ed. (<')
1481
Mirrour, 1st edit (by...
Mirrour, 1st edit. (/)...
Godfrey (h) ,
Reynart, 1st edit. (iff)...
Godfrey (V^
Tully (V)
(indfrey (/•)
1482-
l'olvcronicon (e)
Chronicles, 2nd ed. (c)
1483-
Knight of the Toure (<■•)
Pylgremagc (>)
Festival (c)
Confessio («)
Golden Legend (<.-)
Caton (r)
1484-
Knight of the Toure (e)
iKsop (>')
Order of Chivalry (t)
Ryal Book (e)
1485-
King Arthur (e)
Paris and Vienne (<") .
Charles (e)
Paris and Vienne (e)
1486-
1487
Good Manners (e)
148!)-
Fayts (c)
Directorium, 2nd ed. (e)
1490-
Kneydos (ji)
Fayts (*)
(f>) means begun,
(r) nieaus guided.
WESTMINSTER. 88
idea of the time occupied in their translation and printing.
The majority of Caxton's works, however, bear no date what-
ever ; and here the only basis of a correct arrangement must
be a careful examination and comparison of the peculiarities
<>f the various types. In this table variations may be noticed
from some of the dates as printed by Caxton ; but these are
merely apparent discrepancies caused by the difference between
the old and new style of reckoning the commencement of the
year, and also by the custom, then so common, of dating by
the regnal year of the sovereign.
The same table shows that Caxton took ten weeks for the
translation of the " Mirrour of the World," containing 1 fls
pages ; twelve weeks for " Godefroy of Bologne," 284 pages ;
and nearly six months for * Fayts of Arms," 280 pages. The
period occupied in printing "Cordyale," 1'52 pages, was only
seven weeks, whilst "Godfrey," supposing the printing imme-
diately to follow the completion of the translation, took nearly
six months. The " Knight of the Tower," 20<s pages, required
eight months ; " Charles the Great," 188 pages, five and a half
months ; " Paris and Vienne," 70 pages, three and a half
months; "Good Manners," 132 pages, eleven months; and
" Fayts of Arms," 280 pages, more than a year.
Caxton's own translations made in this country were The
Whole Life of Jason ; the Mirror of the "World ; Reynart the
Fox; Godfrey of Bulloyn; the Golden Legend; the book
called Caton ; the Knight of the Tower ; iEsop's Fables ; the
Order of Chivalry ; the Royal Book ; the Life of Charles the
Great ; the History of the Knight Paris and the Fair Vienne ;
the Book of Good Manners ; the Doctrinal of Sapience ; the
Fayts of Arms ; the Art and Craft to Die Well ; Eneydos ;
the Curial ; the Life of St. Winifred ; Blanchardin and Eglan-
tine; the Four Sons of Aymon ; and the Gouvcrnayle of
Health. These contain more than 4,500 printed pages. The
total produce of his press, excluding the books printed at
Bruges, reaches to above 18,000 pages, nearly all of folio size.
These figures speak more forcibly than any argument for the
great industry and perseverance of Caxton ; and to this list
must be added the translation of the "Vitae Patnun," which
rs 2
8-4 WILLIAM CAXTON.
he finished only a few hours before his death, but did not
live to print.
Those who have blamed Caxton for not choosing the
Bible, or the works of Greece and Rome for the use and
instruction of his countrymen, have quite overlooked the
impossibility of making a business profitable (and Caxton
tells us, in " Charles the Great," that he earned his living by
it), unless it supplied the wants of the age. The demand in
England in the fifteenth century was not for Bibles in the
vernacular, nor for Horace, nor for Homer, whose writings
very few could read in the original texts ; * but the clergy
wanted Service-books, and Caxton accordingly provided them
with Psalters, Commemorations, and Directories ; the preachers
wanted Sermons, and were supplied with the "Golden Legend,"
and other similar books ; the " prynces, lordes, barons, knyghtes
& gentilmen" were craving for "joyous and pleysaunt his-
toryes " of chivalry, and the press at the " Red-pale " produced
a fresh romance nearly every year. Poetry and history require
for their appreciation a more advanced mental education, and
of these, therefore, the issue was more scanty. By thus bring-
ing his commercial experience to bear upon his new vocation,
and by accommodating the supply to the demand, while, at
the same time, he in no slight degree directed the channel
in which that demand should flow, Caxton contrived to earn
an honest living by the produce of his press, and to avoid
the fate of his typographical brethren at Rome, Sweynheim
and Pannartz, who, having printed too many works of the
* The historian Gibbon regrets that in the choice of authors
Caxton " was reduced to comply with the vicious taste of his readers;
to gratify the nobles with treatises on heraldry, hawking [Caxton
printed nothing of the sorf], and the game of Chess ; and to amuse
the popular credulity with romances of fabulous knights and legends of
some fabulous saints. The father of printing expresses a laudable desire
to elucidate the history of his country ; but instead of publishing the
the Latin chronicle of Radulphus Higdcn [which very fen- could have
read~\ he could only venture on the English version by John de Trevisa
.... the world is not indebted to England for one first edition of a
classic author! "
WESTMINSTER. «0
classic authors, about 12,000 volumes in five years, became
bankrupt, and sank under the dead weight of their unsold
volumes.
Thus, in the selection of books for his press, some of
which he obtained "with grete instaunce, labour, and coste"
— in translating- and printing — in friendly communication
and intercourse with the best educated men of his day — in
the discharge of the social duties of his position — Caxtou
passed the few remaining years of his life. In 1491, when
close upon seventy years of age, but still in full vigour of
mind, he undertook the translation of the " Vitas Patriun."
Whether disease was at this time gradually undermining his
health, or whether, as the following colophon renders more
probable, he was taken off suddenly, is unknown ; but it is
an interesting fact that he was spared to work at his favourite
task of translation till within a few hours of his death.
The following is Wynken de Worde's colophon to the
" Vitas Patrum : " — " Thus endyth the moost vertuouse hys-
torye of the deuoute and right renowned lyves of holy faders
lyuynge in deserte, worthy of remembraunce to all wel dysposed
persones which hath be translated oute of Frenche into
Englisshe by William Caxton of Westmynstre late deed and
fynysshed at the laste daye of hys lyff."
The exact date of his death has not been ascertained ; but
the burial is entered in the parish accounts for 1490-92, and
from the position of the entry would appear to have taken
place towards the close of the year 1491. This date is con-
lirmed by the following manuscript note, quoted by Ames : —
" There is wrote down in a very old hand in a Fructus
Temporum of my friend Mr. Ballard's, of Cambden, in Glou-
cestershire : — ' Of your charitee pray for the soul of Mayster
Wyllyam Caxton, that in hys time was a man of moche ornate
and moche renommed wysdome and connyng, and decessed
fal crystenly the yere of our Lord mcccc lxxxxj.' '
" Moder of Merci shyld him fro thorribul fynd,
And biyng hym to lyff etcrnall that ncuyr hath ynd."
Hfi was buried in bis own parish churchyard, and in the
8G WILLIAM CAXTOX.
:i< -count-books of the churchwardens appear the following
funeral charges : —
Item atte BureyDg of William Caxtou for iiij torches ... vj s viij d
Item for the belle atte same bureyng vj d
These fees are considerably higher than those paid by the
majority of the parishioners, and are equalled in bat very few-
instances; they thus afford further evidence of the superior
position held by our printer in his parish.
Caixton's property consisted probably of little more than
his stock in trade. He nevertheless left a will, as fifteen
copies of the "Golden Legend" are recorded in the parish
accounts as having been " bequothen to the chirch behove by
William Caxston." The "Golden Legend" was first printed
in 1484, but the second edition, of which the bequest proba-
bly consisted, was not executed till four or five years later.
By the churchwardens' account for 14!)G-!)8, it appears that
by that time they had disposed of three of the fifteen copies :
one for Gs 8d, and another for Gs id, by the agency of William
Iiyolle ; and one for Gs Sd to the parish priest, probably for
his own use. Within the next two years William Geiffe
took five copies at an average of [>s -id each ; John Crosse
one copy at 5.s Srf; Walter Marten one at bs lid; and Daniel
Aforge one at 5s 10.7; another being sold in " Westminister
halle" for 5 s Sd. This should have left remaining, in 1500,
four copies to be accounted for, but the " Memorandum "
acknowledges only thrpe ; probably one copy had been appro-
priated by the churchwardens to the use of their church.
Two more copies were sold in the ensuing two years, and one
left unaccounted for.
The discovery of Caxton's will would probably settle satis-
factorily many questions about his family and relations, but
all the registries in which it might possibly have been depo-
sited have been searched without success.
That our knowledge of William Caxton is confined almost
entirely to his public life, is much to be regretted. We can
trace to some extent his career in commerce as well as in
diplomacy. As a printer too. we can judge of him by an
WESTMINSTEB. H7
examination of his works ; but when we wish to portray the
man as a master, or in domestic life, or we desire to know
what his neighbours thought of him, we fail for want of reliable
material. From his appending- a bitter satire on "women"
to the " Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers," we might
have inclined to think him a bachelor, did we not know that
he had a wife and daughter when he came to England ; but
that he was unmarried while " governor " at Bruges is almost
certain, as the rules of celibacy were very strict among mer-
chants living out of their own countries. The Steel Yard
merchants had a stringent law on the subject, and the Mer-
chant Adventurers were doubtless guided by the same policy.
We naturally turn to the prologues and epilogues attached
to Caxton's translations for traits of character, but here again,
we are surrounded by difficulties. There existed in those
days no rights in literature. Every author took from others
what best suited his purpose, and that without acknowledg-
ment, except to give authority to his own opinions. This
practice has involved many of the works of that period in
considerable obscurity. Caxton was not free from this charac-
teristic of his age, and we accordingly find him appropriating
whole prologues and epilogues from the French originals,
altering them only when inapplicable to himself. Such in-
stances may be seen in the "Chess Book," the "Mirror,"
the "Golden Legend." "Charles," and others. Great care is
therefore requisite to distinguish between Caxton's own
thoughts and the mere translation of those of others. But,
after making due allowance tor all this, there yet remains,
in Caxtou's prologues and epilogues, a substratum of indi-
viduality, which must be the basis for any right appreciation
of his character. His repeated eulogies of Edward IV, and
the members of his family, indicate that all his political
sympathies were with the House of York. This was but
natural, for the development of trade consequent upon amity
between England and the princes of the bow Countries, made
all the English merchants staunch adherents to the White
Bose. His writings also reveal that he had a deep sense of
religion, and was strict in the observance <>f his Christian
88 WILLIAM CAXTON.
duties. Although iu one sense the greatest reformer that this
country has ever known, he was quite unconscious of the
tendency of the art which he introduced. In the tone of his
mind he was indeed eminently conservative, comparing the
good old times of his apprenticeship with the degeneracy of
the succeeding generations, when in the youth of London there
was " no kernel nor good corn found, hut chaff for the most
part." Much concerned was he to note in his latter days the
decline of chivalry, and he urged his Sovereign to take imme-
diate measures for its revival, even to the extent of engaging
in a new crusade against the Turks for the recovery of the
" holy cyte of Jherusalem." Conservative as he was in theory,
there seems reason to believe that he was no less so in practice.
Caxton never gave in to the new-fangled ideas of printers
about the advantage of title-pages to books, though if we may
judge from the fact of Wynken de Wordc using them imme-
diately after his master's death, he was of the reverse opinion.
In the adoption of signatures, initials, and lines of an even
length, he was very tardy, and from the use of red ink he was
evidently averse.
As a linguist, Caxton undoubtedly excelled. In his native
tongue, notwithstanding his self-depreciation, he seems to
have been a master. His writings, and the style of his trans-
lations, will bear comparison with Lydgate, with Gower, with
Earl Rivers, the Earl of Worcester, and other contempo-
raneous writers. Many of his readers, indeed, thought him
too " ornate " and " over curious " in his diction, and desired
him to use more homely terms ; but, since others found fault
with him for not using polished and courtly phrases, we may
fairly presume that he attained the happy medium, " ne over
rude, ne over curious," at which he aimed. When excited by
a favourite subject, as the "Order of Chivalry," he waxed
quite eloquent ; and the appeal of Caxton to the knighthood
of England, has been often quoted as a remarkable specimen
of fifteenth-century declamation. With the French tongue
he was thoroughly conversant, although he had never been in
France; but Bruges was almost French, and in the Court of
Burgundy, as well as in that of England, French was the
WESTMINSTER. 89
chief medium of conversation. With Flemish he was also
well acquainted, as shown by his translation of " Reynart ;"
indeed, this language, after so long a residence in Bruges,
must have become almost his mother-tongue.
Caxton's knowledge of Latin has often been denied or
underrated ; but as governor of the English nation in Bruges,
and as ambassador, he must have been able to read the
treaties he assisted to conclude, and the correspondence with
the king's council. Moreover, he printed books entirely in
the Latin tongue, some of which were full of contractions,
and could only have been undertaken by one well acquainted
with that language. These were the "Infancia Salvatoris,"
three editions of the "Directorium Sacerdotum," a "Psal-
terium," " Horse," " Tractatus de Transfiguracione," and
several " Indulgences." To " ordain in print " a Latin manu-
script of the fourteenth or fifteenth century required a
knowledge of the language on the part of the workman as well
as of the master ; for, as the letters n and u were identical in
shape, and as m and i varied only in the number of strokes,
the latter being without a dot, it was impossible to read some
words — for instance, umtituum (minimum), where fifteen
parallel strokes distract the eye — apart from their context.
We have, however, in the English translation of the " Golden
Legend " positive evidence on this point ; for, in the " Life
of Saynt Rocke," the printer says, "which lyff is translated
oute of latyn in to englysshe by me wyllyam Caxton."
As translator, editor, and author, Caxton has not received
his due meed of praise. The works which he undertook at
the suggestion of his patrons, as well as those selected by
himself, are honestly translated, and, considering the age in
which he lived, are well chosen. Romances, the favourite
literature of his age, were Caxton's great delight — and that
not merely for the feats of personal prowess which they nar-
rated, although no quality was more desirable in the fifteenth
century, but rather, as he himself says, for the examples of
"courtesy, humanity, friendliness, hardiness, love, cowardice,
murder, hate, virtue, and sin," which " inflamed the hearts of
the readers and hearers to eschew and flee works vicious and
«)() WILLIAM CAXTON.
dishonest." In Poetry Caxton shows to gTeat advantage, for
he printed all the works of any merit which then existed.
The prologue to his second edition of the "Canterbury Tales"
proves how anxious he was to be correct, and at the same
time shows the difficulty he had in obtaining manuscripts
free from error. The poetical reverence with which Caxton
speaks of Chancer, " the first founder of ornate eloquence in
our English," and the pains he took to reprint the "Canter-
bury Tales" when a purer text than that of his first edition
was offered to him, show his high appreciation of England's
first great poet, In History the only available works in
English were the "Chronicle of Brute" and the "Polycroni-
con;" the latter Caxton carried down, to the best of his
ability, to nearly his own time. It Was, indeed, as a writer of
history that Caxton was best known to our older authors, some
of whom, while including his name among those of English
historians, have overlooked the far more important fact that
he was also England's prototypographer.
All reference to the literary forgery of Atkyns, who, in the
seventeenth century, to support his claim to certain exclusive
privileges of printing Tinder the king's patent, invented the
foolish story of the abduction, by Tumour and Caxton, of one
of the Haarlem workmen, and his settlement at Oxford in
1464, has here been purposely omitted. The whole account is
so evidently false, so entirely at variance with the known facts
in Carton's history, and has been so often disproved in works
on English typography, that it needs no further refutation.
As to Caxton's industry, it was marvellous : at an age when
most men begin to take life easily, he not only embarked in
an entirely new trade, but added to the duties of its general
supervision and management, which could never have been
light, the task of supplying his workmen with copy from his
own pen. The extraordinary amount of printed matter,
original, and translated, which he put forth has already been
noticed ; but there seems reason to believe that some of his
works, both printed and manuscript, have been entirely lost,
Of his translation of the " Metamorphoses of Ovid," only Book
XV has been preserved ; but we may bo certain that Caxton
WESTMINSTER. <) 1
never would have began to translate at the end of a work ;
and it seems probable, as the manuscript is evidently intended
for the press, that the whole was printed as well as translated.
.Moreover several of Caxton's works being unique, and others
having been but recently discovered, we may conclude that
time will yet reveal to us other specimens.
Great interest would attach to a veritable portrait of
Caxton, but although two or three have been published, they
are all apocryphal. The only one that has any appearance
of probability is the small defaced illumination in the manu-
script of "Dictes and Sayings" at Lambeth Palace, which has
received too much praise from Horace Walpole, who engraved
it for his " Royal and Noble Authors." King Edward IV is
represented on his throne, with the young prince (to whom
Earl Rivers was tutor) standing by his side: there are two
kneeling figures, one of which, Earl Eivers, is presenting to
the king a copy of his own translation, which Horace Walpole
assumes to have been printed by the other, who of course
would then be Caxton. If this Avere the case it would be
very interesting ; but unfortunately the second figure i s ev j_
dently an ecclesiastic, as shown by his tonsure, and apparently
represents " Hay warde " the scribe, who engrossed the copy,
and probably executed the illumination. The portrait com-
monly received as that of Caxton, and which first appeared in
his " Life," by Lewis, is thus accounted for by Dr. Dibdin : —
"A portrait of BurchieUo, the Italian poet, from an octavo
edition of his work on Tuscan poetry, of the date of 1554,
was inaccurately copied by Faithome for Sir Hans Sloane, as
the portrait of Caxton.*' lu Lewis's " Life," this portrait was
"improved" by adding a thick beard to Burchiello's chin, and
otherwise altering his character ; and in this form the Italian
poet made his appearance, upon copper, as Caxton. Ames.
Herbert, Marchand, and others, have reproduced this absurd
engraving. From a note, however, written by Lewis to Ames,
it appears that, although Lewis admitted the portrait, it was
Bagford's creative genius that invented it, as may also be
inferred from Lewis's own subscription •'////•. Baflford," upon
the plate.
<)2 WILLIAM C'AXTOX.
As an instance of his appreciation of a higher life than can
be obtained from riches alone, we will quote an anecdote which
Caxton himself wrote, and added as an appendix to " iEsop's
Fables."
" There were dwelling in Oxford two priests, both Masters
of Art, of whom that one was quick and could put himself
forth, and that other was a good simple priest. And so it
happened that the master that was pert and quick was anon
promoted to a benefice or two, and after to prebends, and for
to be a dean. So after long time this worshipful man, this
dean, came riding into a good parish with ten or twelve
horses, like a prelate, and came into the church of the said
parish, and found there this good simple man, sometime his
fellow, which came and welcomed him lowly. And that other
bade him, Good morrow, Master John, and took him slightly
by the hand and axed him where he dwelled. And the good
man said, In this parish. How ! said he. Are ye here a
soul-priest or a parish-priest ? Nay, sir, said he ; for lack of
a better I am parson and curate of this parish. Then that
other availed his bonnet and said, Master parson, I pray you
be not displeased, I had supposed you not to be beneficed;
but, master, said he, I pray you, what is this benefice worth
to you a year ? Forsooth, said the good simple man, I wot
not, for I make never account thereof, although I have had
it four or five years. And know you not what it is worth !
it should seem a good benefice ? No, forsooth, said he ;
but I wot well what it shah be worth to me. Why, said he.
what shall it be worth ? Forsooth, if I do my true diligence
in the cure of my parishioners in preaching and teaching, and
do the part belonging to my cure, I shall have heaven therefor.
And if their souls be lost, or one of them by my default, I
shall be punished therefor, and hereof am I sure. And with
that word the rich dean was abashed. This was a good answer
of a good priest and and honest."
No attempt has been made in the preceding sketch to
exalt Caxton at the expense of historical truth. As England's
first typographer, a never-dying interest will surround his
name. Except as a printer, he nowhere shines forth pre-
WESTMINSTER.
93
eminent. But although we cannot attribute to him those
rare mental powers which can grasp the hidden laws of nature,
nor the still more rare creative genius which endures through-
out all time, we can claim for him a character which attracted
the love and respect of his associates — a character on which
history has chronicled no stain — a character which, although
surrounded, through a long period of civil war, by the worst
forms of cruelty, hypocrisy, and injustice in Church and State,
retained to the last its innate simplicity and truthfulness.
CHAPTER IX.
THE PIASTER PRINTER.
HE question of the exact spot upon which
England's first printing press was estab-
lished has already been discussed. The
well-known advertisement of Caxton,
which states that pies of Salisbury use
were on sale at the "Red-pale," in the
almonry, at Westminster, not only indicates the position of
his house, but also the sign by which it was known. The
precise appearance of the almonry in the fifteenth century
must be to some extent imaginary, but we know that alms-
houses were there, and probably two or three structures besides
that occupied by Caxton.
We will now ask the reader to imagine fourteen rears
pnssed since Caxton first began working at his new art. It
is not difficult to picture the wooden building in the almonry
occupied by his sedate but busy workmen. We can look in
at yonder window, and see the venerable master printer him-
self "sittyng in his studye where lay many and dynerse
paunfletfcis and bookys." The great towers of Westminster
Abbey cast their shadow across the room, for he is an early
riser and already at work upon his translation of the new
French romance, called "Eneydos." The "fayre and ornate
termes" of his author give him "grete plasyr," and he
labours, almost without intermission, till the low sun, blazing
from the western windows, warns him of the day's decline.
THE MASTER PRINTER. !>.">
Again, we watch him pass with observant eye through the
rooms where his servants are at work ; we see the movements
of the Compositors, who ply their rapid fingers close to the
narrow windows ; we hear the thud-thud of the wooden presses
as the workmen " pull to" and "send home" the "bar,"
discussing meanwhile the latest news; and we sympathise
with the binder, who, hammering away at the volume between
lii's knees, looks in despair at the ever-increasing progeny of
his master's art. Piles of books and printed " quayers " rise
on all sides, and many a wise head is ominously shaken at the
folly of supposing that purchasers can be found for so many
books. Nevertheless Caxton pursues his busy course, ever at
work with mind and body, preparing copy for the press, and
guiding and instructing his workmen in the art which he had
learned in Bruges at " grete charge and dispense," and the
practices of which are to be explained in the following
chapter.
Of all the workmen employed at the " Red-pale," the names
of three only have descended to us.
Wyxken de Worde, who was probably a native of the
town of "Worth in Belgium, appears to have been the chief
man. When he entered Caxton's service is unknown ; it was
probably at an early age, as he was still living in the year
15i55. In 1491 he succeeded to the stock in trade of his
deceased master, but he did not append his own name to his
books until 1493. He used many varieties of Caxton's "mark."
Richard Pynson speaks respectfully of Caxton as " my
worshipful master." He at first set up a press just outside
Temple Bar, and used Caxton's device in his books.
William Copland remained for some time after Caxton's
death in the service of Wynken de Worde. He, too, in his
prologue to " Kynge Apolyne of Thyre," mentions " my
master Caxton." Doubtless there were many others, and some
have supposed that Machlinia, Lettou, and Treveris were
among the number; but there is no evidence that these
printers were ever reckoned among Caxton's workmen.
We come now to the mechanical means by which, during
fourteen years, Caxton carried on his business. Was the
06 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
process of book-making the same as it is at the present
time ? "What sorts of types, and how many founts were
used ? How were the types made, and what were their sizes ?
Did the compositors use upper and lower case, sticks, chases,
brass rule, reglets, furniture, and the various appliances of a
modern composing-room ? "What were the presses like, and
the practices of the pressmen ? And lastly, In what form
were Carton's books issued to the public ? To most of these
questions it would, at first sight, seem as though no definite
answer coidd be given ; but when attention is directed to the
books themselves, undesigned, and therefore most trustworthy,
evidence will be found in them as to many technical customs
and peculiarities of the early printers.
Before the invention of printing, the art of book-making,
mechanically considered, was divided into three departments :
the manufacture of the material upon which to write, almost
entirely parchment or vellum ; the ink making and the writ-
ing, the scribe being his own ink maker; and the binding.
Illuminators there were, of course, but their work was merely
ornamental, and by no means necessary to the idea of a book.
In monasteries famous for the diffusion of learning all these
branches were carried on together. So has it been with
printers, who, from the infancy of their art to the present
time, have occasionally included everything necessary to a
perfect book in one establishment. If all the trades which,
either directly or indirectly, are called into operation by
printers were to be enumerated, few indeed would be omitted ;
nevertheless, the absolute necessaries for the production of a
book are — the material upon which to print, the types and
presses with which to print, and the workmen to handle them.
We will, therefore, consider Caxton's books under the follow-
ing heads : —
The paper. • To these may Ixj added, al-
The types. though not as necessary
The compositor. assistants :
The press, the pressman, , The rubricator, illuminator,
and the ink.
The bookbinder.
and wood-engraver.
THE MASTER PRINTER. 97
THE PAPER.
Fortunately, there is no need to enter here upon the
obscure origin of the manufacture of paper. The only ques-
tion which concerns us is — "What kind of paper did Caxton
use, and whence did he obtain it ? He certainly had seyeral
sizes ; the largest, which was probably found too unwieldy, was
used only for the first two editions of the " Golden Legend,"
an uncut copy of which, in the University Library at Cam-
bridge, giyes 22 x 15| inches for the fall measurement of a
whole sheet. The large size of this book was, doubtless,
suited to its intended use — in the public serrices of the
church. He likewise used seyeral smaller sizes, which yaried
according to the moulds in which the sheets were made, from
18| x 13 inches to 16 x 11 inches.
The quality of the paper yaried considerably, though not
to the extent apparent in the books as they now exist —
chemical " doctoring " and washing, which haye in many
instances been resorted to for cleansing purposes, haying
weakened and rotted much of "the paper so treated, whilst
the untouched specimens remain strong and fibrous. "We
obserye in books still in the original bindings, and apparently
untouched, that the paper was rough — sometimes very rough
— on the surface, with long hairs frequently imbedded in it,
and marks where many more had been remoyed ; of a strong
fibrous texture, unbleached, and of a clear mellow whiteness,
indicating an absence of colouring matter in the pulp.
The accompanying woodcut shows a paper-mill of this
period. A water-wheel was arranged to turn a wo< >den shaft
upon which were rows of cogs which continually lifted up to
the height of a few inches a number of wooden pestles, and
then let them fall upon the material, which was always in
shallow water. The whole of the fibre was thus retained with
its length and strength uninjured. When the pulp was ready
it was taken up, in small quantities, into the hand-mould,
and formed into a sheet. There would be no difficulty what-
ever in making paper nowadays in a similar manner, only no
one in the trade would spare the time and labour, and no one
H
98
WILLIAM CAXTON.
out of the trade would pay for the cost and trouble of its
production.
The unevenness in thickness and colour to which the
manufacture was liable at this early period, appears to have
necessitated a sorting of the sheets after they came from the
mill ; those nearest to each other in colour and weight being
put together. This system of selection was adopted occa-
sionally for single copies, economy being doubtless the induce-
ment. When two or three examples of a book can be com-
pared together this fact is often very evident, as in the two
copies of "The Knight of the Tower" which are in the
British Museum, where the variation in quality is too great
to be accounted for except by this practice of selection.
Several other instances show that Caxton, when preparing to
print a new volume, told off the paper separately for certain
copies. This custom also accounts for the astonishing variety
of water-marks frequently found in one volume.
Some possessors of uncut specimens of Caxton's press have
imagined them to be " large paper copies," but we have no
evidence that Caxton designedly printed special copies, except,
perhaps, in the instances of the vellum "Doctrinal" and
THE MASTER PRINTER. 90
" Directorium," hereafter to be noticed, but of these the
appearance is by no means that of Jirres de luxe.
Watermarks are of much less value in bibliography than
some writers have imagined. In but very few instances can
a limit of time be fixed for their use ; and as the marks might
be repeated, or the paper itself kept for any length of time,
and imported to any place, they cannot be used as evidence
either of the date when, or the place where, a book passed
through the press. The arms of France — three fleurs-de-lis
on a shield, surmounted by a crown — which appear as a
watermark in "Le Recueil des Histoires de Troyes," have
been adduced by M. Bernard as evidence of the French origin
of the printed work. He was doubtless unaware that the same
watermark appears in "The Kecuyell," "Canterbury Tales,"
1st edition, " Mirrour," 1st edition, "Jason," "Chronicles,"
"Polycronicon," "Speculum Vitas Christi," "Dictes," 2nd
edition, and many others, embracing the whole of Caxton's
typographical career. When, however, paper bears the arms
of a nation or a city, we may, in such a case, fairly conjecture,
although not with certainty, the seat of its manufacture. It
appears likely that all Caxton's paper was imported from the
Low Countries, and it was in all probability purchased from
some old connection in the great mart of Bruges. But where-
ever obtained, there was a great intermixture of qualities,
including the make of several mills. We have never yet seen
one of Caxton's books in which the same watermark runs
through the whole volume, and in many cases the variety is
astonishing. Thus, in a copy of the first edition of the
" Canterbury Tales," now in the library of Mr. Huth, there
appear no less than fifteen distinct watermarks.
A few of the marks found in Caxton's books are here
given. As already remarked, they indicate the Low Coun-
tries as the land of their origin, and most of them are found
also in the block-books, the works of Colard Mansion, Gerard
Leeu, and other early printers.
No. 1. The Bull's Head, which appears in Llie earliest speci-
mens of paper known, and was a favourite symbol with
H2
100
WILLIAM CAXTON.
No. 1.
No. 4.
THE MASTER PRINTER.
101
No. 5.
No. 6.
No. 8.
102 WILLIAM CAXTON.
paper makers of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
The varieties of it are very numerous.
No. 2. The Arms of John the Fearless, son of Philip the
Hardy. As eldest son the field is charged with a label :
the superimposed cross referring to his crusade in 1395.
This and the six succeeding marks have a direct
connection with the ruling dynasty in Flanders and the
Low Countries.
No. 3. The letter p is very common in Caxton's books, and
is perhaps the initial of Philip the Good ; although
paper bearing a p had also been made in the reign of
Philip the Hardy. Its varieties are very numerous.
No. 4. The letter J) is thought by Sotheby to be the initial
of Ysabel, third wife of Philip the Good.
Mr. Sotheby, in his list of Caxton's watermarks,
mentions the p and g combined, as occurring in the
British Museum copy of "Jason." During a careful
search, however, in the same copy, I was unable to
detect any such mark.
No. 5. The Unicorn — a symbol of power adopted by Philip
the Good, who chose two unicorns as supporters of his
coat-of-arms. The same figure was used extensively as
an ornament in his palace and furniture.
No. G. The Arms of France. These were frequently used by
paper-makers of the Low Countries, probably in refer-
ence to the direct descent of the House of Burgundy
from the Kings of France.
No. 7. The Arms of Champagne. This province was ceded
to the Duke of Burgundy in 1430 by the King of
France.
No. 8. The Hand, over which is a single fleur-de-lis, the
peculiar badge of the House of Burgundy.
In Caxton's books the p is the most common among the
watermarks, the order of frequency among the others being
as follows : — The Hand or Glove ; the Arms of Champagne ;
the Bull's Head ; the Arms of France ; the Greyhound ; the
the Arms of John the Fearless ; Shears ; a Pot ; an Anchor ;
an Unicorn ; a Bull ; a Cross; Grapes; a Pelican, &c.
THE MASTER PRINTER. 103
The reader curious on this point may see numerous other
watermarks figured by Mr. Sotheby in the third volume of his
" Principia Typographical' Many of these are merely varia-
tions of the mark, the paper being made in the same mould.
An accidental injury, or even the wear and tear of the mould
by constant use, often caused a contortion of the wires. In
rare instances the watermark occurs uninjured in shape, but
quite at the edge of the paper. This has been accounted
for by supposing the fine wires which held the watermark
in its place on the mould to have become loosened by decay,
or some accident, and so allowed the mark to slide along the
face of the mould, but it is more probably caused by the use
of large sheets of paper cut down to a smaller size.
Of the value of paper in Gaxton's time we may form some
idea from the prices paid by the directors of the Ripoli press,
at Florence, between 1474 and 1483. An original "Cost
book" of this establishment is still extant in the Magliabechian
library at Florence. It is one of the most interesting docu-
ments connected with early typography, and has been edited
and published by the Padre Vincenzio Fineschi. From this
it appears that the following nine sizes or qualities of paper
were then in use, the English juices given being about the
present equivalent, reckoning the lira at 3s 9d.
PER REAM.
1. Large paper of Bologna in common folio, about £l 4 2
2. Middling ditto ditto . . 13 2\
3. Small ditto ditto . . 11 3
4. Paper of Fabriano, with a crossbow for water-
mark 12 4|
5. Ditto, with a cross for watermark .... 8 7^
6. Paper of Colle 8 1\
7. Paper of Prato 9 4|
8. Paper of Pescia, with spectacles for watermark 10 10^
9. The same, with a glove for watermark ... 9
Zanetti quotes a document, dated 1483, which states the
price of paper in Florence to have been, at that period, for
" Carta reale, quaderni 10... 3 lir. 6 sol. 8d ;" and for " Carta da
104 WILLIAM CAXTON.
scrivere il quaderno...l8 sol.;" that is, royal paper about
12s 5d per ten quires, and writing paper 3s 4|d per quire.
The first paper maker in England was John Tate. He
manufactured specially for Caxton's successor, Wynken de
Worde, who thus announces the fact in his edition of " Bar-
tholuimeus de Proprietatibus," printed about the year 1498 : —
"And John Tate the younger,
Joye mote he broke,
Whiche late hath in Englond doo
Made this paper thynne,
That now in oure englisshe
This boke is pryntcd Inne."
Tate, who died in 1514, and whose will is preserved in the
principal registry of the Court of Probate, left considerable
property, several of his legacies being in paper.
It is somewhat remarkable that Caxton should have made
so sparing a use of vellum for his books, and should have been
so indifferent about the quality of the skins which he did
employ. The only examples known are a copy of the " Doc-
trinal of Sapience," at Windsor Castle, for a long time thought
to be unique, and a "Speculum vita; Christi," now in the
British Museum, to which may be added a few slips on which
Indulgences arc printed.
THE TYPES.
The question of the invention of moveable types, like that
of the origin of paper, is one into which we have no need
here to enter. The majority of writers on this subject having
been unacquainted with the characteristics of type, have
strayed far and wide in the discussion. M. Bernard, however,
writing as a practical printer, has done much to dispel
numerous misapprehensions, and especially that common
error of supposing that the first moveable types were cut in
\\( x id.
We now proceed to lay before the reader the earliest
notices of typefounders, and such evidence as may explain the
mechanics of typefounding in the fifteenth century, especially
with reference to the types of Caxton.
THE MASTER PRINTER. 105
Perhaps no part of the Typographic Art is hidden in more
utter darkness than the early manufacture of the types.
Considerable secrecy no doubt accompanied all the operations
of the first printers, and was maintained down to a com-
paratively late period. Moreover, it was but natural that the
results of the new art should hold a more prominent place
in men's minds than the processes by which those results
were produced, and thus, although printers and printing were
often mentioned, we find nothing concerning the mechanical
part of typefounding anterior to that curious little book of
trades, with illustrations by Jost Amman, which was issued at
Frankfort in 15G8 The author, in the few lines which accom-
pany the illustration, omits all reference to the process, but,
from the woodcut of the " Schrifftgiesser " and his tools, we
shall further on draw some practical inferences concerning
early typefounding.
Whether Caxton, whose account of his first typographical
venture is contained in the prologue to the Third Book of
" The Recuyell," made himself acquainted with the manufac-
ture as well as with the use of his types there is no evidence
to prove. He simply remarks, " Therefore I have practysed
and lerned at my grete charge and dispense to ordeyne this
said book in prynte." If he only procured types and presses,
and the requisite knowledge to control their use, it no doubt
cost him a considerable sum. The probability is that his first
two founts were cast at Bruges according to his instructions,
and that he brought the second over with him to Westminster.
But, when once settled in his native country, we may well
consider whether he would not, for convenience sake, have
become his own typefounder. No stray hint or remark can
be found to incline us to the one opinion or the other.
Several generations of printers passed away before we find in
any work the slightest allusion to English typefounders. The
earliest appears in Archbishop Parker's preface to Asser's
Chronicle of King Alfred, where, in speaking of the Saxon
types with which the book was printed, the editor states that
as far as he knew, Day, the printer, was the first to cut
them : — " Iain vero cumDayus typographic primus (& omnium
106 WILLIAM CAXTON.
certe quod sciam solus) has formulas sevi incident : facile qua?
Saxonicis Uteris perscripta sunt, iisdem typis diuulgabuntur."
This leads us to suppose that John Day was only one type-
founder among others, and that therefore the art was at that
time by no means a novel one in England. Seventy years
later we find typefounding a distinct trade in London, and
under rigid Government protection, as we learn from the
following decree : —
"Decreed by the Court of Starre-Chamber, 11th July,
1637:—
" That there shall be Four Founders of letters for
printing and no more.
"That the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop
of London, with Six other High Commissioners,
shall supply the places of those four as they shall
become void.
"That no master Founder shall keep above two
Apprentices at one time."
Despite tins restrictive care, however, the typefounders of
Holland and Flanders supplied English Printers with better
types than native art could produce, until the establishment
of a foundry by the first Caslon.
The only English author before the rise of encyclopedias,
who described the process of type manufacture was Joseph
Moxon. This ingenious author, writing in 1683, gives an
account of the whole Art of Printing, as practised in an im-
proved style by himself, and devotes several chapters to the
various methods of punch cutting, matrix sinking, and type
founding. The process then adopted was very similar to that
still in use, and differed greatly from that of Caxton, or
Caxton's typefounder. The practice of Moxon, like that of
modern typefounders, was to cut each letter in relief on a
piece of steel to form the punch — to strike this punch into a
small piece of copper, which made the matrix — and then to
fit this matrix to the bottom of an iron mould into which the
liquid metal was poured. The moidd, which formed the
shank of the type, was capable of a sliding adjustment,
widthwise, to the width of the various letters (from an i to
THE MASTER PRINTER. 107
an jE); the depth or size of the body always remaining
the same throughout the fount. Thus, by using each matrix
successively in the same mould, exactness in size of body was
insured.
The want of this exactness, indicated by the uneven appear-
ance of the lines, and other considerations, lead to the con-
clusion that the fifteenth-century printers did not practise
this method, but is very difficult even to speculate upon that
which they did employ in the production of their types. The
examination of many specimens has led me to conclude that
two schools of typography existed together. The ruder con-
sisted of those printers who practised their art in Holland
and the Low Countries, and who, by degrees only, adopted
the better and more perfect methods of the school founded
in Germany by the celebrated trio — Fust, Gutenberg, and
Schceffer. None of these divulged the secrets of their art.
One fact, however, we know with certainty, and that is that
the German school employed the very best artists that Europe
could produce to cut the patterns, or rather punches, for
their types. In an interesting tract from the pen of Sir
Anthony Panizzi it is proved that the celebrated Bolognese
goldsmith, medallist and painter, Francia, was the artist who
cut all the Aldine types, the elegance of which will for ever
associate the name of Aldus with the perfection of printing.
From the " Cost Book " of the Ripoli press, at Florence, we
find also that steel, iron, and tin were used in the manufacture
of types about 1480. But the English printers, whose prac-
tice seems to have been derived from the Flemish school,
were far behind their contemporaries in the art. Their types
show that a very rude process of founding was practised, and
the use, as will be described presently, of old types as patterns
for new, evinces more of commercial expediency than of
artistic ambition.
That Caxton's types were really cast is evident from
identity in the face of the same letter, where even a flaw may
be noticed as recurring continuously; but the material of
which the matrices were formed must be to a great extent
conjectural. M. Bernard has given an interesting account of
10.S WILLIAM CAXTON.
some successful efforts to cast letters in sand, but his speci-
men has not a single overhanging letter in it, and, from its
size, was certainly much easier to produce than would have
been the small types of Caxton ; yet in one respect, the " bad
lining," or irregular heights of the letter, it has an interesting
similitude to Caxton's types. In the office of Messrs. Caslon
there are still in existence some large Roman capital letters
(about 3-line pica), which an old workman assured me he had
himself used in by-gone years to form sand-moulds for type,
a practice then by no means uncommon.
We will now turn to the little book of engravings already
mentioned as giving the earliest notice of the art. We there
see somewhat of the practices of the Frankfort typefounders
in 15G8. The woodcut shows that even a century after the
invention of the art there was an important difference from
the modern plan, although probably the principle of punch,
matrix and mould, was the same. There is a small furnace,
with the pan of metal sunk in the top ; by the side are the
bellows, basket of charcoal, and tongs. Close to the type-
founder is the bowl into which he drops each type as it is
cast ; and the artist has correctly drawn these types with the
" break " of the letter still attached. The workman holds the
mould in his left hand, and is pouring in metal from a ladle.
On the table at his back is what appears to be a nest of very
shallow drawers, which hold the matrices in alphabetical
arrangement, while upon the top of the drawers are three or
four matrices for immediate use. On the wooden shelves
opposite are three moulds, some sieves, and crucibles. The
sieves were probably for sifting the sand in which might be
cast the large types, and in which the small ingots for use in
the melting pot would be run. The main interest of this
woodcut lies in the type moulds, in which we notice a differ-
ence in shape from those now used ; while the absence of the
long wire spring which holds the matrix firm up to the mould
indicates that, during its use, the matrix was a fixture in the
mould. The foremost of the three moulds on the shelf shows
in its side a hole which may possibly have been used for the
insertion of a matrix.
THE MASTER PRINTER. 109
As the early moulds were so dissimilar to those of modern
use, let us look to the types themselves for evidence. Antici-
pating the result of the analysis of the various founts used
by Caxton (which will follow in its. proper place) we find
the conclusion inevitable that hard-metal punches Avere not
used, and that even types themselves were used either as
punches, or in some analogous way for the production of new
founts. The use of large types to form matrices in sand (as
in the case of Messrs. Caslon's foundry, above alluded to), was
not uncommon in bygone years ; and that letters of a much
smaller size can also be effectively employed as punches is
interestingly illustrated by the shifts to which Benjamin
Franklin, America's pioneer-printer, was put in the early
days of the Transatlantic press. Franklin thus narrates his
own practice : " Our printing-house often wanted sorts, and
there was no letter-foundry in America ; I had seen types
cast at James's in London, but without much attention to
the manner ; however, I contrived a mould, mid made use of
the letters we had as puncJieons, struck the matrices in lead,
and thus supplied, in a pretty tolerable way the deficiencies.
I also engraved several things on occasion."
The metal of which Caxton's types were cast can only be
conjectured. The probability is that it was soft, and if even
so soft as lead it woidd have been sufficiently durable to have
performed the work for the small impression required of each
book. In demonstration of this the author procured, by the
kindness of Messrs. Figgins, a fount of their Caxton types in
pure lead, and composed a page of Caxton's " Chess Book,"
working it in the usual way, at a common hand press, and
numbering each impression as it came from the tympan in
order to note its gradual wear. The paper was royal cartridge
of the common rough quality, and was worked dry. After
500 pulls, perceiving no appreciable wear, the author stopped
the experiment, being sufficiently satisfied.
Our conclusions then, in respect of the founding, are
mainly negative. The moulds were unlike those now in use,
and the punches were not of steel. The process, whatever it
may have been, admitted of contrivances incompatible with
110 WILLIAM CAXTON.
our present mode ; and we conjecture that the type-metal, if
not of lead, was yet sufficiently soft to allow of -it being easily
trimmed up with a chisel. This trimming up, so often visible
in Type No. 2*, misled the late Mr. Vincent Figgins, who,
when examining the second edition of the " Game and Play of
the Chess," came to the erroneous conclusion that the whole
book was printed from types cut separately by hand, a con-
clusion which he would never have adopted had he extended
his examination to other and earlier works of Caxton in the
same types.
Let us now see what the founts of types really were that
Caxton used.
"When we look at the long list of English authors who
have written upon early typography, and when we recognise
among the names those of Moxon, Palmer, Smith, Bowyer,
Nichols, Stower, Watson, Hansard, and Timperley, all of
whom were, as printers, practically acquainted with the art
which employed their pens, it is a matter of some surprise
that nothing like a correct account of Caxton's types ap-
peared. Nor is it less remarkable that the only history of
English typefounding is that by Rowe Mores, a well-known
antiquarian, who was brought up for the Church, and who
devoted many of the later years of his life to the collection of
old moulds and matrices. He purchased all the old stock of
the last of the old race of letterfounders, Mr. James, of Bar-
tholomew Close, whose extensive collection was said to date
from the days of Wynken de Worde ; and it is much to be
regretted that, after the death of Mr. Mores, his collections
were not preserved intact. His catalogues of matrices exist-
ing in his own day, or in his own possession, are probably
exact enough ; but his account of the types used by Caxton
and Wynken de Worde is full of errors.
During Caxton's career as a printer, viz., from about
1476 to 1491-2, or a period of seventeen years, he used
eight separate founts or castings of letters. These eight
founts we have called, according to their chronological
appearance, No. 1, No. 2, No. 2*, No. 3, No. 4, No. 4*,
No. 5, and No. 0.
THE MASTER PRINTER. Ill
If we divide them into character of letter we find three
classes : —
1st. Type No. 1 is distinct in character, and unlike any
other known type. On comparison with a manuscript
in the holograph: of Colard Mansion, of Bruges, M.
Bernard came to the conclusion that it was formed
upon the handwriting of that celebrated caligraphcr.
2nd. Types 2, 2*, 4, 4*, and 6, are of the same cha-
racter as the early type of Colard Mansion, known as
" gros batarde."
3rd. Types 3 and 5, were designed, like the characters of
the Bible and Psalter of the early Mentz printers,
upon the Church Text of the scribes, and approach
nearer than any other of Caxton's types to what
modern printers call " black letter."
If, however, we divide the eight founts into distinct
cuttings, we find five : —
1st. Type No. 1.
2nd. Type No. 2, modified first into No. 2*, and again
into No. C.
3rd. Type No. 3.
4th. Type No. 4, modified into No. 4*.
5th. Type No. 5.
Type No. 1.
Although Ave believe that Caxton had less to do with this
than with any of the later types, yet, as it is the first with
which his name is associated — as it is that by using which he
obtained a knowledge of the art of printing — and as it is the
type of the first English-printed book, — it is clothed with an
interest peculiarly its own.
The books printed with this fount are five : —
The Recuyell of the Histories of Troy .... 1472-74
The Game and Play of the Chess, 1st edition . . 1475-76
Le Recueil des Histoires de Troyes 1475-76
Les Fais du Chevalier Jason after 1476
Les sept Pseaulmes penitenciaulx after 1476
112 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
From the rarity of " Les Fais du Jason," only one copy
being in England, and that inconvenient for prolonged ex-
amination, its peculiar features, if any, are not noticed in the
following remarks.
The first thing we observe in type No. 1 is, that its gene-
ral appearance is more free and manuscript-like than would
be thought the case from the square-set figure of each indi-
vidual letter. This is, to a considerable extent, caused by
the great variety of letters, there being only five for which
there were not more than one matrix, either as single letters
or in combination : for, although the differences between the
various matrices of the same letter may be but very slight,
we have here the fundamental principle of freedom, namely,
a recurrence of modified sameness. The execution of the type
is good, sharp, and decided, with sufficient difference between
the repetitions of the same letter to indicate independence of
of tracing or mechanical contrivance;' hence probably the
work of one accustomed to cut letters. The body of the type,
which is identical throughout the five books, is the same as
the recognised Great Primer of modern printers.
The complete fount embraced at least 163 sorts, of which
we remark upon the following : —
a is not used in the English books, but often occurs in the
French books.
I is not used in " The Recuyell " or the " Chess Book," but
often occurs in " Le Recueil " and " Les sept Pseaulmes."
lit is often used for an $v in the French books, but always
correctly in the English books.
Jl. — This incongruous and badly-cut letter appears about
twelve times, in various grades of bad casting, before the
recto of folio 3G of " The Recuyell," after which it is not
found.
$v is only found in the English books, where it is sometimes
used for a 3$.
Arabic numerals do not occur in this fount.
There are only three marks of punctuation, which may be
called — the comma, or oblique stroke (/), the colon (:),
and the full point (.). They are used arbitrarily as to
THE MASTER PRINTER. ]1,
power, and in numerous varieties of combination, such as,
./ ./ /• ./• •/•-// : - ♦•♦ .*.:.'. &c, &c
From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that there are
certain letters peculiar to the English and others peculiar to
the French books printed in this type ; and as these are not
in any way attributable to the fashion of the language, the
fact strongly corroborates the opinion that, although from the
same printer, the compositor, and perhaps the cases, were
changed.
Type No. 2.
This was the first fount used in England when Caxton set
up his presses at the " Red-pale" in the Almonry, and, before
remarking upon its peculiarities, we will give a list of the
books known to have been printed from it. Of these, as will
be shown farther on, there are two easily-distinguished classes;
those printed first, with type No. 2, and those printed after-
wards, with a re-casting of the foimt, which we call type
No. 2*.,
TYPE No. 2.
Les quatre derrenieres choses ante 1477
History of Jason circa 1477
Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, 1st edition . 1477
Horae, 1st edition circa 1477
Canterbury Tales, 1st edition ...... ante 1478
Moral Proverbs 1478
Propositio clarissimi Johannis Russell .... ante 1479
Stans Puer ad Mensam ante 1479
Parvus Catho and Magnus Catho, 1st edition . ante 1479
Ditto ditto 2nd edition . ante 1479
The Horse, the Sheep, and the Goose, 1st edition ante 1479
Ditto ditto 2nd edition . ante 1479
Infancia Salvatoris ante 1479
The Temple of Glass ante 1479
The Chorle and the Bird, 1st edition .... ante 1479
Ditto 2nd edition ante 1479
The Temple of Brass ante 1479
The Book of Courtesy, 1st edition ante 14 79
i
114 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
Anelida and Arcyte circa, 1478
Boethius de Consolationc Philosophise 1478
TYPE No. 2*.
Cordial 1479
Laurentius Gnlielmus de Saona de Nova Rhethorica, circa 1 470
Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, 2nd edit., circa 1480
An Indulgence 1480
Parvus Catho and Magnus Catho, 3rd edition . circa 1480
Mirrour of the World, 1st edition 1480
Reynard the Fox, 1st edition 1480
Tully of Old Age, and of Friendship 1481
The Game and Play of the Chess, 2nd edition . circa 1481
This type has a more dashing, picturesque, and elaborate
character than type No. 1 . It is an imitation of the " gros-
b&tarde" type of Colard Mansion, with same variation in the
capital letters, which are extremely irregular, not only in size
but also in design, some being of the simplest possible con-
struction, whilst others have spurs, lines, and flourishes.
The general appearance of type No. 2 is very different
from that of No. 2*, many letters in the earlier fount having
a bolder and thicker face than in the later ; and the fact of
there being a perfect division of the books into two distinct
classes prevents our attributing this difference to either wear
of type or faulty printing — the former would be gradual, the
latter irregular.
On comparing the two classes, letter by letter, we find
several single and compound letters occurring in the one and
not in the other. Thus en (not final) is peculiar to the first
class, while two forms of ft without a loop in the head, double
U without loops, tf), tofl, U)P, and tt)0 are found in the second
class only. Other letters are so entirely different that a single
example is convincing of their not having been printed from
the same founts; and the remainder, although often \w\
nearly alike, so constantly preserve some slight characteristic
peculiar to each section, that a close examination of numerous
instances, alter making allowance for faulty printing, leads to
THE MASTER PRINTER. 11".
the conclusion that no letters of the first section are identical
with those of the second.
A minute examination discloses the general fact, that the
letters of Type No. 2* are somewhat thinner than those of
Type No. 2, and that, in numerous instances, the tops, the
descending tails, and the titles generally, have been truncated.
For example, examine the letter i and its combinations in the
two types; the second shows always a thinner-faced letter
than the first. Again, notice how the tops of the various tis,
the tails of en and in, and the tails generally appear in the
second state. Observing that the two founts (2 and 2*) are
never mixed, and that all the books dated before 1479 occur
in Type No. 2, and all those dated after 1479 in No. 2*, the
two types appear to indicate two distinct periods; and, taking
into consideration the peculiarities just noticed, it would seem
that, upon the types becoming worn, some of the best were
selected, trimmed up with a graver, and used for making
matrices for a new casting. If this were not the case, how
should we account for the new fount being so nearly like the
old? for, the two not having been used together, there was
no reason for such care to make them match.
The body of Type No. 2 is the same as that of Type No.
2*, and is exactly equal to two lines of " Long Primer "
(Caslon's standard), which is very near to " Paragon." A
complete fount of Type No. 2 consisted of 217 sorts, and
Type No. 2* of 254 sorts.
The &t of Type No. 1, which, if it occurred at all, might
have been expected in the first fount used in England, is
found only in books printed with Type No. 2*.
We may notice here that the sorts If, fj, bt, and others,
presume an intended French use of Type No. 2, a probability
strengthened by the tJ), and the combinations of h), being
later additions to the fount in No. 2*.
Type No. 3.
This grand type, which was in use from about 1479 to
1483, has perhaps less direct interest for us than any of the
others. No English book in this type is known, and until a
I 2
1 1 6 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
very recent period it was considered merely as a supple-
mentary fount used by Caxton for headings, &c. But the
discovery of a " Psalterium," fragments of a " Horae," and a
"Directorium" proves that three works at least were printed
entirely with this fount. Upon these, especially the " Psal-
terium," and upon the headings of " Boethins," the " Golden
Legend," and " Tully," the following remarks are based.
The small letters are an exact copy of those cast by the
early German founders, Fust and Schceft'er, and are equally
well executed. The capital letters, however, are very unlike
Fust's, being for the most part a modification of the Flemish
"Secretary," as already presented to us in the gros-batarde
type of Colard Mansion.
The body is identical, or very nearly so, with type No. 2,
and is used with it to distinguish proper names, &c, in the
" Cordial " and in " Tully," but, having a much larger face,
it is never in line.
The complete fount comprised 194 sorts. The stops
generally are smaller than those of type No. 2, which is
remarkable, as the face of the letter is much larger.
This type was intended for Latin works, as the contrac-
tions sufficiently prove. All the books we have in it are in
Latin, except headings in the first edition of the "Golden
Legend," &c, and proper names, as in the " Cordial " and
" Tully." Used almost entirely for Church Service books, it
does not seem to have been much in favour with Caxton ; but
upon his death his successor, Wynken de Worde, came into
possession of it, and used it continually.
Type No. 4.
Types No. 4 and 4* may be spoken of generally as one,
there being the same intimate connection between them as
between Nos. 2 and 2*; unlike them, however, there is a
slight variation in the body, type No. 4 being, as compared
with the re-casting of it, or type No. 4*, as 20 is to 19. In
other words, the body of type No. 4 is rather smaller than
that of Type No. 4*. This of course would only be possible
by direct intention with modern typefounders, who use the
THE MASTER PRINTER. 117
same moulds and matrices for as many founts of the type as
are required ; but as is shown in the chapter on typefounding,
the moulds and matrices were in those days very different.
The engraving of the types is neat, and appears to have
been executed by the same hand that cut type No. 2 ; but
there is this difference between the second states of the two
founts — type No. 2* was, as already shown, cast from matrices
formed by the use of old casts of type No. 2 as punches, after
being trimmed by hand, but for types Nos. 4 and 4* there
is the strongest evidence of the same punches having been
used, and therefore the variation of body is the more remark-
aide, as it would have been as easy to make the re-casting
agree in size with the original as to make the letters of each
fount agree among themselves. The variation, however, is
a fact.
The body of type No. 4 is very near indeed to modern
English (Caslon's standard), and is the smallest of any used
by Caxton. The re-casting, or type No. 4* (which loses 1 in
20 — that is to say, 19 lines of type No. 4* take up only the
same depth as 20 of type No. 4) is exactly two lines of
minion. The total number of sorts in type No. 4 appears to
have been 194, and in No. 4* 187, a few sorts not having
been re-cast.
We will now give a list of the works for which this type,
in its two states, was employed.
TYPE NO. 4.
The Chronicles of England, 1st edition 1480
The Description of Britain 1480
An Indulgence 1481
Curia Sapientise circa 1481
Godfrey of Boloyne 1481
The Chronicles of England, 2nd edition 1482
Polycronicon 1482
The Pilgrimage of the Soul 1483
A Vocabulary 1483
Servitium de Visitatione circa 1483
Confessio Amantis (mostly) 1483
118 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The Knight of the Tower {partly) 1484
Sex Epis tolas (mostly) 1483
TYPE No. 4*.
The Festial, 1st edition 1483
Quatuor Sermones, 1st edition 1483
Confessio Amantis (partly) 14S;5
The Knight of the Tower (mostly) 1484
Caton circa 1484
Golden Legend circa 1484
Death-Bed Prayers circa 1484
^Esop 1484
Order of Chivalry circa 1484
Canterbury Tales, 2nd edition circa 1 484
Book of Fame circa 1484
The Curial circa 1484
Troylus and Creside circa 1484
Life of our Lady circa 1484
Life of St. Winifred circa 1485
Life of King Arthur 1485
Life of Charles the Great 14X5
Paris and Vienne 1485
The commas have a notable chronological bearing. The
short comma (/) was used alone up to the second edition of
the " Chronicles," in 1482 — is used occasionally with the long
comma (/) hi 1483 — and disappears entirely after that year.
A good test by which to distinguish 4 and 4* is the shape
of the lower-case to ; the letter with the curled top distin-
guishing the book at once as belonging to type No. 4, whereas
its absence is a sure sign that the type is No. 4*.
Type No. 4* makes its first appearance among Caxton's
founts in a very peculiar manner. In the autumn of 1483
he was engaged in printing two works, Grower's " Confessio
A mantis" and the "Knight of the Tower." At sig. g of
"Confessio Amantis" we find that the inmost sheet is in type
X<». 4*, the (luce other sheets of the section being in type
No. I. Several pages in sig. J are also in No. I\ and on
THE MASTER PEESTEB. 11!)
sig. f tttj recto the first column is in No. 4, while the second
column is in No. 4*. This mixture of founts by no means
proves that the two were in use at the same time ; it only
shows that before the cases containing type No. 4 were finally
emptied out to make room for the new fount, one compositor
had worked ahead of his fellows, who had not finished their
taking of copy when the new letter supplanted the old. The
table, although placed at the commencement of the book, was
necessarily printed last, and therefore, as a matter of course,
we find type No. 4* used for it. In the "Knight of the
Tower," sig. f introduces the new fount to us, all that follows,
as well as the introductory matter, being type No. 4*.
Type No. 5.
There is much similarity of design between this and type
No. 3, the likeness between some of the letters being so close
as lead to the conclusion that one artist cut both.
The books printed in this letter are as follows : —
The Royal Book circa 1487
The Book of Good Manners 1487
Directorium Sacerdotum, 1st edition .... circa 1487
Speculum Vitas Christi circa 1488
Commemoratio Lamentationis circa 1488
The Doctrinal of Sapience 1489
Horae circa 1490
Servitium de Transfiguratione circa 1491
In the 2nd edition of the "Golden Legend" (1487?), all
the headings, both of chapters and pages, are in this type.
Type No. 5 has no exact counterpart in the bodies of
modern founders. The nearest would be two lines of brevier,
than which it is slightly larger, losing one line in thirty-five.
The total number of sorts in use appears to have been 153.
The comparative scarcity of double letters is very noticeable.
No Arabic numerals are used.
The large Lombardic capitals used with this fount have a
bold and striking appearance. Unlike any former fount of
120 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Caxton's) they are all cast with the largest face the body will
bear, and without the least beard. They are used, more or
less, in every book printed with this type, although in some
books {e.g. "Royal" and "Speculum") they appear very
seldom. They do not look at all well when used as initials
to a word, on account of their size preventing them ranging
with the sequent letters, and this may have been the cause
why Caxton, except in the " Directorium," made a very
sparing use of them, save indeed that he converted them
into quadrats. For this purpose they were doubtless adapted
by some shortening process, which, however, has not pre-
vented them cropping out continually in the blank spaces of
the head lines and signature lines, where they often assume a
very puzzling appearance. In the latest books printed with
type No. 5 these Lombardic capitals appear as red initials,
printed at a separate operation. This use for them was,
doubtless, the invention of Caxton's successor, Wynken de
Worde, who appears to have inherited his master's working
materials.
Type No. 6.
The body of this fount is great primer (Caslon's standard)
within a shade, being almost the same as type No. 1. The
number of sorts in the fount is, for Caxton, very small,
amounting to only 138. It may be called Caxton's last
fount, for it came into use in 1489, and was used for books
up to 1491, the date of Caxton's death. Indeed, there seems
good reason for supposing that for some time after Caxton's
death it served his successor, Wynken de Worde. With it
the following works were printed: —
The Fayts of Arms 1489
Statutes of Henry YII circa 1489
The Gouvernal of Health circa 1489
Reynard the Fox, 2nd edition circa 1489
Blanchardin and Eglantine circa 1489
The Four Sons of Aymon circa 1489
Directorium Saecrdotum, 2nd edition .... circa 1489
Bneydos circa 1490
THE MASTER PRINTER. 121
The Fifteen Oes, &c circa 1490
The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers 3rd
edition circa 1490
The Mirrour of the World, 2nd edition . . . circa 1490
Divers Ghostly Matters circa 1490
The Art and Craft to know well to Die . . . circa 1491
The Book of Courtesy, 2nd edition .... circa 4491
The Festial, 2nd edition circa 1491
Quatuor Sermones, 2nd edition circa 1491
The Chastising of God's Children circa 1491
A Treatise of Love circa 1491
We have in this fount another remarkable instance of the
contrivances employed by the early typefounders. A new
fount was required, but whether Caxton gave the founders
instructions concerning its size, or whether the fount was cast
first, and then sold to our printer, there seems no possibility
of discovering ; but this we can prove from the pages them-
selves, that the greater portion of type No. 6 was made from
the punches, or from old letters of Caxton's Nos. 2 and 2*.
The body is rather smaller, nine lines occupying the same
depth as eight lines of No. 2 ; and it is amusing to observe
the shifts and contrivances resorted to for reducing those
letters which, in type No. 2, occupied the full body. For
instance, the &, ffl, and i& have the flourish which passes
under the letter brought close up to the letter itself. The It
was also treated in the same way, but the violence used has
damaged the flourish so much that, in most instances, it broke
away ; in some cases, however, it remains in a most pitiable
and crippled condition. The corresponding flourish in the
IS has been boldly cropped off. jf and gf are strangely
transformed, evidently by a blow on the soft metal, length-
wise. A few characters altogether new appear, and a few
interpolations from other founts, besides a quaint set of Lom-
bardic capitals, among which occurs now and then a letter
from the Lombardic fount used with type No. 5. The total
number of sorts was 141.
But here the question may very naturally be asked, How-
do we know that the books in the foregoing lists which are
122 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
without date, without place, and without printer's name,
although printed with the same types as those of Caxton, are
not really from the workshop of another printer, who had
obtained his material from the same source as our printer ?
The evidence is entirely negative, but it is nevertheless very
strong.
When a new branch of industry becomes sufficiently deve-
loped, one of the immediate consequences is a division of
labour. Thus typefounders became separated from printers,
as soon as the latter became sufficiently numerous to keep the
former in constant employment. The earliest printers were
almost of necessity their own typefounders, and it appears
that they each made or otherwise exclusively possessed those
patterns of types which they used. There is certainly no
evidence that prior to the end of the loth century the types
of one printer were at the same time in use by another. This
exclusive use of types has been accepted as a fact by the best
authorities, and has been of great use to the bibliographer
in identifying the printer of books sine ulla notd, for a printer
may thus be recognised at once by his types, just as a man
may be distinguished by his handwriting.
THE COMPOSITOR.
We will now suppose a fount of type delivered over to
the compositors to be laid in the cases, an operation requiring
much more care than in the present day, on account of the
numerous double letters and combinations. One effect of the
combinations would be to equalise the size of the boxes, as
the letter "e" for instance, which now requires the largest
box, would then most frequently occur in combination with
one of the consonants, and not be used alone oftener than
many other letters. Counting the respective numbers used
of each sort throughout many pages of different books, the
fact is ascertained that single vowels and single consonants
were more often required than any one particular combina-
tion. Arranging a ease on the basis that the sorts most in
use should be placed before the compositor in the position
most accessible to his fingers, and remembering that in all
THE MASTER PRINTER. H?,
the old representations of a " case " there is no division into
upper and lower as now, we arrive at the accompanying plan,
which is doubtless a tolerably exact representation of a com-
positor's case as used by Caxton. There are 209 boxes, which
would lead to some little difficulty in keeping " clean cases ;"
and one need feel no surprise at finding wrong letters so often
making their appearance in Caxton's pages. The combina-
tions of in, ni, un, ?iu, nn, im, mi were often found in the
wrong boxes, and have brought down to the present day the
strongest evidence against the usefulness of logotypes.
In the earliest representation of a printing office the press
is always made the most prominent object ; very often, how-
ever, as in Plate VII, with a compartment for the compositor.
Figure 1 is the earliest instance, and we there see a com-
positor at work. Before him is the case divided into even
boxes, and raised on a cleft stick is the copy. The composing-
stick is in his right hand, doubtless owing to the engraver not
having reversed the drawing from which he copied : it is held
correctly by the man in PI. VIII. We have already noticed
the use of a composing-stick and setting-rule, and the even-
ness of lines consequent thereon. It was not adopted at
Westminster until 1480, although Caxton must often have
seen the improved appearance which lines of an even length
gave to the page in the numerous works previously issued
from all the Continental presses. He woidd, doubtless, have
imitated them had his mechanical appliances permitted ; but
we do not find evenness of page until the arrival of type No.
4, in the year 1480 ; and then, probably for the first time,
composing-sticks, setting-rules, and chases were seen in the
Westminster printing office. Before this the types were
no doubt, as M. Bernard has shown to be the case in the
later block books and the early examples of Dutch printing,
taken straight from their boxes, and placed side by side in a
sort of coffin, made of hard wood, with a stout bottom, and
screws at the foot to tighten the page when completed. The
width of the page could not be extended beyond the internal
measurement of the " coffin," but might be reduced at plea-
sure by placing down either side a straight piece of* wood.
124 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The depth would be regulated in a similar manner, by varying
the thickness of the foot-block against which the screws
worked.
Let us, then, imagine the workman with his wooden box
before him. The further end would be slightly raised, to
keep the types from falling forward. He begins at the left-
hand corner, and adding, from the case, letter to letter, soon
gets to the end of the first line, and, not having room for the
next word, makes it quite tight with quadrats or spaces.
Then comes the second line, and this, as well as all the rest,
would not be so easy. Placing rough types upon rough types
admits of very little shifting or adjustment, and to this fact,
I imagine, we must attribute the practice of leaving the lines
of an uneven length in early books. Any attempt to push
along the words of a line in order to introduce more space
between them, without some plan of easing the friction, would
be certain to break up the line altogether — and so the lines
were left just as they happened to fall, whether full length or
short. Sometimes, when a word would come into the line
with a little reduction of the space between the last two
words, the space was reduced accordingly ; but more often a
syllable at the end of the line was contracted, such as "men"
into "me," or "vertuous" into "vertuo 9 ." Most often the
compositor, knowing the practice to be understood by his
readers, would finish his line with just so many letters as his
measure would take, and accordingly it is common to find
Avords divided thus: — why-|che th|at w|ymen w|iche
m|an. But when once the "setting-rule" was brought into
use all that was altered, and the various words of a line could
be pushed about, and the spaces between them augmented or
reduced with ease. Having completed his proper number of
lines, the foot-piece would be placed after the last line for the
foot-screws to work upon, and the "form" would be ready
for press. There being a bottom to the box, nothing could
tall (nit, and, although doubtless not very tight in some parts,
the sloppy ink then used would not, like modern stiff ink,
draw up any loose letters.
[f bhe sidrs of these coffins, or wooden boxes, were equal
THE MASTER PRINTER. \2;>
in height with the types they enclosed they would, like them,
leave their mark on the paper. This was the case in some of
the early Dutch block-books, where the sides of the chase
appear occasionally printed in the margin. I hare searched in
vain for any marks of the chase in the margins of Caxton's
books. But whatever method he used — whether he screwed
up the types in wooden boxes, or whether he used iron chases,
— one thing is very plain in nearly every book he issued
either the "justification" was bad, or the pages were "locked
up" very loosely, for quadrats and spaces are continually
"working up" and showing themselves.
The composing-sticks were originally of hard wood, with-
out any sliding adjustment ; one set, all the same, were for
folio pages, another for quarto, another for octavo.
" Reglets," or thin pieces of hard wood the length of a line,
appear never to have been used. When a "white" line was
wanted under a chapter head or over a colophon, em quadrats
were ranged side by side for the purpose, and very often
capital letters which had been reduced in height for the pur-
pose, although often not sufficiently. These low capitals
would often work up while at press, and make undesirable
appearances in very conspicuous places. For examples the
reader may examine the " Royal Book," and " Speculum vitas
Christi," in the British Museum.
The "balls" with which the page was inked before taking
an impression appear to have undergone no change in shape
or make from the earliest times until the very beginning of
the present century. When, however, the flexible composi-
12fi WILLIAM CAXTON.
tion now in use was invented it soon superseded entirely the
old plan, and now it is a matter of great difficulty to find an
old pair of balls. These balls were hoUow hemispheres of
wood with a handle. Wool was fitted into the hollow, upon
which the skin, or " pelt," was nailed on the side more than
half-way round ; then more wool was pushed in till the skin
was extended and tight : the last nails were then hammered
in, and the balls fit for use.
The page having been completed by the compositor, it
went to press hi its chase or wooden box without any further
operation. The business of "reader" as yet was not. All
the workmen's blunders and errors, the turned letters, the
wrong sorts, and the numerous literal mistakes were left
uncorrected. Even whole lines were occasionally omitted by
the workman, and the omission remained throughout the
edition, affording indisputable evidence that "proof sheets"
after composition were quite unknown. At page 125 of
Lewis's " Life of Caxton," we read concerning our printer —
" As he printed long before the present Method of adding the
Errata at the End of Books was in Use and Practice, so his
extraordinary Exactness obliged him to take a great deal
more Pains than can easily be imagined; for, after a Book
was printed off, his way was to revise it, and correct the
Faults in it with red Ink, as they then used to correct their
written Books. This being done to one Copy, he caused one
of his Servants to run through the whole Impression, and
correct the Faults he had noted with a Stanesil or Red-lead
Pencil, which he himself afterwards compared with his own
corrected Copy, to see that none of the Corrections he had
made were omitted." A most laborious task indeed, had so
foolish an idea ever entered the mind of so practical a man as
Caxton, but the whole assertion is a mere fiction, started by
Bagford, adopted by Lewis, and repeated by every subsequent
writer, without a shadow of evidence to support it. The only
books in which manuscript additions were made at the time
of publication were the " Polycronicon " and "Mirrour of the
World." The former, in the majority of copies, has the year
of the world and the regnal year engrossed in red ink on (lie
Plate VIII.
The " Prelum Ascensianum." Pans, 1520.
a>
$ X
THE MASTER PRINTER. 127
side margins ; and the latter, in the woodcut of the seven
concentric circles which represent the astronomical heavens,
has the names of the celestial spheres written in black ink
between each circle. But although I have examined about
five hundred of Caxton's books, I have never seen anything
approaching to a grammatical correction coeval with the date
of the book.
PRESSES, PEESSMEN, AND PRINTING INK.
The method adopted by the earliest printers to obtain
impressions from their blocks was to lay the sheet to be
printed on the already inked block, and to rub it carefully.
Wood-engravers of the present day take proofs in the same
manner. The plan was continued for block printing many
years after the invention of moveable types. The method
of obtaining an impression by a direct pressure down-
wards is generally supposed to have been synchronous with
the use of moveable types. Mr. Ottley, however, describes
several of the earliest wood-blocks, which he had no doubt
were printed by means of a press. Of one he states, " I am
in possession of a specimen of wood engraving, printed in
black oil colour on both sides the paper by a downright pres-
sure, which I consider to have been, without doubt, printed
in or before the year 1445." There can be no question,
therefore, that the earliest type printers found a press ready
to their hands ; but as we have no description of the mechan-
ism of the early presses, we must, as in the instance of type
founding, have recourse to the first dated engravings. The
earliest representations of a printing-press are found in the
works of Jodocus Badius Ascensius, the celebrated printer of
Paris. Two of these are delineated in Plates VII and VIII,
whereof the earlier is found as a printer's device in the title
of a work dated 1507. The large press, Plate IX, having
upon its basement the date 1520, was taken from the Bagfbrd
collection, and has hitherto been generally considered as the
earliest representation of a printing-press. The small press
was taken from a tract of Luther's dated 1 522. The other
comes also from the Bagfbrd fragments, and appears to he
128 WILLIAM CAXTON.
about the middle of the sixteenth century, as the mechanism
of the spindle is evidently improved. It is represented here,
however, principally on account of the figure of a type-
founder seen through a door in the background, a feature
very rarely pourtrayed: I have not been able to trace the
work for which this woodcut was designed. In all these
presses the principle is the same. There is a simple worm
screw, with a long pin for a lever ; the head of the press and
the table bear the pressure, and the " hose," as the transverse
piece between the screw and the platen was called, served to
steady the downward pressure. The girths, drum, and handle
served to run the table out and in, and the tympans and
frisket were identical in principle, if not in appearance, with
those now used. In Plate IX we see some of the pressman's
appliances exposed to view. There is the shears for cutting
out his tympan-sheet, and for general purposes ; next to it is
a pick-brush for cleaning out picks in the type; a pair of
compasses for accurately testing the "furniture" between the
pages ; and, lastly, a screw point for making " register."
To each press is assigned two workmen; one is pulling
lustily at the bar, while the other is distributing ink upon
the balls previously to beating the form. The two heaps of
printed and white paper, in Fig. 2, appear to our modern
notions very awkwardly placed, being both on the off side of
the press, so that the workman had to reach over the form
whenever he took up or laid down a fresh sheet of paper. As
however this peculiarity is represented continually, and so
late as the seventeenth century, it was doubtless a common
custom.
No doubt the ink was better and the impression harder in
the time of these presses than in Caxton's time. His ink was
of the weakest description, and the amount of power required
for a " pull " of the press proportionately weak, the one neces-
sitating the other. His presses, in the earlier part of his
printing career, did not take more than a post folio page;
and, with a very sloppy ink, the pull, if strong, would have
made a confused mass of black instead of a legible impression.
As it is, the ink has been almost invariably squeezed over the
THE MASTER PRINTER. 129
edge of the letters, and has contorted their shape. Few indeed
although practical men, would imagine the deceptive nature
of an impression taken from new types with weak ink and
light pressure. In such a case the type appears at one time
much thicker than it is, from the "spuing" of the ink — at
another time battered, with some portion of it broken — and
again, to use a technical term, as if it were all " off its feet."
The representation of the "Printer" in the "Book of
Trades," 1569, shows that the presses then were fitted with
both " tympana " and "frisket;" and many signs lead to the
belief that similar appliances were used by Caxton's workmen.
In short pages we often find a few lines of matter put at the
bottom, which was blocked out by the frisket, and answered
the purpose of a " bearer." Several instances occur in the
"Godfrey," at the Public Library, Cambridge; also in the
" Life of Our Lady," at the British Museum. In " Speculum
vitse Christi" we actually find "a bite," half of the bottom
line remaining imprinted.
We have already noticed that only one page at a time was
worked in the earlier part of Caxton's career, although later,
at the probable introduction of Wynken de Worde, two pages
were managed. This necessitated great care in getting the
unsigned pages in their right places, and that such care was
needed is proved by several instances of transposition.
Before leaving this portion of our subject, a peculiarity
probably connected with the mechanism of the press must be
noticed. A small hole at the four corners of each sheet
appears in every book printed with type No. 1. Such holes
(first noticed by Mr. Tupper), have not been observed in any
books printed with the later types, except "Quatre derren-
nieres choses." The employment of points by modern press-
men to obtain accuracy of register, and the punctures (called
"point holes") in the paper, consequent upon the use of
them, are well known. The holes under notice certainly sug-
gest a similar practice.
After due time allowed for the ink to dry upon the paper,
the printed sheets passed into the hands of the binder, whose
operations come next under consideration.
K
130 WILLIAM CAXTON.
THE BOOKBINDER.
The art of bookbinding had not in England, in the fif-
teenth century, reached the perfection seen in the beautiful
Continental specimens of the same period. Nor indeed was
any uncommon binding required for the cheap productions
of Caxton's press. His sheets were not, as in modern prac-
tice, pressed between glazed boards after being printed, but
went, without further process, from the press side to the
hands of the binder. The few specimens which have reached
us in a pristine state show the indentation, more or less
distinct, made by the types. The edition of " Eneydos,"
1490, was hurried through the binder's hands so soon after
the first section (which, containing the prologue and table,
necessarily went to press last) was printed, that all the leaves
of that section, in every copy I have seen, show a very bad
"set-off" from the type on the opposite pages.
To enable the binder to collate the sheets of each section
correctly, it was the custom, as well with the scribes as with
the printers, to place distinguishing marks on the first page
of each sheet; these were called signatures, and as Caxton
used only 4 ns for his books, the binder (as a rule) was sure
that when he had got sheets aj, a if, attj, attl'j together
his section was complete. Some printers, who were irregular
as to the number of sheets in a section, adopted the plan of
signing the centre sheet of every section upon the third as
weU as the first page, so that the binder by this distinguishing
mark might directly see the number of sheets intended for
each section, however great the irregularity. In such cases
the 4 n would be signed on the first five rectos, leaving only
three unsigned. Caxton, however, never adopted this plan,
his sections always containing the same number of unsigned
as of signed leaves. The sheets having been collected into
sections, the signatures served again to collate the sections
into volumes, the only use for which they are now retained.
All the early books from Caxton's press are described as
unsigned, because the signatures were not printed, but
inserted in manuscript at the extreme bottom of the page.
THE MASTER PRINTER. 131
The modern binder begins by folding all his sheets into
quarto, octavo, &c, according to the size of the book, each
folded sheet making a section ; they are then .collated and
bound. In Caxton's books the collation of the sheets pre-
ceded the folding. It has been already observed that the
quarto sizes were treated, both in printing and binding,
as folio, the paper being cut in half before going to press.
The type was so arranged that when three, four, or five sheets
were folded one inside another, quirewise, the pages should
be in their proper sequence. The open sheets of each section
being gathered were knocked even, and folded in the middle.
This adoption of one plan for books of all sizes was in accord-
ance with the old usage of the scribes, who necessarily cut
their vellum sheets to the intended size before the manuscript
was commenced, and varied their sections from three sheets,
if very thick, to six or seven, if very thin. The section of
three sheets was called "ternio" — of four sheets "quaternus"
— of five sheets "quinternus" — and so on. Caxton adopted
the "quaternus" or "quaternion" for all his books, using a
larger or smaller section only if the beginning or end required
it. Wynken de "Worde, however, made frequent use of the
tendon.
From the foregoing remarks we see that the ternion and
quaternion must necessarily be arranged in the order of the
following diagrams, by consulting which the reader may easily
know the pages belonging to any given sheet.
A Ternion — Three sheets of paper folded in half, quire-
wise, or one inside another. This gives six leaves, or twelve
pages.
A Quaternion — Four sheets of paper folded in half,
quirewise, or one inside another. This gives eight leaves,
or sixteen pages.
K 2
132
WILLIAM CAXTON.
Vgg£
If this arrangement be kept in mind it will be found very
useful in many ways. For instance, it is often important to
know whether a leaf preceded the first printed page, and, if
so, whether the blank leaf found in many volumes is that
leaf. It is plain that if a quaternion was adopted for the
first section, then the first and the eighth leaf would belong
to the same sheet of paper; and therefore if sig. a 8 had a
watermark sig. a j should not have any ; if a ij had a water-
mark, a 7 should be without, and so on with a iij and a C, and
with a iiij and a 5, where we arrive at the middle sheet of the
section, and where a careful examination in the fold will cer-
tainly show the thread of the binder, always a true sign of
the centre. These indications are often the only decisive
evidence of the completeness or incompleteness of a volume,
and enable us to decide, even where printed signatures are
wanting, the true collation of a book.
Catchwords are not found in any of Caxton's books,
although here and there a word by itself at the foot of a
page may look very like one ; but in every instance this word
will be found to form an integral part of the text, and there-
fore in no sense a catchword, which by its very nature must
be treated as the first word of the next page.
In paper manuscripts of the fifteenth century it is not
uncommon to find vellum used for the inmost sheet of each
section, or to find a slip of parchment pasted down the
centre of each section. This was to give an increase of
strength to the back where the binder's thread would be
likely to tear through the paper. Instances where these slips
are used are common in " unwashed " specimens from Caxton's
press. The manuscript volume at Althorp, containing " Pro-
position is treated so throughout, and in the quarto poems at
THE MASTER PRINTER. 133
Cambridge the marks of the paste, where the slip was torn
away at the rebinding of the volume, are very visible.
The earliest pictorial representation of a binder at work is
displayed in the little " Book of Trades," to which reference
has already been made ; but as there is nothing in it peculiar
to the age we wiU pass on to the material of the covers. This
was very frequently only a stiff piece of parchment, with the
edges tinned in, and a blank leaf pasted down inside as a
lining. A few books still remain in this state, just as issued
from the " Red-pale " by Caxton. Such are the copies of
" Tully de Senectute " in Queen's College, Oxford ; the " Art
and Craft," " Directorium," and the " Game and Play of the
Chess," in the Bodleian ; and the " Godfrey of Boloyne" in the
library of Mr. Holford. If intended to be more durable, Caxton
used "boards" sometimes made of oak, or beech, and some-
times (fortunately for bibliographers) of waste sheets from the
press pasted together. These were covered with brown sheep-
skin, upon which was a simple pattern of circles, or crosses,
or dragons, &c. Instances may still be seen in the 2nd edition
of the " Festial " at the British Museum ; in the " Servitium
de Transfiguratione," lately purchased for the same library ;
in the 2nd edition of the " Mirrour of the World," at Bristol ;
and at other libraries. In the last-mentioned volume four
leaves of the unique " Fifteen Oes " were used as linings for
the inside of the boards. An account of a " Boethius," of
which the interior of the covers was composed entirely of
"waste sheets," is given in the description of that work.
When bound, we may consider that the book was generally
ready for delivery to the purchaser. It was so with all Caxton's
later publications, but the earlier books still required the
services of the rubrisher.
THE ILLUMINATOR, THE RUBRISHER, AND THE
WOOD-ENGRAVER.
It has already been noticed that, in the latter half of the
fifteenth century, the great development of book manufacture
led to a corresponding division of labour. Thus in Bruges
we find there were Srrivers, or persons who wrote the text
134 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
only of books, Verlkhters, or Kubrishers, who probably con-
fined their attention to illuminated capitals, and Vmghette
makers (miniatores), who were artists capable of designing
and painting subjects. In only one instance do the books of
Caxton suggest the idea that the services of the Vmghette
maker were to have been employed. At the commencement
of his edition of Gower's " Confessio Amantis " (sig. 1, 4), the
prologue of the author is begun more than half-way down
the page. The blank was evidently intended for a design of
some sort, possibly for a iarge woodcut, after the fashion of
Colard Mansion, who printed all the great cuts to his " Ovid"
by a separate working. As a rule, however, Caxton's books
required no help from the vinghette maker, although he
certainly employed, so late as 1485, the services of a rubrisher,
to insert the initial letters at the beginning of chapters, and
to make paragraph marks in appropriate places. For this
purpose a vermilion ink was nearly always used, although
occasionally a light blue alternated. For the initial of the
first chapter a square space was left equal to the depth of four
or five fines of type : for succeeding chapters a space of two
lines was generally considered sufficient.
The first use of woodcut initials was in 1484, after which
year they were never (except on rare occasions when a sort
ran short) omitted. Caxton had only two or three of each
letter, and sometimes only one, as may easily be seen by the
recurrence of a particular initial. Some of them have their
heavy blackness relieved by a few white dots punctured in
the face of the letter, a practice frequently adopted by the
German school to lighten the groundwork of early woodcuts.
Caxton's initials are varied in shape, and often elegant in
design, but with the exception of the floriated IE at the begin-
ning of the "Order of Chivalry," and "iEsop," and perhaps
the $5 in " Eneydos," they demand no especial notice. A few
of them are given here.
The woodcut illustrations to Caxton's books have not
received much attention from the writers on the early his-
tory of wood engraving. Strutt, Singer, and Ottley in his
" Enquiry " have omitted to notice them. Dibdin and Jackson
THE MASTER PRINTER. 135
have devoted a few pages to their consideration ; and Ottley,
in the posthumous work on the " Invention of Printing," has
some interesting remarks on the early use of the art in Eng-
land. His opinions are enforced by a facsimile of some rude
woodcuts in his own possession, which he believed to have
been executed as early as the celebrated S. Christopher of
1423. From his arguments we may conclude that although
no great amount of vitality can be attributed to the art of
wood engraving in England in the early part of the fifteenth
century, it nevertheless was known and practised by native
artists ; and that the use of native talent for Caxton's books
was therefore possible.
At the same time it requires no artistic education to see
that there is a great similarity in general appearance between
the illustrations in some of the early Dutch books, and the
woodcuts of Caxton's " Chess Book," " Golden Legend," and
others. In the " Troy Book," folio, printed at Augsburg in
1483, and the French-printed "iEsop," 1476, the broad out-
line and heavy black feet of the figures at once suggest a
similarity of style if not identity of artist. But whether
Caxton's cuts be native or foreign there can be little doubt
of the origin of the designs. His artist merely copied the
outlines found in the manuscript from which the book was
being (or to be) printed. At that period there were a certain
number of standard works always in demand, and for each of
these the ilhmiinators had a conventional treatment, which
appears repeated over and over again in different books. To
those who have examined the illuminated manuscripts of the
fifteenth century, executed in the Low Countries (of which
there are numerous examples in the Royal Collection of the
British Museum), the identity of design and treatment in
Caxton's engravings will be evident.
It is somewhat remarkable that woodcut illustrations pre-
ceded the use of woodcut initials in Caxton's books by about
four years. In the " Fables of iEsop," 1484, we meet with
printed initials for the first time, while woodcuts, illustrative
of the text, had been used in great abundance for the "Golden
Legend," the " Chess Book," the " Mirrour of the World," 1st
13G WILLIAM OAXTON.
edition, and " Parvus et Magnus Catho," the last dating about
1481.
The following is a list of all the books printed by Caxton
with woodcut illustrations : —
Parvus et Magnus Catho, 1 ,._„„„, n .
3rd edit. . . .} 1481? Two designs.
Mirrour of the "World, 1st) , Joi _ T , .
,. J- 1481 -Numerous designs.
'S 1
The Game and Play of the )
Chess, 2nd edit. . . .)
1481 ? Sixteen designs.
Golden Legend .... 1484 Yery numerous designs.
Canterbury Tales, 2nd edit. 1484 Very numerous designs.
_ , (Very numerous designs.
^ S °P 1484 { Initials first used!
Order of Chivalry . . . 1484 Large floriated SI.
Royal Book 1487 ? Seven small designs.
Speculum vitas Christi . . 1488 ? Numerous designs.
Doctrinal of Sapience . . 1489 Two designs.
-rr „■.-.., „ fA fragment, with one
Horas, 3rd edit 1490 ? -| , . °
I design.
Servitium Transfiguratione 1490? One small design.
__. _,._, _. „ ("The Crucifixion cut and
The Fifteen Oes . . . . 1490 ? 1 Dor ders
Mirrour of the World, 2nd ) „ _, , . , ,
edifc V 1490? Old cuts reprinted.
Divers Ghostly Matters . 1490 ? One smaU design.
Had Caxton's opportunities allowed, he would probably
have used the wood-engraver's art to a much greater extent.
The above table shows that in 1481, when he first employed
woodcuts, he also discontinued them : that in 1484 he again,
for one year only, used them; and that in 1487 they took a
permanent position in his typography. This seeming capri-
ciousness was probably owing to the difficulty experienced in
obtaining the services of a wood engraver.
The engravings in 1481, 1484, and partly in 1487-8,
appear to have come from the hand of the same artist. In
tbe last year, however, we find considerable improvement, as
THE MASTER PRINTER. 187
shown in the illustrations to the " Royal Book," and " Specu-
lum Vita3 Christi ;" but Caxton's best specimen of the wood-
engraver's art, and one which has been much praised by
Dibdin, and especially Jackson, for its composition and
feeling, is the well-known " Crucifixion." This design is fre-
quently seen in the books of Wynken de Worde, who received
great credit for it until its earlier use was discovered as a
frontispiece to Caxton's " Fifteen Oes."
The largest woodcut known to have been used in Caxton's
books is the Assembly of Saints, at the beginning of aU the
editions of the " Golden Legend," and the smallest, of which
there are four, are found in illustrations to the text in the
" Speculum vitas Christi."
This portion must not, however, be dismissed without a
few words upon that most interesting of all Caxton's wood-
cuts, the large device. Caxton used but one; the small
device, of a similar design, winch is commonly attributed to
him, and which is first seen in the " Chastising of God's
Children," being certainly not earlier than 1491.
The interpretation of the device offers a question by no
means of easy solution. The common reading W&L. <£. 74,
meaning William Caxton, 1474, is, I think, correct, and we
may dismiss, as unworthy of serious notice, the suggestions
that the figures should be reversed to read 1447, or that the
74 or 47 refer to Caxton's age and not to a particular year.
The problem to be solved is, does the design mean 74, and if
if so, why did Caxton use the year 1474 on his device ?
Bibliographers have hitherto assumed that it must be in
reference to the introduction of printing into England, and
quote the colophon to the 1st edition of the " Chess Book" in
support of the argument. But, as already shown, the date of
the " Chess Book " refers to the translation of the work, the
printing having been certainly accomplished at Bruges, and
probably in 1476, Caxton's settlement at Westminster not
having occurred until late in that year, or in 1477.
On the whole it seems most natural that a date used in
that manner would refer to some turning point in Caxton's
typographical career; and I therefore believe that the old
138 WILLIAM CAXTON.
reading of 1474 is correct, and that the reference is to the
date of printing " The Recuyell," which, although translated
in 1471, was circulated for a considerable time in manuscript
only. Caxton certainly learnt the art while assisting to print
this book: it appears also from his description that it was
the first-fruit of his authorship, and at the same time the
first book printed in his native language — all which circum-
stances might lead him to look back upon 1474 as an epoch
to be commemorated.
The theory has been started that the so-called figures are
not meant as such, but are only a fanciful interlacement of
lines, such as may often be seen in fifteenth-century merchants'
marks ; that Caxton did not make his figures like these, nor
would he have used Arabic figures but full Roman numerals
for any date he wished to note. In fact that this design is
simply Caxton's trade mark, which he used as a merchant,
revived with ornamentations. The reader must judge for
himself : certainly, in the form adopted by Wynken de Worde,
who used them all his life, the 74 are much less like Arabic
figures than in Caxton's device.
The opinion that the interlacement is a trade mark only
is much strengthened by the discovery of its original use.
In 1487, Caxton wishing to print a Sarum Missal, and not
having the types proper for the purpose, sent to Paris, where
it was printed for him by W. Maynyal, who in the colophon
states plainly that he printed it at the expense of William
Caxton, of London. When the printed sheets reached West-
minster, Caxton wishing to make it quite plain that he was
the publisher, engraved his design and printed it on the last
page, which happened to be blank. This is the first occasion
on which it is known to have been used. The unique copy
of this Missal is in the possession of Stephen Legh, Esq., M.P.
The following list of books in which the device is found
shows that it was not until the end of Caxton's typographical
life that he adopted this distinguishing mark.
Missale ad Usum Sarum 1487
Speculum vitae Christi . circa 1488
Doctrinal of Sapience 1480
THE MASTER PRINTER. 139
The History of Reynard the Fox, 2nd edition . circa 1489
Directorinm Sacerdotum, 2nd edition .... circa 1489
Eneydos 1490
The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, 3rd
edition circa 1490
The Mirrour of the World, 2nd edition . . . circa 1490
Divers Ghostly Matters circa 1490
The Festial, 2nd edition „ . circa 1490
Four Sermons, 2nd edition circa 1490
St. Katherine of Senis circa 1491
The magnum opus of Caxton was undoubtedly the edition
of "The Golden Legend," 1484. The translation alone of
this great work must have been no slight task, while, as to
number of leaves and size of both paper and printed page, it
far exceeded his edition of " King Arthur," which was the
next largest. The smallest pieces of his printing now extant
are " The Advertisement " and the " Indulgences."
The commercial results of Caxton's trade as a printer are
unknown ; but as the fees paid at his burial were far above
the average, and as he evidently held a respectable position in
his parish, we must conclude that his business was profitable.
The preservation of the " Cost Book " of the Ripoli press has
already been noticed, and some extracts of interest translated
therefrom. We may presume that Caxton also kept exact
accounts of his trade receipts and expenditure, and if such
were extant the many doubts which noAV surround the opera-
tions of his printing-office would be definitely solved. We
should then know the price at which he sold his books, how
many pence he asked for his small quarto " quayers" of poetry,
or his pocket editions of the "Horse" and "Psalter," how
many shillings were required to purchase the thick folio
volumes, such as " Canterbury Tales," " King Arthur," &c.
That the price was not much dearer than that paid for good
editions now, we may infer from the rate at which fifteen
copies of the "Golden Legend" sold between 1496 and 1500.
These realised an average price of Gs. 8d. each, or about
£2 13s. 4d. of modern money, a sum by no means too great
140
WILLIAM CAXTON.
for a large illustrated work. This, however, would depend on
the number of copies considered necessary for an edition,
which probably varied according to the nature of the work.
On a blank leaf in the 1st edition of "Dictes," at Al thorp, is
written, apparently by Bag'ford, "N.B. — Oaxton printed 44
books, 25 of which were with Dates, and 1 9 without." One
woidd imagine that so definite a statement must have had
some foundation, but it appears to rest entirely on the writer's
bare assertion. Some foreign printers issued so many as 275
or 300 copies of editions of the " Classics," but it is not pro-
bable that Caxton ventured upon so large an impression, as
the demand for his publications must have been much more
restricted.
APPENDIX TO BIOGRAPHY.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM CAXTON.
APPENDIX.
MERCERS' RECORDS.— WARDENS' ACCOUNTS.
(Mercers' Hall, London.)
FOLIO Volume in the Archives of the Mercers'
Company, written on parchment hy various scribes
in the 14th and 15th Centuries, extending from
1344 to 1464. The contents of the volume include
— a rent-roll — the oath of householders — of linen
cloth meters — of liverymen — of brethren — of brokers
— of apprentices on their entry and issue — of free-
men — an almanack — and the balance-sheets of the
whole Company.
The accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the Company are
annual, and reckoned by the regnal year of the King. These accounts
are generally made up under the following heads :— The annual fee of
every liveryman — fees paid on the entries of apprentices — fees paid on
the issues of apprentices — fines — quit-rents — general expenses — and
foreign expenses. The last head comprises all payments made for goods
and service not included in the legitimate business of the Company.
Oath taken by Caxton on "issuing" from his apprenticeship.
Ye shall swere that ye shal be true vnto oure liege lorde the kyng
and to his heires kynges/ ye shall also be obedient & Redy to come at all
leffull Sumonns & Warnyng of the Wardenis of the mercery/ whan and
as often as ye be duly monysshed & warned by them/ or by any of them/
by their Bedell/ or by ony other in their name/ leffull excuse alwey
except/ All Ordynaunces & Rules by the ffeliship of the merceri
Ordeyned made and stablished and here after for the wele worship &
profitt of the seid feliship to be made/ ye shall holde and kepe/ All
coicacons necessarij Ordynaunces and Cowncels for the welfare of the
seid ffeliship and the secrets therof to you shewed/ ye shall kepe secrete
144 WILLIAM CAXTON.
& holde for councell and them ne ony of theym to discover or shew by
ony meane or collour vnto ony persoone or persoones of ony other ffeli-
ship. Ye shall also be contributory to all charges to you putt by the
wardeins & ffeliship & to bere & pay yo r parte of charge sett for yo r
degre like as other of the same ffeliship shall do for their degre. Moreou
ye shall not departe oute of the seid ffeliship for to serve ne ye shall not
accompany you w 4 ony persoone or persoones of ony other feliship wher-
through preiudice & hurte may in ony wise growe vnto the seid ffeliship
of the mercery And on this ye shall swere that during the tyme of your
seruyce ye shall neither bey ne sell for yo r owne self ne for ony other
persone ne that ye shall Receive ony goodes or marchandise by ony collour
belonging vnto ony other p'soon than oonly to yo r maist whiche that ye
now serue or shall serue w*ynne the ffeliship of ye mercerie except by
his speciall license & will And also that ye shall not take ony shop hous
ch'mbre seller ne warehous by ony collo r for to ocupie byeing and sellyng
vnto suche tyme as that ye have ben w* the wardeins of the mercery for
the tyme beyng and by oon of hem for shopholder amytted sworn and
entred Ne that ye shall take ne haue ony apprentice or ony se for to
ocupye vnto that he by you vnto oon the seid Ward, for apprentice first
presented & by the seid Wardein so amytted All which poynts & eny of
hem to y r power wele & truly ye shall hold & kepe so help you god &c.
The oath administered to Caxton upon taking up his freedom.
Ye shall swere that ye shal be good and trew vnto o r liege Lord
kyng of Englond and to his Eyres kyngs/ obeisaunt & obedyent to the
Mayor & to the ministers of this Cite/ The ffrunchises and Custumes
thereof ye shal maynteyne and the cite kepe harmles in that that in you
is/ ye shall be contributary to al man r charges w* in this cite as somons
watches contribucions taskes tallays lotte and skotte and all other charges
bere yo r parte as ony other frema shall/ ye shall colo r no foreyns good
wherby the kyng might lose his custume or his auauntage/ Ye shall
know no foreyn to bey sell nor merchundise w* another fforeyn within
this Cite nor the fraunches therof but ye warne the Chaumberleyn therof
or some myuysters of the chamber/ ye shall emplede no frema out of
this Cite while ye mow have right & lawe here within/ ye shall take none
apprentice but if he be fre borne and for no lesse time than for vij yers/
within the first yere ye shall do hym be enrolled and at the termes end
ye shall make hym fre if he have wele and truly served you/ ye shall also
kepe the peace/ in yo r owne persone/ ye shall know no gaderyngs con-
venticles nor conspiracies made ayenst the peace but ye warne the Maier
thereof & let it to yo^ power All these poyntes ye shall wele and truly
kepe accordyng to all the Lawes & Custumes of this Cite to yo r power so
help you god and holidame & by this Boke/
APPEXDIX. 145
1348.
The Fellowship in the 22nd year of Edward III numbered 4 Wardens
and 101 Liverymen, and in this year among those who paid their lees
appear —
Theobald de Causton
Nichol de Causton
Roger de Causton
Richard de Causton
Michael de Causton
William de Causton
Henry de Causton
Also in the 2nd year of Henry VI. — Stevyn Causton.
1401.
Under the 2nd year of Henry IV, among the " Entrees des Appren-
tices," is — William Causton/ Appr. de Thos. Gedeney . . . ij s
1427—1428.
Under the 6th year of Henry VI the name of Robert Large appears
for the first time.
Cest la compte de John Whatley, Robert Large, Thomas Bataill, et
John Pidiuyll fait alffeste de Seint John Baptist Ian vj me aps. le con-
quest en quils ils estoient gardeins de la mistere del mercerie come piert
apres.
Under the same year, among " Entrees des Apprentices," —
Robert Halle { . ~, â– , -n i_ _l x
Randolf Streete ;A P pntysde Robert Large . . . nijs
1430—1431.
Under the 9th year of Henry VI, among the " Entrees des Appren-
tices," —
Item ress. de Thorns Nyche appnt de Rob* Large . ij s
Item ress. de Rich Bonifaunt appnt de Rob 1 Large ) ....
Item de James heton appnt de dit Rob* . . . . )
1431—1432.
The following item is from the Warden's Receipts in the 10th year
of Henry VI. —
Item. Ils soy chargent qilz ount ressu de Thos. Staunton ffrere et
Attone de Robert Large de monye quil ad ressu outre mere en ptie de
paiement de les xli prestres a John Wavyn pies gardenis de Ian passe.
1435— 1436.
Among the Entries of Apprentices in the 14th year of Henry VI. —
It de Honr. Onkmanton le aprenfiro do Robert Lar<re ij s
I,
L46 WILLIAM CAXTON.
1437—1438.
Among the Issues of Apprentices in the 16th year of Henry VI. —
It Eandolffe Streete lappntice de Robert Large . . ij s
Among the entries for the same year —
It John large ) . «... , „ , , T
It Willm' Caxston J leS appntlCeS de R ° bert Lar S e ■m J s
1438—1439.
Among the Wardens' Eeceipts in the 17th year of Henry VI. —
It lis soy chargeont pour argent ressu p r fynes de dius persones en
lo r temps p r ces qils fautent de chiuachier ouesqz le mair Robert large.
In the same account, under " fforein expenses."
Item paie a xvi trumpetts le xxix i r doctobre Ian xviij me du dit Rov
Hen vj me pour le chiuachee de Robert large maij v li vi s viij d
1440—1441.
From the Warden's Receipts in the 19th year of Henry VI. —
It ils soy chargeont pour argent rescue des Executes Robert large del
legace du dit Robert xx li
In the same year under the Issue of Apprentices —
It Thomas Neche qui fuist appntice de Rob* large . . ij s
In the next year, under the Issue of Apprentices —
It Rich Bonefant q fuist appntice de Rob 4 large . . ij s
1442—1443.
Among the Issues of Apprentices in 21 Henry VI.—
Xrofer Heton appntice de Rob' large ij a
Among the Entries —
Richard large appntice de Geffrey Felding . . . . ij s
Among the Issues of Apprentices in 22 Henry VI. — .
John Harrowe appntice de Robert large ij s
Among the Issues of Apprentices in 25 Henry VI.—
Richard Caxton* s'unt de John Harrowe ij s
1448—1449.
In Foreign Expenses for the 27th year of Henry VI.—
To Richard Burgh for beryuge of a l're our the See vj s viij d
1450— 1451.
Under Foreign Expenses in the 29th year of Henry VI.—
Item. Paid to John Stubbes for Rerys to the Gentihvoman of the
Duchesse of Burgeyn vjd
Item paid to Hewe Wyche for a writ directe to Sandewyche for the
I rownys of the Gentil womans of the duches of Burgeyn ij s vj d
APPENDIX. j ,-
1453.
Lan du grace m eccc liij Et del Roy Herry sizme puis le con-
queste xxx j e
Under the heading " Entre en la lyvere pm' An" — â–
It Emond Redeknape vj s viij d
Itâ„¢ Richaert Burgh vj s viij d
It m William Caxton vj s viij d
These names have been erased with the pen, and the following memo-
randum added beneath — "qz int' debitores in fine copotg."
In the list of persons fined " qils fautent de chiuachier ouesque le
mair Geffrey Felding" in the same year are the names of —
William Caxton iij s iiij d I Thomas Bryce iij s iiij <1
Richard Burgh iij s iiij d I William Pratt iij s iiij d
1462—1463.
Under Foreign Expenses in the 2nd year of Edward IV. —
Item for botehyre for to shewe to ye lords of ye cousell the l're y*
came from Caxton & ye felaship by yonde ye See vj d
1464—1465.
At the end of the Wardens' Account for the 4th year of Edward IV. —
Dettours.
Item. Ye ffelaship by yende ye see for yeir patents xlvij li x d
Among the Foreign Expenses for the same year —
Item to Jenyne Bakker, Currour, for berying of a letter to Caxton
ovir ye see xxviij s viij d
146
• i.
[Folio c xlj recto.] Anno xiiij c lxv° .
Courte holden of the hole felyshipp the xvij th daye of octobr' the
yere aboue written.
A lettre sent ou
the see.
Welboloued we grete yon well certifiyng youe that
as towchyng the convencion of the lordes that was
appoynted to begyn at sent Omers the first daye of
the p'sent moneth of October/ the whiche we trusted
vppon/ it is so that it holdith not/ Neu the lesse oure souaign lorde the
kyng Remembryng that thentrecourse expired the ffirst day of Nouembre
next comyng/ hath written a letter to the maire of london/ whereof ye
shall receyuc a copye closed in this letter/ And where as the kyng by
his lettre willeth that suche a p'sone as shulde go in message for the bro-
gacion of thentrecours shulde be p'vided in suche fourme as ye may con-
ceyve by the lettre it is thougth here that it is not oure parte here in the
Citie to take vppon vs a mater of so grete weyght where that all tvmes
T, 2
148 WILLIAM CAXTON.
here to fore the kyng by thavise of his lords of his Councell have made
the p'vision in that behalfe and yppon this we have labored to the mayre
w* the wardens of dius felyshippes aventerers that he will write an
aunsware to the kyng of his lettre in the most plesunt wise that he can
that it will pleas his highnes by thavise of his Councell to p'vide for this
mater for the weall of all his subietts/ wherfore consideryng that the day
comyth nygh vppon and how that the kyngs wrytyng and his message
shalbe spedde from hens we are not certen/ wherfor we pray youe for the
welle of alle the kyngs subietts by thavise of the felishipp there in as
goodly hast as ye can labo r for a meane by the whiche yo r p'sones &
goods may be in suretie for a reasonable tyme/ and in the mene whyle
there com wrytyng from the kyng to the duke/ or eles from the duke to
the kyng if it will so happen for p'rogacion of the same/ and suche costs
as ye do vppon the suytt we will that they be generally levied there in
suche man and fourme as ye seme most expedient/ written &c.
John lambert John Warde |
a W. Caxton. John Baker John Alburgh ) Custoses -
146G.
[Folio C xliiij.]
Courte of adventerers holden the iij th (sic) day of June A xiiij c lxvj.
ffor a lettre send
from Caxton
Gouerno r -
Hit is accorded by the said felishipp for by cause of a
lettre send from William Caxton and theryn a Copye
of a lettre sent to the said William by therle of
Warwike for thabstinens of bying Wares forboden
in the dukes londes of Burgoyne by actc of p-'lement that a lettre shalbe
made and sent to the said William by the Custoses and Adventerers
whiche is made and sent in the fourme following &c.
A lettre send
ou to Caxton
gouno r
Right trusty Sir We grete youe well/ lettyng youe
witt the daye of makyng of this We receyved a lettre
from you directed to the mayre and vs written at
Brudgs the xxvij 11 ' daye of maye last past and theryn
closed a copye of a letter directed to youe from oure good lorde therle of
Warwik whiche we haue well vnderstonde & conceyved/ and oppened it
to our felishipp for whiche we desire and praye youe/ in that youe is to
consider and fulfill thentent made by acte of p'lement and the speciall
desire of oure forsaid lorde for the publique weall of this lande and that
due incpieraunce be made there in that youe is for the complyshment of
the same/ as right requyreth/ we willyng in no kynde the saide acte to
be broken nor hurte by non of oure felyshipp in that vs is and that the
p'sones fonnde quyely yf any suche be as god forbede that ye do cor-
recion after th ordenauce there made and thentent of yo r lettre and as
for yo r desire of aunsware of the lordes intent here as yitt we can not
vnderstonde their disposicion but as sone as we have knowlege ye shall
APPENDIX.
14«J
haue wittyng and as for the lettres that ye write ye shulde sent from
scint Omers we receyued non as yitt and as for any ioperdy that shulde
fall ye shall vnderstonde it ther soner than we here/ and if we kuowe of
any ye shall have wrytyng &c.
Writ at london the iij th day of June/
J. Tate/ J. Marshall/ Ed. Betts &
J. Broun Custoses of the mercery
& thaventerers of the same,
a Willâ„¢ Caxton Guno v de la nac? deng s -
Envoye p' symond preste le iiij th io 1 ' de June.
1468.
[Folio xij recto.] Anno xiiij Ixviij -
Parsones assiged
to go in ambas-
sate by the
kynges com-
maundment.
Courte holden the ix daye of Septembr the yere aboue
writte hit was accorded and agreede thot for asmoche
as the kyng & his Counsell desyred of the felisshipp
to haue certen p'soncs of the same to go ou in Am-
bassatt w' dius Enbassatos into maunders as for the
enlargyng of Wollen clothe that theis persones vnder-
written shulde be p'sented to the kynges highnes & his Councell/ they to
do as shall pleas them/
William Redeknape
John Pykeryng
William Caxton
[Same Folio and year.]
assigned
Mony
to the said am-
bassatos for
theire Costs.
Courte holden the xxviij daye of Septebr' the yere
aboue said
hit is accorded that William Redenape and John
Pykeryng shall haue in honde xl li st'ling towarde
thoire costs & charges for thambassatt of thenlargyng
of Wollen clothe in the Duke of Burguii londes whiche shalbe leyde oute
of the cundith mony at this tyme receyued vnto the tyme another Courte
be had for the p'vision of the same by the advise of the Aldermen of
oure felyshipp.
MERCERS' RECORDS.— RENTER WARDEN'S ACCOUNTS.
(Mercers' Hall, London.)
A folio Volume on paper, in the Archives of the Mercers' Company,
written in the 15th Century, being a continuation, on a different plan, of
the " Wardens' Accounts."
It appears that about 14G3-4 the wealth of the Mercers, especially in
houses and lands, had so much increased, that it was found convenient
150 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
to appoint one out of the four Wardens, whose business it should be to
keep an account of the Company's estate. Accordingly every year a
"Renter Warden" was chosen; and from this period the Eent-roll is
the main feature in the books, the sum total only of the Fees and Ex-
penses of the Company appearing under their separate heads.
1463— 1464.
Under " Qwyterents."— 3rd Edward IV.
Item paid to ye Chamberleyn of Westm r for ye pye at S Martyns
Otewich for iiij t'm s at Est' A iij co xx s
1464—1465.
4th Edward IV.
Item to ye m' of S Giles in ye ffeld for tent* at S Martyns Oteswich
vj s viij d
Item to ye Chamberleyn of yabbey of Westm r fer ye same xx s
1467—1468.
7th Edward IV.
Item paid for Rep'acs done at S Martyns Oteswich as ap'ith by ye
pap' of yacopts/ as in tyleng and oy yings xx s vj d ob 9 .
1475.
A° xiiij c lxxv. Under the head " Discharge by Qwyterents of the
mercery."
Paid to the Chambleyn of West r for the pye xx s
Same year. Under " Qwyterents of Whet' " (Whittington).
The Wards of O lady brethered of seint Margaret at Westmf v s
1477.
A" xiiij c lxxvij. Under " Qwyterents of Whetyngton."
It' of the Wardeyns of O r lady brethered of Seint Margarets at
"V\ cstminster v s
1484.
I uder " Qwyterents."
Itm to the Chawmburleyn of wesf for the grehound iiijs vj d
Under •• Other paiements."
For a dener kept at the grehound at the visitacion of
toweled xxvjs viij(]
Itm for wesshyng of a fcabyll cloth ij (1
A" xiiij c ];;xxiiij Under the same.
It of the ward' of o>- lady brethered of seint marg'ets ai Westemest'
l"i- their tent? in Aldermare vs
APPENDIX. 1 5 1
THE WILL OF ROBERT LARGE,
Citizen of London and Mercer — dated 11th April, 1441 — translated from
the original copy in the book, called " Rouse," formerly deposited in the
Prerogative Court, Doctors' Commons, and now in the Probate Registry
of the High Court of Justice.
TRANSLATION.
3n tfje $tamt of €5©J3 Imctt. On the eleventh Day of the month
of April in the Year of our Lord One Thousand CCCC and forty one
in the nineteenth Year of King Henry the Sixth after the conquest
I Robert Large Citizen and Mercer of the City of London being in
perfect health and memory do hereby make execute and ordain my Will
in this manner First I bequeath and commend my Soul to Almighty
GOD my Creator and Saviour to the Blessed Virgin Mary His Mother
and to all the Saints and my body to be buried in the parish Church of
St. Olave in the Old Jewry London to wit in the same place in which
the body of Elizabeth my late wife lies buried which my body being
buried I will and bequeathe first and principally that all and singular my
debts shall be faithfully and entirely paid in full And afterwards I
bequeath to the High Altar of the said Church of St. Olave that the
Vicar of the same shall specially pray for the good of my soul C s Also
I bequeath for the use of the structure of the same church to be applied
wherever it shall be most requisite according to the sound discretion of
the parishioners twenty marcs Also I leave twenty pounds for my
executors to buy one set of vestments to be chosen according to the
judgment of the aforesaid parishioners and such set of vestments I will
to remain in the said church of St. Olave to serve for the glory of GOD
so long as they shall last Also I bequeath two hundred marcs for the
purpose of providing a Chaplain fit and honest and well instructed in
those things which pertain to the holy offices to celebrate mass at the
altar of the blessed Mary in the said church of St. Olave daily when it
shall be appointed or otherwise according to the discretion of my wife
and to be present at divine service at each horn 1 appointed for prayer to
officiate to pray and to minister according to the discretion of four
approved most profitable for the salvation of my soul Also I bequeath
to Alice my daughter one hundred pounds to be paid to her when she
shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years to be spent in the purchase of
furniture and utensils most necessary for her house according to sound
advice and counsel Also I bequeath to Elizabeth my daughter five
hundred marcs sterling and I will that the said Elizabeth my daughter
together with the aforesaid five hundred marcs left by me as above to
the said Elizabeth my daughter be and remain in the. governance of the
aforesaid Stephen Tychemerssh until the said Elizabeth my daughter
shall arrive at the age of twenty years or be married he the said Stephen
finding sufficient security in the chamber of Guildhall in the City of
152 WILLIAM CAXTOK.
London according to the custom and usage of the said City to deliver up
to the said Elizabeth my daughter the aforesaid five hundred marks
sterling when the said Elizabeth my daughter shall arrive at the afore-
said age of twenty years or be married without rendering any other
interest therefor only and except the reasonable support of the said
Elizabeth my daughter And if the said Elizabeth my daughter shall
happen to die unmarried or before the age of twenty years then I will
that two hundred and fifty marks of the aforesaid live hundred marks
left by me as above to the said Elizabeth my daughter revert to the said
Alice my daughter if she shall survive and if she be dead then the said
two hundred and fifty marks together with the other said two hundred
and fifty marks remaining be at the disposal of and distributed by my
executors in pious uses and works of charity for the good of my soul and
the souls above mentioned in manner as afore is set forth Also I be-
queath to the common box of the Mystery of Mercers of the City of
London for the support of the poor of the said mystery twenty pounds.
Also I bequeath ten pounds to be disposed of according to the discretion
of my executors in the purchase of a vestment to serve in the Mercers'
chapel in the church of St. Thomas of Acan London so long as it will
last Also I bequeath to each convent of the four orders of mendicant
friars in the City of London to pray for my soul forty shillings Also I
bequeath to the convent of friars of the order of St. Cross near the Tower
of London twenty shillings. Also I bequeath one hundred shillings for
the purchase of bedding linen and flannel according to the discretion of
my executors to serve in the Hospital of St. Bartholomew in West Smith-
field so long as they will last Also I bequeath one hundred shillings
wherewith to purchase in like manner bedding for the new hospital
called St. Mary Spital without the aforesaid thousand pounds left by me
to him the said Thomas my son be and remain in the safe charge and
government of the aforesaid Johanna my wife until the said Thomas my
son shall arrive at the age of twenty-four years she the said Johanna my
wife finding sufficient security in the Guildhall chamber of the city of
London according to the manner and custom of the said City to deliver
iqi to the said Thomas my son the aforesaid thousand pounds when he
Thomas my son shall arrive at his aforesaid age of twenty-four years
without rendering any interest therefor only and except the reasonable
support of my said son Thomas Also 1 bequeath to Robert my son one
thousand pounds sterling and 1 will that the said Robert my son together
with the aforesaid thousand pounds so left by me as above to the said
Robert my son be and remain in the safe charge and governance of the
aforesaid Thomas Staunton my brother until the said Kobert my son
shall arrive at the age of twenty -four years the said Thomas Staunton
finding sufficient security in the Guildhall chamber of the City of London
according to the manner and custom of the said City to deliver up to the
said Robert my son the aforesaid thousand pounds so left by me as afore-
said when the said Robert my son shall arrive at his aforesaid age of
APPENDIX. 153
twenty-four years without rendering any interest therefor only and
except the proper support of my said son Robert Also I bequeath
to Richard my son one thousand pounds sterling and will that the
said Richard my son together with the said thousand pounds so be-
queathed by me to him as above shall be and remain in the safe custody
and governance of the aforesaid Johanna my wife until Richard my said
son shall arrive at the age of twenty-four years the said Johanna my
wife finding sufficient security for the said thousand pounds in the same
way as above specified And in case one or more of my said sons Thomas
Robert or Richard shall die before reaching the said age of twenty-four
years then I will and bequeath that the portion or portions of that my
son or those my sons so dying before the age of twenty-four years shall
revert to that one or those of my said sons surviving And if all my said
sons shall die before arriving at the age of twenty-four years then I will
and bequeath that the said three thousand pounds shall be disposed of
and distributed by my executors in pious uses and works of charity for
the good of my own soul and the souls of my parents my wives and my
children also of my friends and benefactors for the souls of all I hold in
esteem and of all the faithful departed this life in such way as my execu-
tors may consider to be better for the pleasing of GOD and among poor
unmarried men and women desirous of marriage Also I bequeath to the
parish church of Shakeston where my father lies buried a vestment of the
value of ten pounds to serve in the same church to the glory of GOD so
long as it will last Also I bequeath to the parish church of Aldester
where my ancestors are buried a vestment of the value of ten pounds
Also I leave to the parish church of Overton where some of my relatives
are buried a vestment of the value of ten pounds Also I bequeath to
Thomas Nyche my servant 1 marks Also to Richard Bonyfaunt my
apprentice 1 marks Also I bequeath to Henry Onkmonton my appren-
tice 1 pounds Also I bequeath to Robert Dedes my apprentice xx marks
Also I bequeath to Christopher my apprentice xx pounds Also I be-
queath to William Caxton my apprentice xx marks Also I bequeath to
John Gode my servant x pounds Also I bequeath to William Brydde
my servant x marks Also I bequeath to William my kitchen servant
xl shillings Also I bequeath to Katherine my servant x marks and to
Isabella Lynde xl shillings Also I leave to William Sampson my ser-
vant at my manor of Horham five marks Also I bequeath to Peter my
servant at the same place xl shillings and to Thomas my servant at the
same place xxvj shillings and viij pence Also I bequeath to John de
Ramsey servant of Isabella Eoteley x marks on his marriage Also I
bequeath to Richard Turnat the son of Johanna my wife xx pounds
Also I bequeath C marks to be divided by my executors among the
children of John Chirch Citizen and Mercer of the City of London
who shall be living at the age of xxiiij years Also I bequeath to
Thomas Staunton my brother if he will undertake the charge of exe-
cuting this my will and will act with good diligence in this office C
154 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
pounds Also I bequeath to Arnulph Strete Mercer on the same con-
dition C marks and to Stephen Tychemerrsh on the same condition C
marks Also I leave to Katherine my mother C marks Also I bequeath
to Johanna my wife by way of gift and instead of her portion of all and
singular my moveable goods and chattels by law belonging to her four
thousand marks And in case that she Johanna my wife shall be dis-
satisfied with this my said legacy then I will that this my legacy to the
said Johanna do cease and become void in law and that then the said
Johanna my wife do have of my moveable goods and chatties only that
portion to which she is entitled by law without any addition or advan-
tage whatsoever Also I bequeath to Thomas my son one thousand
pounds sterling and I will that the said Thomas my son together with
parishioners of the aforesaid church for twenty years next after my
decease the said chaplain taking for his annual salary ten marks to be
paid and administered at the hands of my executors in order that he the
said Chaplain may specially commend to GOD my soul and also the souls
of Elizabeth and Johanna my wives Eichard Herry my late master and
the souls of all those whom I esteem and the souls of all the faithful
departed Also I bequeath to the high altar of St. Mai-garet in Lothbnry
London C s Also I bequeath xx Pounds to be paid by my executors for
the purchase of one set of vestments according to the expressed choice
of the aforesaid parishioners which set of vestments I wish to remain in
the said Church of Saint Margaret to serve for the worship of GOD so
long as they shall last. Also I leave xx pounds to be disposed of and
divided by my executors among the more indigent poor men and women
of the ward of Coleman Street Also four pounds to be divided by my
executors among the Chaplains and Clerks in the Churches of St. Olave
and St. Margaret aforesaid within two years next after my decease that
is to say xl s each year in order that the aforesaid Chaplains and Clerks
may pray for my soul Also I bequeath for the new making and con-
struction of an aqueduct lately begun in the City of London CCCC marks
to be paid within four years according to the discretion of my executors
on condition however that the aforesaid aqueduct be completed within
four years next after my decease and not otherwise Also I bequeath for
the work of making and repairing London Bridge C marks to be paid
within four years according to the discretion of my executors Also I
bequeath for the cleansing of the Watercourse called Walbrook near the
church of St. Margaret Lothbury and for the enlargement and upholding
of the same church to be disposed of according to the wise discretion of
my executors and four approved parishioners of that Church CC marks
or more if necessary so that it do not exceed CCC marks Also I bequeath
C marks to be disposed of according to the wise discretion of my execu-
tors for the marriage of ten poor girls of good character namely to each
of these ten girls at her marriage ten marks whether in the country or
in the City of London Also I bequeath C pounds to be divided by my
executors among poor domestic servants in the counties of Lancashire
APPENDIX. 1 55
and Warwickshire that is to say one poor manservant ten shillings and
to another twenty shillings and to another forty shillings as occasion
may require so long as the said C pounds shall suffice Also I bequeath
xx pounds to be distributed by my executors where it may be most
needed Bishopsgate London so long as it will last. Also I leave five
marks wherewith in like manner to purchase bedding for the hospital of
the Blessed Saint Mary of Bethlehem without Bishopsgate aforesaid.
Also I bequeath forty shillings wherewith in like manner to purchase
bedding for the hospital of St. Thomas of Southwark near London. Also
I bequeath six pounds wherewith in like manner to purchase bedding
for the Lepershouses at Hakeney les lokes without the barriers of St
George Southwark and of St Egidius beyond Holborn London namely
to each of the said houses forty shillings Also I bequeath one hundred
shillings wherewith to provide and purchase food and other things most
necessary for the poor prisoners in Newgate London to be distributed
according to the sound discretion of my executors Also I bequeath one
hundred shillings to be distributed in like manner among the prisoners in
Ludgate London Also I bequeath for repairs in the nave of the church
of Thakstede five marks Also I bequeath for repairs in the body of
the church of Chawrey in the county of Essex forty shillings Also
I bequeath to Richard Foliet mercer twenty marks Also I bequeath to
William Halle mercer lately my servant twenty pounds Also I bequeath
to Agnes lately my servant forty shillings Also I bequeath to each of
my two said daughters Alice and Elizabeth three cups with covers from
among my cups called standing cups of silver-gilt whichever of such
cups with the covers shall weigh twenty-four ounces and * * * *
[_one leaf of the original is here miss'iiii/]
the s d Richard Turnat dying without male heirs lawfully begotten, then
I will that all the above lands and tenements with their appurtenances
shall revert to the male heirs of my before-mentioned son Kobert Large.
Provided nevertheless that if the s d Richard Turnat shall take possession
of all the aforesaid lands and tenements in Newton that then he shall be
excluded entirely from the manor of Horham in the county of Essex
with the lands and tenements and appurtenances belonging thereto.
Then follows the Probate, dated May Cth, 1441, and proved before
Zanobio Mulakyn, Dean of the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, London.
BRUGES RECORDS.— CIVIL JUDGMENTS.
{The Archives, Bruges.)
The following document is found in one of the many volumes of
Records preserved in the Archives of the City of Bruges. Like the
other volumes of this interesting series it is in manuscript coeval with
150 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
the history it elucidates. The title at the beginning of the book is as
follows : —
'•Registre van allezaken ghehandelt by Scepen van Brugghe,inhuerl.
came re daer zy daghelicx vergaderen. Beghint in Septembre in 'tjaer
dunst vierhondert xlvij."; or, " A register of all matters brought under
the notice of the Councillors of Bruges, in their daily session assembled.
Begun in the month of September, in the year one thousand four hun-
dred xlvij."
(Translation.)
To all who see or hear these Presents — the Burgomasters, Sheriffs,
and Council of the Town of Bruges send greeting. Be it known that
William Craes, an English Merchant, Complainant, of the one part, and
John Selle and William Caxton, English Merchants also, Defendants, of
the other part, have this day appealed for justice before Roland de Vos
and Guerard le Groote our Fellows, Sheriffs. The said Complainant
says, that John Granton, Merchant, of the Staple at Calais, was bound
and indebted to him in certain sums of money ; that is to say, firstly in
;CtiO sterling for and because of a certain obligation, and further, in the
sum of £50 sterling on account of a certain exchange which had taken
place between them, as well as for expenses and costs incurred in that
matter, amounting on the whole to £110 sterling. For this sum he had
caused the said John Granton to be arrested in the Town of Bruges, and
that the said John being arrested, the said John Selle and William
Caxton became sureties for him, in equity and law.
And because the said John had departed the Town of Bruges without
having paid and satisfied him, or appealed for justice, he demanded that
the said Defendants should be compelled and adjudged, as Sureties of
the said John, to pay the said claim,
The said Defendants, in answer, acknowledged that in the manner
aforesaid they had become Sureties to the said William Craes for the
said John Granton, but submitted that the said John was quite solvent,
rich enough, and would certainly pay the amount ; requiring therefore
that the said Complainant might seek his debt of the said John, who was
the real debtor, and that they might be discharged from their said surety-
ship : disputing also the sum demanded by the Defendant on account of
the said exchange, for certain reasons thereupon alleged ; the aforesaid
Plaintiff holding the validity of the said suretyship, and demanding as
aforesaid ; together with many other reasons submitted by the said par-
ties. And after hearing the said parties on the said questions, with their
arguments, as well as certain Merchants, that the said dispute had been
determined by our Fellows, Sheriffs, who had adjudged and decided :
That the said Defendants should, as the Sureties of the said John
Granton, pay and satisfy the said W T illiam Craes, firstly in the said sum
of £60, of which the said obligation made mention, and furthermore in
the sum of £35 sterling on account of the said exchange aad costs.
And that, upon the surrender of the said obligation, good and sufficient
APPENDIX. 151
security amounting to the two said sums of £60 and £35 sterling should
be given ; that in case at some future time the said John Granton should
deny the debt of the said sums, or allege payment, that then, on the other
hand, the said Plaintiff should be sentenced to render and repay the said
two sums and more. Right of action being reserved to the said Defen-
dants against the said John Granton, the original debtor, as law and
equity direct.
In witness whereof, &c, 2 January (1449).
BRUGES RECORDS.— TOWN REGISTERS.
(.Tlie Archives, Bruges.')
A Register written on paper in the fifteenth century, and containing
Civil Judgments, given in the Town of Bruges during the years 1465-9.
(Translation.)
Whereas Daniel, son of Adrien, called Sheriff Daniel, Plaintiff of the
one part, and Jeroneme Vento, for and in the name of Jaques Dorie,*
Merchant of Genoa, Defendant of the other part, have promised and
agreed to leave all the differences between them to the judgment and
arbitration of William Caxton, Merchant of England, and Master and
Governor of the English Nation in these parts ; and of Thomas Perrot,
as Arbitrators, and amicable Umpires and common friends, the said
parties, and each of them, promising well and legally to abide by,
observe and perform all that the said Arbitrators shall decide and
adjudicate on the said differences, without opposition of any kind. And
that the said Arbitrators having heard the pleas of the said parties,
and formed thereon their sentence and judgment which they have
reported to the full chamber of the Sheriffs of Binges, it has been
notified to the said parties, that, because the said William Caxton was
unavoidably absent from the said City of Bruges, the said parties have
been summoned before the said full chamber of the Sheriffs of Bruges,
and have appeared. To whom has been signified the arbitration and
judgment by the said Arbitrators, which was and is as follows ; that is
to say — That the said Jeroneme Vento, for and in the name of the said
Jaques Dorie, shall pay to the said Scepheer Daniel promptly and in
current money the sum of £4 gross ; and that the said Jeroneme above-
named shall advance to the said Sheriff Daniel another £4 gross, the
said Scepheer Daniel, however, giving good surety to the said Jeroneme
that he will repay the said sum of £4 gross which he had advanced,
within the first four voyages, in whatever country it may be, that Sheriff
Daniel may make with his vessel, that is to say, on each voyage £1 gross.
* rerliaps one of tlie celebrated Doria family of Genoa.
158 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Provided always, that in case the said Daniel shall not make a voyage
with his said ship within the next six months, and that the said
Daniel, or his sureties, shall be bound to pay aud restore to the said
Jeroneme Vento (without the said Jeroneme agree to a postponement)
the other payments above-named. The observance of which judgment
and arbitration by the said parties, and each of them, has been decreed
in the said full chamber of Sheriffs of Bruges.
Done the 12th of May, 1469.
ISSUE EOLL OF THE EXCHEQUER.
Under the date of " Easter. 19 Edward IV, 15th June," is the fol-
lowing : —
To William Caxton. In money paid to his own hands in discharge
of 20 1, which the Lord the King commanded to be paid to the same
William for certain causes and matters performed by him for the said
Lord the King.
By writ of privy seal amongst the mandates of this term 20 I.
ST. MARGARET'S RECORDS.— CHURCHWARDENS'
ACCOUNTS.
(I/i the Vestry of St. Margaret's Ckwch Westminster.)
A Volume of biennial Accounts of the Churchwardens, audited by
the chief Parishioners. Each Account is written on a quire of parch-
ment, complete in itself : they vary considerably in size, but have been
carefully bound in one Volume, and are in beautiful condition. The
period included in this Volume is 146-1 to 1503. The contents consist of
-Receipts of Pees for Burials, Obits, &c— Rents— Legacies, and Gifts
— Payments for Repairs— Salaries — Pew-rents — Collections — and other
expenses.
1474.
" Compus Thome Frampton & Willi Stafford custod' bonoi-9 & orna-
mental ecclie p'ochial' see margarete Westm' videl't a xvij die Maij
A° regis Edwardi quarti post conq'm Angl' quarto vsqu xxij diem
eiusdem" * * *
In the List of Pees for Burial is —
" It m rec d dc Oliver Cawston die scpult' p' iiij tapr' viij d "
Among the Miscellaneous Receipts for 1476 —
'• It m of a rewarde for a boke & a ChaJea lent to Sir
Hie' Wideuyle xx d"
APPENDIX. 1 59
1478.
" Here folowith Thaccompt of John Wycam and of Nicholas Wolles-
eroft Wardeins of the parisshe Chnrche of seynt margarete of Westm'
* * from the vij th day of the moneth of may in the yere of our
lord god M e CCCC lxxviij * * * vnto the xviij th day of may in
the yere of our lord god M 1 CCCC lxxx " * * *
In the List of Fees for Burial in the first year —
• " It m the day of burying of William Caxton for ij torchis
and iiij tapirs at a lowe masse xx d "
The amount paid does not appear large ; but in a very long list of
burial fees there are only four equal in amount, the common rate of fees
being ij d, iiij d, or vj d.
1480.
The same Account. In the List of Fees for burial in the second
year —
" It m the day of bureying of Jone large for ij tapirs iiij d "
1481.
The Audit at the end of the same Account is as follows : —
" The whiche some of xxiij li. x s v d ob. q a the forsaide wardeyns
haue paid and delyued in the fulle Audite vnto william Garard and
William Hachet their Successours togeder w* the tresoures of and in the
chirchc aforeseid to them delyued in the begynnyng of this accompte
* in the presence of John Eandolf squyer Richard Vmfrey gen-
til man Thomas Burgeys John Kendall notary William Caxton *
with other paryshyns " * *
1490-92.
In the Account for the years 1490-2, among the Burial Fees for the
first year —
" Item atte Bureyng of Mawde Caxston for torches and tapres
iij s ijd "
In the second year —
" Item atte Bureying of William Caxton for iiij torches vj s viij d "
" Item for the belle atte same bureyng vj d "
Here we remark again that in both these cases the fees paid are con-
siderably larger than usual.
In the Accounts for 1496-8 among thr Legacies, and their produce —
" It m receyued by the handes of William Ryolle for oone
of thoo printed bokes that were bequothen to the
Churche behove by William Caxston vj s viijd "
" Itâ„¢ receyued by the handes of the said William for a
nother of the same printed Bokes called a legend vj s iiij d "
160 WILLIAM CAXTON.
"It m by the hands of the parisshe prest for a nother of
the same legendes vj s viij d "
At the end of the Account —
"Memorand' there remayneth in store to the said Chirch"
'• It" 1 in bokes called legendes of the bequest of William
Caxton xiii d "
Among the Payments at the end of the same Account —
" It m paide for a supper gevyn vnto the Auditours herynge
and determenyng this accompt and to the newe
Chirchwardeyns as it hath ben vsed and accus-
tumed here tofore xxs"
In the Accounts for 1498-1500—
" The Receites of Bookes called Legendes in the first yere of this
accompte " —
" Fyrst Receyued of John Crosse for a prainted legende vs viij d "
"Item Rcceiued for a nother legende solde in West-
mynsterhalle TS viij d "
" Item Recciued of Willm geyfe for a nother of the same
legendes vs viijd"
"Itâ„¢ rcceiued of the said Willm Geyfe for a nother
Legende vs v iij d "
" Item R of Walter Marten for a nother legende v s xj d "
In the second year of the same account —
" Item R. of William Geiffe for ij legendes printed x s iiij d "
" It m R of Danicll aforge for a printed legende' vs x d "
" Item R of William Geiffe for a printed legende v s "
'• Memorand' ther remayneth in store to the saide chirch " * * *
" It m in bokes called Legendes of the bequest of William Caxton iij "
In the Accounts for 1500-2 there are not entered any sales of
" Legends."
"Ther remayneth in store to the saide chirche " * * *
" Item a prynted legende booke of the bequeste of AVill'm Caxton."
ST. MARGARET'S RECORDS.
GUILD OF OUR LADY ; WARDENS' ACCOUNTS.
(In the Vestry of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster).
A Volume of triennial Accounts of the Fraternity of our Blessed
Lady Assumption, beautifully written on vellum, and in excellent pre-
servation. It includes the period between 1474 and 1522. and is of very
great interest in illustrating the customs of that period. The earlier as
well as the later Volumes are not known to exist. The following arc the
principal headings of the various Accounts :— Arrears of Members—
limits received— Bequests and (lilts— Receipts for Obits of Members—
APPENDIX. 1G1
Fees of new Members — Rents paid — Payments of Salaries — Wages —
Annuities to Almsmen and Women — House-repairs — Wax Candles, and
other expenses, for the Shrine of our Lady in St. Margaret's Church —
and Miscellaneous expenses.
(24th June, 1474, to 24th June, 1477).
The first Account is headed —
" This is thaccompte of maister William Thirleby henry marble gen-
tilman and James Fytt maistres or Wardeyns chosen of the Frat'nte or
gylde of oure blessed lady seint mary the virgyn wtin the p'issh chirch of
seint margaret of the towne of Westm in the shire of midd' founded, that
is to say from the fest of Natiuite of seint John Baptist in the yere of
y e reigne of kyng Edward the iiij th after the conquest xiiij vnto the said
fest of the Natiuite of seint John the xvij th yere of the reigne of the
same kyng by three hole yeres as it p'ticulerly appiereth in p'cellez here
folowyng that is to wete."
Under Payments of Rent in the same Account —
" Also the said late maistres charge themsilf w 4 a certeyn quite rent
due by John Randolff of london mercer for a licence of Fre entre of
comyng in and going out for his tenntes thurgh the gate and an Alley
called our lady Alley in the kynges Strete of the towne of westm r ."
In the same Account, under " thentre of diiies p'sones of new to the
said frat'nite is " John Caxston vj s viij d."
Also among the Payments —
" Diuers payments by the said late maisters for the said Fraternite
* * * of the which thay axe to be allowed in this accompt."
" Of the money by them paid to the wardeins of the Craft of mercery
of london for certain quite rent going out of the teii't in the p'isshe of
Aldermarie Chirche of london at vs by the yere."
The Fraternity appear also to have held tenements in King Street,
Westminster, at Kensington, and at Stroud.
In the same Account, after the payment of six priests' salaries—
"Costes and p'celles allowed by the hole Brotherhode toward
thexpences of the gefiall fest in iij de yere of this accompt."
These " Costs and Parcels " occupy two full folio pages, and hare
yielded the following items : —
" A tonn of wyne v ] u
" Paide to John Drayton chief cok for his reward xxv s "
" Also for the hire of xxiiij doseyn of erthen pottes for
ale & wyne in .l s
" Also for erthen pottes broken & wasted at the same fest vj s viij d "
" Also to iiij players for their labour xij s xd "
M
102 WILLIAM CAXTON.
" Also to iij mynstrelles ixs xd"
" Also for the mete of diues of strangers xvj s "
" Also for russhes ij s iiij d "
" Also for vj doseyn of white cuppes iij s "
******
" Also for portage and botehyre of the Turbut iiij d "
" Also for ix Turbutts xv s ij d "
In addition to scores of " Capons, chekyns, gese, conyes, and peiones,"
(pigeons), the chief " cok " provided them with «' swannys " and " herons,"
with all sorts of fish, inclnding oysters and " see pranys," or prawns, with
all kinds of meats and game, with jellies in " ix dosen gely disshes,"
and with abundance of fruits. The quantity of ale, wine, and ypocras
provided by the butler is marvellous, and one cannot wonder at the heavy
entries for " pottes and cuppes broken, and wasted." The Cook seems
to have been paid much more liberally than the Wardens, who had but
xxx s between them " for their dilligence."
In the Accounts for 1490-3 are the Receipts of Rent from tenements,
known as " The Maidenhead," " The Sonne," " The Rose," and " The
Wolstaple."
Also, under payment of Rent —
" For a certayn Quit rent paid out of a litell tent in the wolstaple to
the mair of the staple at xxd by the yere."
" Also for a certain Quit rent paid out of the Rents in
Alderm'ay p'isshe to John More Renter of the Mercers xv s "
From " Rymer's Foedera." Folio. London. 1710. Vol. XI. 536.
(Translation.)
CONCERNING THE TREATY OF BURGUNDY.
The King to all whom it may concern, &c. Greeting.
Be it known that
Inasmuch as determinate arrangements concerning the intercourse of
merchandise between our subjects and the subjects of our well-beloved
Cousin the Duke of Burgundy have in a sure form and manner been
accorded and agreed to in times past and since that time often renewed,
We,
Wishing on our part to hold good and observe such arrangements,
and being well assured of the faithfulness and discretion of our well-
beloved subjects Richard Whetehill, Knight, and William Caxton,
Do make, ordain and constitute, by these presents, the said Richard
and William our true and accredited Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncioe,
and several Deputies ;
APPENDIX. 103
Giving and Granting to onr said Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios, and
Deputies, and to either of them, full power and authority and general as
well as special commandment to meet, to enter into treaty and to com-
municate with our aforesaid Cousin or his Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios,
and Deputies delegated with sufficient powers for this purpose by our
said Cousin, concerning and upon the continuation and renewal of the
aforesaid Intercourse, and, should occasion require, to make and conclude
new arrangements,
And to do and exercise all and singular other deeds which may be fit
or necessary.
Promising, in good faith and on our kingly word, always to hold as
ratified, acceptable, and binding, all and any the Acts and Deeds of our
said Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios, and Deputies, or either of them, as
aforesaid, which may be done, performed, or done by procuration, in the
foregoing matters, or any portion thereof.
As witness our hand at Wycombe, this 20th day of October (1464).
A SHEET OF PAPER IN THE NATIONAL RECORD OFFICE.
The manuscript is —
" To tharchedeacon of Westm' that nowe is and for the tyme shalbe.
We, Richard FitzJames, Almoner and Counsaillor unto oure souverain
lord the King, and Richard Hatton, chaplavne and counsaillor vnto our
said souverain lord, greting in our Lord God euerlasting. And whereas
we, the said Richard and Richard, were appoynted, lymytted and assigned
by our said souverain lord and the lordes of his most noble counsaill to
examine, determyne and pacifie a certain variaunce depending betwene
Gerard Croppe of Westminster, taillour, of the oone partie, and Eliza-
beth, the doughter of William Caxton, wif to the said Gerard, of the othre
partie ; We, the vij th daie of May, the xj th yere of our said souverain
lord, had the said parties before us in the Kinges Chapell within his
palois of Westminster at this appoyntement and conclusion by theire both
assentes and aggrementes : — That noon of theim, ne any othre for theim,
shall fromhensforth vexe, sue or trouble othre for any maner matier or
cause theim concernying for matrimony betwix theim before had ; and
every of theim to lyve sole from othre, except that the said Gerard shall
mowe fynde the meanes to have the love and favour of the seid Elizabeth.
For thaccomplisshment of which aggrement eithre of theim of their owne
voluntarie willes bound theim self unto us by their faith es and trouthes,
and never to varie from their said promyses. And therupon the said
Gerard to have of the bequest of William Caxton, the fadre of the said
Elizabeth, xx ts prynted legendes at xiij s iiij d a legend. And the said
Gerard to delyver a generall acquitaunce unto thexecutours of William
Caxton, her said fadre, for their discharge in that behalf. And besides
M 2
164
WILLIAM CAXTON.
thies premisses both the said parties were aggreed before us to be bound,
eche to othre, in C.li. by their dedes obligatorie with the condicions above
wreten to performe alle the premisses. In wittenesse whereof I, the said
Eichard FitzJames, have to thies preseutes sette the seale of myn office.
And I, the said Richard Hatton, have setto my seal, and eithre of us
subscribed our names with oure owne handes, the xx" daie of May the
xj th yere of the reignc of our said souverain Lord."
DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED
IN
TYPE No. 1.
EXPLANATION OF TERMS.
5n, or Quinternion, means a section of five sheets folded together in
half =10 leaves = 20 pages.
4n, or Quaternion =^8 leaves = 16 pages.
3n, or Ternion = 6 leaves = 12 pages.
Kecto is the right-hand page of an open book.
Verso is the reverse, or the left-hand page.
A Director is the name given to the small letter placed where the
Illuminator was intended to paint in a large initial.
LIST OF BOOKS IN TYPE No. 1.
1. The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye . . . 1474 ?
2. Le Recueil des Histoires de Troyes . . . 1476 ?
3. The Game and Play of the Chess Moralised . 1475-76 ?
4. Les fais et prouesses du noble et vaillant Chevalier Jason . 147- ?
5. Meditacions sur les Sept Pseaulmes penitenciaulx . 1478 ?
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE No. 1.
No. 1. — The Rectjyell of the Histories of Troy.
Translated 1469-71. Folio. Without Place or Date.
(1474?).
Collation. — Booh I has fourteen 5 ns and one 4 n =148
leaves, of which the first is blank. Boole II has nine 5 ns , one
4 U , and one 3 n =104 leaves. Booh III has ten 5 n3 =100
leaves. Total 351 printed leaves and one blank.
Typographical Particulars. — Type No. 1 only. Lines
of very uneven length ; full lines measure 5 inches, but vary
in different parts from 4| to 5j inches. 31 lines to a full
page. Without signatures, catchwords, or numerals. Space
is left, with a director, for 3 to 7-line initials. As may be
seen by the collation, each book begins a fresh gathering,
probably for the convenience of binding in three separate
volumes.
Commencing the work with a blank leaf, Caxton's preface
follows, printed in red ink, and occupying the second recto.
The Text begins thus : —
<£re fieg^nneth tfic bolume mtitulrti anti namrtj
h the recuncll of the histories of Crone/ compose o
anfc otatoen out of tonuerce fcoofces of latgn in
to frenss^e on the rnght ucneraole pcrsone anti toor-
shtpfull man . Mapul le ffcurc . precst ant eftapelagn
unto the rnght noble glorious an* mngtjtn prmice m
his tnme $)heltp true of iSourgonne of Jtfratianti $?c
3m the nere of the Bncarnarton of our lor* got) a thou=
sairti foure hoh&erti stitn anti foure / ginti translated
antj oratoen out of frensfje in to engltssfte fin 21<fHtllnam
(•Taiton merrer of )? cnte of ILontion / at the eomauoemet
1G8 WILLIAM CAXTON.
of the right hgc mggfitg anb urrtuousc $Jrgncrssc hns
rrbouotpb labi> . fHargarrtc on tijr grar? of goti . Bit-
djfsse of StJourgopnc of ILoirgfe of $3raoanb &c/
ftSHhirfie sapb translation anb torrftc ujas orgonne in
â– ISrugis in % (Country of jFlauntirrs the fgr^t bap of
march? the ;nrte of the fmrarnacion of our saib lorb gob
a tpusanb four? honberb stortj? anb cnghte / Enb enbeb
anb fnnnsshtb in the holn cjjte of (JToIen the . iir . bag of
septcmure the pm of our sap lorb gob a thousanb
foure honberb sirtn anb tUwi vi v c.
:Enb on that other sibc of this leef folotoeth the prologe
Caxton's Prologue begins on the verso of the same leaf,
with space for a 4-line initial W.
i^an $ rememhre that euerg man is hounbcn
The first book commences on the fifth recto, with space for
a 7-line initial W. The second begins on the 149th, and the
third on the 253rd recto, the whole ending with some Latin
rhymes on the 352nd recto, the verso being blank.
Remabks. — No one speaking the English language can
look at this patriarchal volume with indifference. Here, for
the first time, our forefathers saw their language in print;
and, could our interest in any way have been heightened, it
would have been by knowing it to have been printed in our
own instead of a foreign land. The history of its origin is
shortly this. In the original French it was a favourite novel
of the English and Burgundian courtiers, for, although nomi-
nally an account of the Trojan wars, it is really a series of
love scenes mixed with mythology and knight-errantry. The
manuscript translation made by Caxton for the Duchess of
Burgundy, whose court was at Bruges, having excited great
interest, a demand arose for copies quicker than Caxton coidd
supply them. The printing-press having been just established
in that city by Colard Mansion, Caxton, whose thoughts were
now homewards, determined to use it as a means of multiply-
ing his translation, and of learning at the same time a new trade
which would support him on his return to England. This
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 109
he did at a great charge and expense, and then, having pro-
cured a new fount of types and all the necessary material,
came over to England and erected his press at Westminster.
Fortunately tins work cannot be reckoned among the
rarities of Caxton's press, as there are copies in the British
Museum, Sion College, College of Physicians, London, at
Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, and fourteen other libraries. The
Duke of Devonshire gave £1060 10s. for a copy in 1812, the
same copy having been purchased by the Duke of Roxburgh
a few years previously for £50.
K" . 2. — Le Recueil des Histoiees de Troyes. Compose
en Van de grace 1464. Folio. Without Printer's
Name, Place, or Date. (1476 ?).
Collation.— Book I, twelve 5 ns =120 leaves, of which
the first and last are blank. Book II, eight 5 ns and one 3 n =
86 leaves. Book III, eight 5 n9 =80 leaves. Total, 284
printed and two blank leaves.
Typographical Particulars. — Type No. 1 only is used.
The lines for the greater part are spaced out to one length,
being more even in this particular than the two English books
in this type. A full page has 31 lines, without signatures,
numerals, headlines, or catchwords. A space two to four lines
in depth has been left at the commencement of each chapter
for the insertion of an illuminated initial, a director being
sometimes inserted.
The Text, 31 lines to a page, which is divided into three
books, begins thus on the second recto, after a blank leaf: —
<£n rommenee If uolume intitule le reeuetl tjrs htstotres
tie tropes (Compose par uenerafile ftomme raoul le feure
prestre cftappellain oe mon tresretjouiite seigneur fHonset-
gneur le Bur ftheltppe tie fiourgoingne <£n Ian tie graee.
mil . rree . Unit . : .
and ends on the 286th verso.
antipho 9 le ron estort 9 le ron protftenor et le ro» ofitome 9 .
• : • UPxpltcit • : •
170 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
Remarks. — The history of the Trojan War, a favourite
subject for several centuries with European writers, was the
foundation of numerous romances. Of these the chief were
the apocryphal history by Dares Phrygius, a Trojan priest,
celebrated by Homer ; the account of the same war by Dictys
Cretensis, a supposititious historian ; and the History of the
Siege of Troy by Guido of Colonna, a native of Messina in
Sicily, who wrote in the thirteenth century. The rise of
these histories, their growth under the editorial care of
successive scribes, the incorporation of incidents from other
romances, and their final development in the compilation of
"Le Recueil des Histoires de Troye," form a curious and
typical example of this class of literature. According to
the unanimous testimony of all printed editions and all
manuscripts of the complete work, " Le Recueil " was the
composition of Raoul Lefevre, chaplain and secretary to
Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy: but in a manuscript
copy of this work, in the National Library, Paris, the first two
books are attributed to Guillaume Fillastre. And this is
remarkable — that Lefevre succeeded Fillastre (who was a
voluminous author) in the office of secretary to the duke.
Probably, finding his predecessor's history unfinished, he took
it up, and, after adding Book III, issued the whole under his
own name. In that age a similar course was by no means
uncommon, nor was it an infringement of any recognised
literary right ; we can hardly, therefore, with M. Paris, call
it (even if true) " une grande fraude literaire." On the other
hand, several copies were issued with the name of Lefevre
while Fillastre was yet living, and Caxton, who was contem-
porary with both writers, ascribes the whole work to Lefevre.
Nor is there any noticeable variation in style between the two
portions, as might be expected if composed by two authors ;
indeed the style of " Le Recueil " is the same as that of " Les
fais du Jason," an acknowledged work of Lefevre.
Steevens asserts that Shakspere derived the greater por-
tion of his materials for the play of "Troilus and Cressida"
from Lydgate's metrical composition, "The last destruction
of Troy ;" but Douce, in his " Illustrations," is far nearer the
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 171
truth in tracing the incidents employed by our great poet to
Caxton's translation of " Le Recueil des Histoires de Troye."
The latter was popular, and frequently reprinted long after
Lydgate's laboured metre had become antiquated.
There is a perfect copy in the British Museum, besides a
large fragment. The National Library, Paris, has a copy,
and four others are in private libraries. A fragment of eight
leaves was purchased some years ago by a bookseller, and
made into four thick volumes, each volume having two
printed leaves with a hundred blank leaves on each side.
These were all disposed of as specimens to lie open in the
show-cases of museums.
No. 3. — The Game and Play of the Chess Moralised.
{Translated 1475). First Edition. Folio. Witlwut
Printer's Name, Place, or Bate. (1475-76 ?)
Collation. — Eight 4 ns and one 5 n =74 leaves, of which
the 1st and 74th are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is only one type,
No. 1, used throughout the work. The lines are not spaced
out ; the longest measure 5 inches ; a full page has 31 lines.
Without title-page, signatures, numerals, or catchwords.
The volume commences with a blank leaf, and on the
second recto is Caxton's prologue, space being left for a 2-line
initial, without director.
The Text begins thus : —
© the right noble/ rigbt excellent $? bertuous prince
(©eorgc ouc of (Klarenre (£rl of W&wfagk anfc of
saltsburge/ grete cbamberlagn of <£nglonb & leutenant
of 3frclon0 or&cst croon; of fcnnge tJKbbjaro bp tbe grace
of goo ftpnge of (JritglantJ an* of frauce /pour most
humble seruant toilliam (Caiton amonge otijer of put
scruantes senoes unto gob) peas . heltbe . $one anb btrto-
tne bpon put <Jrnemges / Migbt fjtflfje punssant ano
The Text ends on the 73rd recto,
&iv0 senile 50b) tbaccompltssbement of pur i)j?e noble .
172 WILLIAM CAXTON.
SJogous ano uertuous tifsirs Hmm :/: jFgngssfjto the
last oag of inarrijc tty per of our lorti gotf . a . tjjousanti
foure fionoerti ant untttt. •.:.:.*.
The 74th leaf is blank.
Eemarks. — " Fynysshid the last day of Marche the yer of
oure lord god a thousand foure honderd and lxxiiii." The word
" fynysshed " has doubtless the same signification here as in
the epilogue to the second book of Caxton's translation of the
Histories of Troy, " begonne in Brugis, contynued in Gaunt,
and finysshed in Coleyn," which evidently refers to the trans-
lation only. The date, 147G-76, has been affixed, because in the
Low Countries at that time the year commenced on Easter-
day ; this in 1474 fell on April 10 th, thus giving, as the day
of the conclusion of the translation, 31st March, 1475, the
same year being the earliest possible period of its appearance
as a printed book.
The literary history of the " Game and Play of the Chess"
does not appear to have hitherto received that attention which
is its due. Before 1285, iEgidius Colonna had composed
his renowned work entitled " De regimine principum," which
treats of self-government, domestic government, and national
government. The "Liber de ludo Scachorum" of J. de
Cessolis appears to have been based upon this work, its chief
originality being the representation of the several stations
and duties of life by the pieces used in chess. About the
middle of the fifteenth century two distinct French versions
were made. The earlier was probably that by Jean Faron,
in 1347, who translated it literally from the original Latin.
About the same time appeared the favourite and standard
work of Jehan de Vignay, who took great liberties with the
text, and added many stories and fables. Both these men were
of the order of Preaching Friars, and seem to have worked
quite independently of one another. Caxton's edition was
principally from the version of Jehan de Vignay, to whom he
gives the title of "an excellent Doctor of Divinity, of the
Order of the Hospital of St. John's of Jerusalem," which is
remarkable, as in his preface Jean de Vignay styles himself
BOOKS FEINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 173
" hospitaller de l'ordre de haut pas," and he is so termed in
all the manuscripts. On comparing the English and the two
French versions, it is evident that Caxton must have been
well acquainted with both. His prologue addressed to the
Duke of Clarence contains, nominis mutatis, the whole of
Jean de Vignay's dedication to Prince John of France ; while
Chapters I and III are taken entirely from the translation of
Jean Faron. The remainder of the book is from the ver-
sion of Jehan de Vignay, with one or two special insertions
evidently from the pen of Caxton himself.
To show the curious way in which Caxton adopted and
adapted while translating, the dedication to the Duke of
Clarence, hitherto considered as his own composition, is here
given side by side with its French original.
Caxton's Prologue to "The Prologue of Jean de Vig-
Game and Plat of the
q hess » nay to his French trans-
TO the right noble /right lation (a.d. 1360) of the
excellent & vertuous prince
George due of Clarence Erie " LuDUS Saooobum of J.
of warwyk and of/ salisburye / DE Q Egg0LISi
grete chamberlayn of Eng-
lond & leutenant of Irelond A Tres noble & excellent
oldest broder of kynge Ed- -^â–
ward by the grace of god prince Jehan de france
kynge of England and of , _. „
frauce/your most humble duc de normendie & amsne
seruant william Caxton a- filz d e philipe par la grace de
monge other of your seruantes
sendes vnto yow peas . helthe . dieu Roy de france . Frere
Ioye and victorye vpon your
Enemyes/ Right highe puys- Jehan de vignay vostre petit
sant and redoubted prynce/ „ ,. . , n
•r, i T i Rehgieux entre les autres de
1 or as moche as 1 haue vn- &
derstand and knowe/thatye vostre ge ignoire / paix sante
are enclined vnto the comyn
wele of the kynge our said Joie & victoire sur vos en-
174
WILLIAM CAXTON.
saueryn lord . his nobles lordes
and comyn peple of his noble
royame of Englond / and that
ye sawe gladly the Inhabitans
of the same euformed in good .
vertnous . prouffitable and
honeste maners . Jn whiche
your noble persone wyth
guydyng of your hows ha-
boundeth / gyuyng hght and
ensample vnto all other /
Therfore I haue put me in
deuour to translate a lityll
book late comen in to niyn
handes out of frensh in to
englisshe/Jn which I fynde
thauctorites . dictees . and sto-
ries of auncient Doctours phi-
losophes poetes and of other
wyse men whiche been re-
counted & applied vnto the
moralite of the publique wele
as well of the nobles as of the
comyn peple after the game
and playe of the chesse /
whiche booke right puyssant
and redoubtid lord I haue
made in the name and vnder
the shadewe of your noble
protection / not presumyng to
correcte or empoigne ony
thynge ayenst your noblesse /
For god be thankyd your
excellent renome shyneth as
well in strange regions as
with in the royame of england
gloriously vnto your honour
and lande / whiche god mul-
nemis . Treschier & redoubte
seign r /pour ce que Jay en-
tendu et scay que vous veez
& ouez yolentiers choses pro-
ffitables & honestes et qui
tendent alinformacion de bon-
nes meurs ay Je mis vn petit
liuret de latin en francois le
quel mest venuz a la main
nouuellement / ou quel plus-
sieurs auctoritez et dis de
docteurs & de philosophes &
de poetes & des anciens sages /
sont Eacontez & sont appli-
quiez a la moralite des nobles
hommes et des gens de peuple
selon le gieu des eschez le
quel liure Tres puissant et
tres redoubte seigneur jay fait
ou nom & soubz vmbre de
vous pour laquelle chose
treschr seign r Je vous suppli
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1.
175
teplye and encrece But to
thentent that other of what
estate or degre he or they
stande in . may see in this
sayd lityll book/yf they
gouerned them self as they
ought to doo/wherfor my
right dere redoubted lord I
requyre & supplye your good
grace not to desdaygne to
resseyue this lityll sayd book
& requier de bonne voulente
de cuer que il vo 9 daigne
plaire a receuoir ce liure en
gre aussi bien que de vn
greign r maistre de moy/car
la tres bonne voulente que
Jay de mielx faire se je pouoie
in gree and thanke/as well
of me your humble and vn- me doit estre reputee pour le
knowen seruant as of a better
and gretter man than I am/ fait/Et po r plus clerement
For the right good wylle that
I haue had to make this lityU P roceder en ceste omire / «%
werk in the best wyse I can/ ordene que leg chappitres du
ought to be reputed for the
sayte and dede / And for more liure soient escrips & mis au
clerely to procede in this sayd
book I haue ordeyned that commencement aim de veoir
the chapitres ben sette in the
begynnynge to thende that
ye may see more playnly the
mater wherof the book treteth
&c.
Before concluding this article we must give an interpola-
tion of the text which has real interest as showing Caxton's
feelings towards " men of law." His author is regretting the
conduct of some lawyers of Rome and Italy, and Caxton adds
with a natural burst of indignation, which suggests that per-
sonal experience had something to do with it : —
" Alas ! and in England what hurt do the advocates, men
of law, and attorneys of court to the common people of the
royaume, as well in the spiritual law as in the temporal : how
turn they the law and statutes at their pleasure ; how eat
they the people, how impoverish they the community. I
plus plainement la matiere de
quoy le dit liure p'ole.
176 WILLIAM CAXTON.
suppose that in all Christendom are not so many pleaders,
attorneys, and men of the law as be in England only, for if
they were numbered all that long to the courts of the Chan-
cery, King's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer, Receipt and
Hall, and the bag-bearers of the same, it should amount to a
great multitude. And how all these live and of whom, if it
should not be uttered and told it should not be believed. For
they extend to their singular weal and profit and not to the
common."
There are ten copies known of this book, of which two are
in the British Museum, one at Oxford, one at Cambridge, and
six in private libraries.
No. 4. — Les fais et prouesses du noble et vaillant
Chevalier Jason. Folio. Without Printer's Name,
Place, or Date. (147- ?
Collation. — Sixteen 4 ns and one 3 n =134 leaves, of which
the first and last two are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page
nor colophon. The type used is No. 1 only. The great
majority of the lines are fully spaced out, agreeing in this
respect more with the French editions of " Le Recueil " and
the "Psaulmes" than the English "Recuyell" and the "Chess
Book." Full lines measure 5 and 5-^- inches ; 31 lines to a
page. Without signatures, numerals, head-lines, or catch-
words.
A blank leaf commences the book; at the head of the
succeeding recto, with space for a 4-line initial, and director.
The Text begins thus : —
I & gallce tic mon engtn flotant na pas long
temps en la parfonbeur bes mens bu pluseurs
anciennes ftistoires atnst eomme Jfe bouloie me-
ner mon espertt en port be repos / soubainement
sapparu au prcs be mow one nef eonbuitte par ong iunnme
The text ends on the verso of the 131st printed leaf: —
ant a mon beuant bit tresrebouote seigneur / t£t atous eeulx
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 177
qui le rontcnu tie ce present uolume iiront . ou orrcmt lire .
quit leur plaise tie grace eieuser autant que man petit et ru
tie engin na seeu touchier ne peu comprenorc &r • : .
Explicit
The existence of this edition was first made known in
England by a letter from M. Van Praet to Dr. Dibdin, who
sent an account of it to the "Gentleman's Magazine" for
July, 1812.
Remarks. — All the books printed with these types are
traced to Mansion, either alone or assisted by Caxton. In
this work and the " Meditacions," the even length of the lines
proves them to be later productions than those in which the
lines are more uneven ; and this is plain evidence that if these
two works were printed by Mansion (as doubtless they were)
it must have been after 1478, the year in which he adopted
the plan of even lines ; but if Ave attribute them to Caxton,
we must suppose him to have forsaken his own establishment
at the Red-pale, in or after the year 1480 (being the period
when he first adopted the practice of making his lines of an
even length) for the purpose of printing abroad what he had
every facility for printing at home.
Only three copies of this scarce book have been as yet
discovered. A magnificent one is at Eton College, another
in the National Library, Paris, which, when purchased in
1808, was bound up with "Le Quadrilogue," a work printed
by Colard Mansion in 1478, and a third in the Library of the
Arsenal, Paris.
No. 5. — Meditacions sur les Sept Pseaulmes Peniten-
Ciaulx. Folio. Without Printer's Name, Place, or
Late. (1478 ?)
Collation. — Three 4 ns and one 5 n =34 leaves, of which
the last only is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The only type used is No. 1. The lines are for the most part
fully spaced out, though now and then there is a deficiency in
this respect, which only occurs, however, on the verso of the
N
178 AVILLIAM CAXTOX.
folios, the recto throughout being fully spaced. This pecu-
liarity is observable to a greater or less extent in all the
French books printed in this type. The full lines measure
5 inches, and 31 lines make a full page. There are no signa-
tures, folios, nor catchwords.
The text begins on the first recto, —
& branc penitancc est comm? aucune esehtelle
I par laauelle lomme pecfteur ctut scion la paraoole
be leuuangille bescenbn be fjffterusalcm e n Jjfje rtro
monta tie rerfttef be fHjerico en ^Jerusalem / rest abiston be
And ends on the 33rd verso, with a full page, followed by a
blank leaf, —
exultacion be Icessc cspiritucllc / $Juis encores sil te plaist
me bonne que par ce scptcnuaire ber pseaulmcs be penitent
ee lesciucl? correspondent aux sept affect? be loinme prtns
pour les sept begrr* be lescfttclle be penitence §t putsse mo=
ter et parucntr atog en cette tant glortcusc cite be $herusa^
lem en laqttelle tu hamtes et te offrir auec les sains et oc~
neurej le sacrifice be loengc sans fin / : &iH(£Ji
Remarks. — This work is a translation from the original
Latin of Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly, entitled " Meditacions Circa
Septem Psalmos Penitentiales." It was composed about the
end of the fourteenth century, and translated shortly after
into French, but by whom is uncertain, although from the
style it is supposed by several of his biographers to have been
from the pen of the Cardinal himself. The Commentary on
the Penitential Psalms, printed by Wynken de Worde was
composed by Bishop Alcock, and has nothing in common with
this.
In all typographical particulars this work agrees with the
French edition of "Jason," already described, and there is
little doubt was printed by Colard Mansion at Bruges, about
1478.
The only Existing Copy at present known was discovered
in the General Library of the British Museum, in 1841, by
Mr. J. Winter Jones, bound up with " Les Quatre Derrenieres
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 179
Choses." It is perfect, in an excellent state of preservation,
clean, and free from all disfigurements. It has the final blank
leaf, the verso of which is covered with quotations in the
handwriting of the fifteenth century. These quotations are
extended over the first recto (which is also a blank) of the
book mentioned above as being bound up with it, proving
that they were bound together soon after printing. For an
article on both works, from the pen of Mr. Jones, see
" Archaglogia," vol. xxxi, page 412.
N 2
DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED
IN
TYPE No. 2.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE No. 2.
6. Les Quatre Derrenieres Choses
7. The History of Jason ....
8. The Dictes and Sayings. First Edition .
9. Horje . .....
10. The Canterbury Tales. First Edition
11. The Moral Proverbs of Christine
12. Propositio Johannis Russell
13. Stans puer ad Mensam
14. Parvus Catho. First Edition
16. Ditto Second Edition
16. The Horse, the Sheep, and the Ghoos. First Edition
17. Ditto ditto Second Edition
18. Infancia Salvatoris ....
19. The Temple of Glass ....
20. The Chorle and the Bird. First Edition
21. Ditto ditto Second Edition .
22. The Temple of Brass, or the Parliament of Fowls
23. The Book of Courtesy. First Edition
24. Queen Anelida .....
25. Boethius .....
26. Corydale ......
27. Fratris Laur. Gulielmi de Saona Margarita
28. The Dictes and Sayings. Second Edition
29. Indulgence .....
30. Parvus et Magnus Chato. Third Edition
31. The Mirrour of the World. First Edition .
32. Reynard the Fox. First Edition .
33. Tully of Old Age ....
34. The Game and Playe of the Chesse. Second Edition
. 1475 ?
1477 ?
. 1477
1478?
. 1478 ?
1478
. 1478 ?
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1477
ante 1479
ante 1479
ante 1479
1479
1479-10 ?
1480?
1480
1481 ?
1481?
1431
1481
1481?
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE No. 2.
No. 6. — Les quatre derrenieres choses advenir.
Folio. Without Printer's Name, Date, or Place.
(1476?)
Collation. — Nine 4 n9 =72 leaves, of which the first only
is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — Type-No. 2 only is used.
The lines are of very irregular length, 28 to a page. "With-
out signatures, folios, or catchwords. Commencing with a
blank leaf, the table follows on the second recto, the first
three lines being in red ink.
The text begins : —
0Te present tratrttr est oiuise m quatre parties prinripa
les : iBesQuelles eftaseunc eontient trots autres smgult /
res parties en la fourme qui sensuit :
and ends on 72nd verso : — â–
quil? pourueissent aux eijoses tierrenieres / oont la frequete
meinoire et reeoroarion itvapelle oes perhiej a eulpe am ber
tus et ronferme en oounes oeuures / par quog on paruient a
la glotre eternelle :&men
Orxplieit liter tie
quatour Jloutssimis
An important typographical peculiarity in this work is
the mode in which the printer has employed red ink for the
title-lines or chapters. The modus operandi and how the red
ink overlies the black, is explained at p. 52, ante. This curious
and primitive practice is not seen in any books except that
under notice, and those printed by Colard Mansion of Bruges.
Another typographical characteristic which intimately con-
nects this book with those printed in Type No. 1 is the exist-
184 WILLIAM CAXTON.
ence of two small holes on the outer margin of each leaf,
made by points in use by the pressman. These, it should be
noticed, occur in all the works for which type No. 1 was used,
but none, except the present, printed with type No. 2, nor
indeed in any English printed books. Again, we find among
the undoubted first issues of the press at Westminster that
the books in folio, such as " The Life of Jason," " Dictes,"
" Canterbury Tales," " Cordyale," &c, have all 29 lines to the
page, while "Les quatre derrenieres choses" has but 28.
On taking, however, the actual measurement, it will be seen
that the depth of the page is exactly the same as in the type
No. 1 books. Evidence has been already produced to show
that the five books in type No. 1 were printed in Bruges by
Colard Mansion alone, or assisted by Caxton ; and to the same
source we have no hesitation in ascribing " Les quatre der-
renieres choses."
Remakks. — The title, "De quatuor novissimis," was
applied to many religious treatises of the fourteenth and fif-
teenth centuries ; and so many Latin manuscripts of distinct
works have come down to us that it is difficult to distinguish
between them : nor were the early printed editions less nume-
rous, Hain, in his "Repertorium Bibliographicum," giving
the titles of twenty-one editions printed in the fifteenth cen-
tury. They all agree, however, in one particular, viz. — that
no copy gives the name of its author. The Latin original of
one work on this subject is attributed to " Denis de Leewis,
natif de Rikel," who died in 1471 : it was printed at Antwerp
about 1486. But the Latin original of this particular version
is given to Gerardus a Vliedenhoven, of which Mr. Holtrop
gives an account of three editions. There is a fourth in the
University Library, Cambridge, besides which there are four
Dutch editions. Early French anonymous versions were also
very numerous, and it is fortunate that a manuscript in the
Royal Library, Brussels, has preserved the name of the author
to whom we are indebted for the present translation. It
bears the following colophon : " Cy fine le traittie des quatre
dernieres choses, translate de latin en francois par Jo. Mielot
fan de grace mil cccc liij."
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 185
Philippe le Bon, as is well known, employed many secre-
taries for the purpose of adding to the treasures of his library
by translations, collations, commentaries, &c. In this way
were employed Guy d'Angers, David Aubert, de Hesdin,
Droi'n Ducret, de Dijon, and others. They brought into use
that peculiar style of writing termed " grosse Mtarde," which,
at a later date, Colard Mansion took as a pattern for his
types. Among the duke's secretaries, one of the most inde-
fatigable was Jean Mielot. He united in himself the quali-
fications of author, translator, and scribe, as he lets us know
in the manuscript, " Traite de vieillesse et de jeunesse," now
in the Royal Library, Copenhagen.
The only Existing Copy known of this edition was dis-
covered by Mr. J. Winter Jones while re-cataloguing a
portion of the old royal library in the British Museum. It
was bound in the same volume as the " Meditacions," already
described at page 177, to which the reader in referred for
further particulars.
No. 7. — The History op Jason. Folio. Without Printer's
Name, Place, or Date. (1477 ?).
Collation. — Eighteen 4 ns and one 3 n =150 leaves, of
which the first is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title. The
only type used is No. 2. The lines are very uneven in
length, the longest measuring 5 inches. A full page has 29
lines. "Without signatures, folios, or catchwords. Space is
left at the commencement of chapters for the insertion of a
2 -line initial, with director.
The Text begins thus, on the second recto, the first leaf
being blank : —
f <©t asmoetje as late fin tije eomauoement of ttje rigfit
ijne & noble princesse mj> rigfit reooufiteo laon / M)}
laon jttargarete fin tfje grare of goti IBurfiesse of itfour^
and ends on the 149th verso,
among ttjc most toortfjn • Hnti after tf)is present life eu-
lasting life in tjeuen toijo grant turn & bs tijat fiougfjte bs
tottfi t)is filooac filessnti ;?jf)us Hmen
186 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Remaeks. — As already noticed when treating of the
original French version of " Jason," its compiler was Raoul
Lefevre, secretary to the Duke of Burgundy, and while in the
service of the duchess, it seems most probable that Caxton
became possessed of a copy. The date of imprint has been
generally attributed by bibliographers to the year 1475, but
this is, I think, too early. The features of Caxton's history
about that time seem to point to 1476-77 as the date of his
settlement in England; and November 18th, 1477, is, as we
know, the day on which the printing of " Dictes" was finished.
Now the typographical appearance of "Jason" proves it to
have been one of the very earliest products of the West-
minster press; and Caxton's remarks in the prologue to
"Golden Legend/' show the translation to have followed
"The Recuyell" and "Chess Book." The evidence, there-
fore, seems to point to a date immediately preceding " Dictes"
or the early part of 1477, when the young prince, to whom it
was dedicated, would be six years old, and much more likely
to make use of the work than if presented to him two years
earlier.
Gerard Leeu, at Antwerp, reprinted this English text in
1492, a fact noticed thus by Gerard Legh in "The Accidence
of Armory," 1576 — "The History of Jason, which was trans-
lated out of Frenche, and printed at Andwarpe by one of my
name."
Of the six known copies there is one in the British
Museum, one in the Bodleian, and four in private libraries.
No. 8. — The Dictes and Sayings or the Philosophers.
Folio. " Fnprynted by me William, Caxton at West-
mestre." 1477 . First Edit ion,- ivithout Colophon.
Collation. — Nine 4 ns and one 3 n =78 leaves, of which
the first and two last are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Only type No. 2 is used. The lines are of very uneven length,
the longest measuring 5 inches; 29 lines to a full page.
Without folios, catchwords, or signatures. Space is left at
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 187
the beginning of chapters for the insertion of 3-line initials,
with director.
Commencing Avith a blank leaf, Earl Rivera's prologue
follows.
The Text begins thus, on the second recto : —
$}ere it is so that euern fiumagn (tfreature fin the
to suffranee of our lorti goti is fiom & oroeigneo to
fie sufigette anti tfiral unto ffie stormes of fortune
^nt) so in oiuerse & mang sonorg torjses man is perplex
The work concludes on the verso of the 73rd folio at foot,
and is followed on the 74th recto by Caxton's epilogue and
additions, commencing with space for 3-line initial.
<£re entietfi the fiook namrti tfje otetes or sanengis
f) of the pftilosopfires enprnnteti /fig me toilliam
©aiton at toestmestre tfje nere of our lortr • M '
(&<&(&<& ' ILnOtj • <!M)iefie fioofc is late translated out of
The Text ends on the 76 th verso, with a short page of
sixteen lines —
posieion in this toorlo/Enti after tfins \ni to Igue euer=
lastgnglg in fieuen Emen
m sie est finis
Remarks. — This book is remarkable as being the first
which bears a plain statement of the place and time of its
execution. It is thought by some to be reaUy the first book
printed in England. A few of the quarto pieces may perhaps
have preceded it, but there is none that can be proved of
earlier workmanship ; and if, as there seems good reason for
supposing, Caxton did not settle at Westminster before
1476-77, he would not have had time to produce much.
The history of the English translation of this work is
interesting. It appears that Earl Rivers, moved thereto by a
remembrance of relief from many worldly adversities, deter-
mined to pay his vows at the shrine of St. James of Com-
postella. In the British Museum (C. 18. e. 2) is "An Abbre-
viation of the graces and indulgences which Alexiider vj
188 WILLIAM CAXTON.
granteth to all true believing people of every sexe or com-
muiiitie of the grete hospytall of Saynt James of Copostella."
This shrine had been for many years the favourite resort of
those who intended a short pilgrimage. Many ships, and
those of the largest burthen, were engaged in this passenger
traffic, the chief port of embarkation being Southampton.
Thence in the year 1473 the earl sailed, and while on the
voyage Lewis de Bretaylles, a Gascon knight celebrated for
his great prowess, at the court of Edward IV, showed the
earl a copy, in French, of " Les dits moraux des philosophes,"
with which Lord Rivers was greatly delighted, retaining it
for more intimate perusal. On his return to England, in the
same year, the king appointed him one of the governors of
the Prince of Wales ; and now, having more leisure, the earl
began a translation of the work into English, which, however,
notwithstanding the assistance of an earlier translation by
Scrope, occupied him some years, supposing it to be com-
pleted only a short time previously to its being printed in
1477. Earl Rivers evidently had a good opinion of Caxton's
literary abilities, for he requested him " to oversee " his trans-
lation before printing it, and the result was the addition of a
chapter " towching wymmen," introduced by a very character-
istic prologue from Caxton's own pen. This prologue is
replete with a quiet humour, which reveals to us more of
Caxton's real disposition than all his other writings. It
proves also the intimate terms which must have existed
between Lord Rivers and himself.
We may infer from this, the first edition, had a rapid sale,
as about 1481 a second edition (described further on) was
produced in the same type, and page for page, the same as
the original.
There is an oft-quoted but much overrated manuscript of
this translation in the Archiepiscopal Palace, Lambeth. It
is on vellum, and has one inconsiderable illumination, famous
only on account of giving the sole representation known of
Edward V. Earl Rivers is presenting a copy on bended
knee (probably this very one) to the prince, who is seated on
his throne. By the earl's side is pourtrayed an ecclesiastic
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 189
with shaven crown, probably " Haywarde," whose name
appears at the end of the volume as the writer. We may
suppose the earl to be in the act of reciting the metrical
prologue which appears at the commencement, and the first
five lines of which are —
This boke late translate here in sight
By Anthony Earl (erasure) that vertueux knyght
Please it to accepte to youre noble grace
And at youre conueniens leysoure and space
It to see reede and vnderstonde
The writing is the usual secretary hand of the fifteenth
century, and the date of transcription, as given in the colo-
phon, is December 29th, 1477, or about six weeks after the
publication of Caxton's printed edition, of which it is a ver-
batim copy, with the addition of the metrical prologue already
noticed, and the following paragraph which precedes Caxton's
prologue to the chapter on women — "And suffice you with
the translation of the sayinges of thes Philosophres, And one
William Caxton atte desire of my lorde Eyuers / emprinted
many bokes after the tbnour and forme of this boke / whiche
Wilhn saide as foloweth :" then comes Caxton's chapter.
A different and somewhat earlier translation is in the Ms.
department of the British Museum (Harl. 2266), "late trans-
latyd out of frensh tung in to englysh the yer of our lord
M cccc 1 to John Fostalf knyght for his contemplacion and
solas by Stevyn Scrope squyer sonne in law to the seide Fos-
talle." Literary taste is not often associated with the name
of Sir John Falstaff.
Thirteen copies of this edition are known — Two in the
British Museum, one at Cambridge, and the remainder in
private libraries. The Bev. T. Corser's copy, sold in 1868,
wanting three leaves, sold for £110.
No. 9. — Fragment of a " Hor^:." Octavo. Without
Printer'^ Name, Place, or Bate. (1478 ?)
Four leaves only. Type No. 2. Lines very uneven in
length, the longest measuring 2£ inches; twelve lines to a
full page. Without signatures, catchwords, or numerals.
190 WILLIAM CAXTON.
From the small portion remaining of the original work,
it is impossible to state with accuracy under what par-
ticular class of service-books it should be ranged. To all
appearance it is part of a primer, or "Hora? secundum
consuetudinem Anglias ;" though its diminutive size renders
it improbable that it contained, as well as the Hours, the
Litany, the Vigils of the Dead, and all the miscellaneous
prayers usually found in this class of books. The above
fragment will be found to include the following portions of
Sufiragia at Lauds: — St. Thomas of Canterbury (the last few
words only), St. Nicholas, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Katha-
rine, St. Margaret; after which, in the four leaves that are
wanting, there is room for All Saints, the Prayer for Peace,
the Versicle and Response, Benedicamus domino, Deo gracias,
and the commencement of the Sufiragia of the Three Kings,
the rest thereof occupying, as above, the head of the second
portion of the fragment. Then follow the Sufiragia of St.
Barbara and the concluding verse Benedicam 9 dno Deo gs,
with which the service ends. On comparing this Avith the
Horce of the same period it will be seen that these prayers
always occur at the end of Lauds, and are peculiar in their
order to the English Church, with the exception of the Three
Kings and St. Barbara, which, in this sequence, are peculiar
to this fragment. Sufiragia of the Three Kings, and of St.
Barbara, are found amongst the miscellaneous commemora-
tions in most of the English primers; but those of St.
Barbara, as found in this fragment, differ altogether from
those which occur elsewhere. The evidence which a perfect
volume might afford being wanting, the following suggestion,
by Mr. Bradshaw, of Cambridge, is offered : — It is well known
that the Esterlings were a thriving and influential corporation
in Caxton's time, consisting of German merchants from the
City of Cologne and the other towns in the Hanseatic League,
and occupying the Steel Yard in Cannon Street as their
London residence, with All Hallows the Great as their parish
church, and St. Barbara as their patron saint. Now in their
accustomed service, comprising Matins and Lauds, the Suf-
frages of the Three Kings of Cologne, which, as already
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 11)1
remarked, do not commonly occur at those hours, would he
most appropriate, not on account of the name so much as the
subject of the prayer, which is for success in trade, and for
peace and health in travelling; — "concede propitius ....
ut itinere quo ituri sumus, celebritate, letitia, gratia et pace,
ad loca destinata in pace et salute et negotio bene peracto
cum omne prosperitate, salvi et sani redire valeamus." This
alone proves very little ; but when we find that the next suf-
frages are those of St. Barbara, whose name never occurs in
the English Lauds, but to whom the Esterlings prayed as
their patron saint, it becomes probable that the fragment
before us was part of an Anglican primer (or Horae), with
additional prayers, for their especial use. And if these
German merchants, in whose country the typographic art
had made great progress, wished to have this, their daily
service, printed, to whom could they go but to Caxton, the
only printer then in England.
Should this view be correct it considerably increases the
bibliographical value of the fragment, which is otherwise of
great interest as being, in all probability, the earliest English-
printed service in existence, and which, from the unevenness
in the printing and the early types, must have been one of
the first products of the Westminster press.
The fragment on which the foregoing remarks have been
founded is in the Bodleian Library (Douce Fragments).
When originally extracted from an old book-cover it formed
a half-sheet, but now two quarters.
No. 10. — Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Folio. Sim
uM notd, First Edition. (1478 ?)
Collation. — Forty 4 ns , one S n , one 5 n , one 3 n , one 5 n ,
one 3 n , one 5 n , and one 2 n , making together 872 leaves, of
which the first only is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The only type used is No. 2. The lines in the prose portions
are very unevenly spaced, but the longest measure 5 inches ;
29 lines to a full page. Without folios, signatures, or catch-
192 WILLIAM CAXTON.
words. The book commences with a blank leaf, after which
the Text begins thus : —
$an that apprill tottfi his sfjouris sote
to anti the broughte of marehe hatfj prib gc rote
&nb oabtti euerg begne in suehe lirour
<©f toi)icf)r bertu engenbrtb is the flour
On the 372nd leaf recto are the following lines, being the
conclusion of the Parson's tale : —
tifceaeion of sgnne / Co that l»f he us brgnge that bought
toifh his preegous bloob amen.
<£.rplieit Craetatus (Salfrgbt <&\>mm be
ISJemteneia bt bieitur pro fabula Meetoris.
The reverse is occupied by what is called Chaucer's retrac-
tion, commencing —
it <©to prag 3 to hem alle that herfcene this littl treatise
and ending —
beus . $er omnia seeula seeulos amen.
which concludes the volume.
Nine copies are known, of which two are in the British
Museum, one at the Bodleian, one at Merton College, Oxford,
and the others in private libraries.
N 0t ii, — The Moral Proverbs of Cristyne. Folio.
" Enprinted by Caxton At Westmestre" 1478.
Collation. — Two sheets, or four leaves, all .printed.
Typographical Particulars. — The only type used is
No. 2. 28 lines to a page. Without signatures, catchwords,
or folios.
The Text begins, with a head-line on the first recto,
thus : —
Che morale prouerbes of GTristgne
t W grete bertus of oure elbers notable
(!lifte to remembre is thing profitable
2ln happn bous is . tohere btoelletb prubenee
BOOKS PKINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. L93
and ends on the fourth verso,
&t torstmrstte . of Uutxn fyc . xx . tiape
&trti of fcnng tJFfctoaro / the . ibtj . Bftc bragc
<£nprmtetj op (tfaiton
;?n fcumr the color season
Remarks. — Cristyne de Pise was, with the single excep-
tion of Joan of Arc, the most famous woman of her age. She
was born A.D. 1363, in Italy, and, at the early age of fifteen,
married Etienne Castel. After a few happy years her hus-
band was taken from her by death; and now, although, to
quote her own words, " nourri en delices et mignottemens,"
she found herself ahnost in destitution, with aged parents and
three young children dependent upon her. Fortunately her
father, who had been physician to Charles V of France, had
taken great pains in her education, by which she had well
profited. Urged on by necessity, she devoted herself to a
literary life, and soon became famous. Her writings, which
show a vast amount of reading, were ever on the side of
virtue, morality, and peace. Her unimpeachable life assisted
the tendency of her writings, and both were an honour to the
age in which she lived. For many years her labours were
incessant. After a last song of rejoicing on the victories of
the French arms under " La Pucelle " she retired to a convent
for the remainder of her days. The date of her death is
unknown. The biographers of Cristyne vie with one another
in her praises. There is a charming monograph upon her,
by M. Raimond Thomassy, entitled " Essai sur les Ecrits
Politiques de Christine de Pisan." 8vo. Paris, 1838. See
also " Les Msc. Franc," vol. iv, p. 186 ; and " Mem. de FAcad.
des Insc," vol. ii, p. 762.
"Les prouerbes moraulx" were originally composed as a
supplement to " Les enseignemens moraux," written by Cris-
tyne for the instruction of her son, Jean Castel, who passed a
part of his youthful days in the service of the Earl of Salis-
bury, in England.
The translation of these proverbs into English by Earl
o
1<)4 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Pavers appears to have taken place about the same period as
his longer effort the " Dictes of the Philosophers." And here
we may notice that the earl has been credited by Horace
Walpole and Dr. Dibdin with the pedantic design of making
nearly all the lines of his translation end with the letter " e."
A very cursory examination of the poetry of the fifteenth
century woidd haYe shown that the terminal e was common
in all writings of that period.
In the "Fayttes of Arms," translated and printed by Caxton
at a later period, we meet with another production of the
same authoress. The only copies known are in the libraries
of Earl Spencer, Earl of Jersey, and Mr. Christie-Miller.
No. 12. — Propositio Johannis Russell. Quarto. Without
Printer's Name, Date, or Place. (147- ?)
Collation. — Four printed leaves, the recto of the first
and the verso of the last being blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Only one type, No. 2, is used. The lines are very irregular
in length, a full line measuring 4 inches. A full page has 22
lines, without signatures or catchwords. The speech, which
is all in one paragraph, bears evidence of having been printed
a page at a time. It commences with a 2-line space for the
insertion of an initial, with a small director, and has been
reprinted in full by Dr. Dibdin.
The Text begins on the first verso : —
propositio OTlarissimt ©ratoris . i^fiagistrt gfo
hannts Kussell omrtorum oortovis ar aotunc
amhassstatons ipianissimi Krgis (Fotoarot
and ends with twelve lines on the fourth recto, of which the
last three are —
pharc ao oet lauocm / ft naltationnn froci .vpia
nr / nosstrt q? mmimmi vrgts rotmr. solarium vr
uclationrm qtf / ft gloriam plrftis sue . amrn
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 195
In the eighth volume of the " Censura Literaria," page
351, appeared the first public notice of this tract, which till
then had been mistaken for a manuscript. Whether printed
at Bruges, which is not unlikely, or at Westminster is difficult
to decide.
John Eussell, "Orator clarissimus," Bishop of Lincoln
and Lord Chancellor, held many offices of trust under three
sovereigns. He was born in the parish of St. Peter's, Win-
chester, in the beginning of the reign of Henry VI, and com-
menced his education there. At an early age he went to the
University of Oxford, where he obtained the degree of Doctor
of Decrees. In 1449 he was made fellow of New College:
was afterwards appointed to a prebendal stall in Salisbury,
and in 1466 to the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. On the latter
appointment he removed to court, where he was much noticed
by Edward IV. In September, 1467, he was commissioned
by the king, together with Lord Hastings, Lord Scales, and
others, to conclude a treaty of marriage between the king's
sister Margaret and the Duke of Burgundy. A few months
later he was engaged in arranging the trade relationship
between this country and Flanders. It was probably then, if
not at an earlier period, that he became acquainted with our
printer. His name appears often after this as assisting in
the negotiation of various treaties. In February, 1469-70,
" Messire Galiard, chevalier ; Thomas Vaghan, Escuier et Tre-
sorier de la Chambre ; et Jehan Russell, Docteur en Decret,
Arcediacre de Berksuir," accompanied by Garter King at
Arms, were commissioned by King Edward IV to invest the
Duke of Burgundy with the order of the Garter. On this
occasion the oration which forms the foundation of the pre-
sent article was delivered. The investiture took place at
Ghent, and here, if Caxton were present, of which however
there is no positive evidence, he would again make acquaint-
with John Russell. In 1476 the Archdeacon was raised to
the bishopric of Rochester, and in 1480 translated to Lincoln.
In March, 1483, he appeared as "Orator" before Pope Sixtus
IV (see Harleian MS. No. 433), and was probably in Rome
when his Sovereign, Edward IV, who had appointed him one
o 2
100 WILLIAM CAXTON.
of his executors, breathed his last. In the short reign of
Edward V he was appointed Lord Chancellor, to which
office he was re-appointed by Richard III. In 1485 he
retired to private life, and died in January 1494. He was
interred in Lincoln Cathedral, under an altar tomb in the
Chantry Chapel, founded by him on the south side of the
Lady Chapel.
He was the first Chancellor of Oxford appointed for life,
in which university he was very popular. England also
should keep his name in memory if only for the great change
he iniated in promulgating the statutes of the realm in the
vulgar tongue, instead of Latin or French, a practice con-
tinued ever after. Sir Thomas More thus draws his character:
" A wyse man and a good, and of much experyence ; and one
of the best learned menne undoubtedly that Euglande had in
hys time."
An interesting autograph, as showing the Archdeacon at
Bruges in 1467, wdien Caxton was governor, occurs in a
volume of "Cicero de Officiis," in the Public Library of
Cambridge: — " Empt' p Jo. Ruscel . archidiaconii berk-
shyrie apud oppidu bruggense flandrie a° 14G7 mens' ApT
17° die."
A fine uncut copy is in the magnificent library of Earl
Spencer. It appears to have been bound up by mistake in a
volume of blank paper intended for manuscript alone, being
in the original binding, and the whole volume otherwise con-
sisting of the common manuscript hand of the fifteenth cen-
tury, which afford no indication of local execution. It was
discovered in cataloguing the library of John Brand, which
was sold in 1807, and where it appeared among the manu-
scripts ( Part I, Lot 30) " A work on Theology and Religion,
with five leaves at the end, a very great curiosity, very early
printed on wooden blocks or type." The Marquis of Bland-
ford bought it at the reasonable price of £2 5s. At the sale
of his library in 1819 (Lot 5752), Earl Spencer was obliged
to give £126 for it. It was for many years considered as
unique, until another copy was discovered in the library at
FTolkham.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 197
No. 13. — Stans Puer ad Mensam — Moral Distichs —
Salve Regina. Quarto. Sine ulld notd. (Ante
1479).
Collation. — Four leaves, all printed.
There is no title-page. Type No. 2 only is used. There
are 28 lines to a page, or three stanzas in " Balad Royal," (1)
with a blank line between the stanzas. Long lines measure
•4 inches. Without signatures or catchwards.
The Text begins, on the first recto, thus : —
♦ £E>tans p UW at mensam .
m § tere cfjtlte first rftp selfc enaole
&2Uttf) all fhtn fjerte to bertuo 9 ttsctpltnc
afore tftg soucragn stontnng at tfje taole
The poem concludes with two stanzas on the third recto,
the latter of which is : —
<©o littll oglle irnregn of eloquence
^raj> nong tfyiXbxm tfjat tf)e shal sec or retc
Cfjougj) tijou be not compentious of sentence
©f the clatoses for to tafce fjete
Mhtche to alle bertue sftal tf)g gougtl) lete
<©f the torgtnng tijougf) ther 6c no tate
i?f ougfjt oe amgs put ff)e faute in litigate
. Explicit .
Moral Distichs immediately follow the above, and fill
up the page. The whole is here given.
&rnse erlg &nt arnse tcmperatlg
i&erue got teuoutln. &nt to tf>» soup sooerlg
Zty toorlt bestln &nt to tf)i) oet mcriln.
(©oo tijg toag satin &nt 6e ttjerc tocontlg
Unstoere temurelg &nt slcpe sctorlg
t^o to tfcg mete appetcntlj) • Ufxpltctt .
0) " Ballad Koyal " was the title of a particular rythm, each stanza
of which, consisting of seven lines, rhymed as follows : — a — b — a — b —
b — c — c.
198
WILLI AM CAXTON.
The Salve Regina begins on the verso of the preceding,
at the head of the page.
. &n holg i&alue tegina in englissh .
&lue toith all obeisance to got i humolesse
l&cgtna to regne eugr more in olnsse
Jfttater to crtst as toe onleue eipresse
The "Salue" ends at the foot of the 4th recto,
Jftater of Igf ant eterne crcacion
Salue euet as feir as toe can suffpe . &mcn.
The reverse of this leaf gives the following : —
ft&tntte fiatfi toonoer. ano fcgn&e ne can
$?oto manoen is motet ano goo is man
Eeue thjm asfepng ant oeleue that toonoer
dfor mngt)t hatf) maistrn. & sfcgll goti) bnoer
. Mto laus &c .
This is followed by six proverbial couplets, the last being —
Unotoe er thou fcnnttc Sr tijan thou maist slafcc
$f thou fcngt et thou fcnotoc than it is to late
This finishes the Text as it stands in the only two copies
known.
From the absence of the word implicit, or any other
similar ending which Caxton made a rule of placing at the
end of his works, great and small, it is not unlikely that this
piece is imperfect. This is rendered more probable by the
absence of the blank leaf at the beginning, which, supposing
a printed leaf wanting at the end, would be its counterpart.
At the same time it should be noticed that the only two
known copies agree in this deficiency, and that "Wynken de
Worde, who reprinted from Caxton's edition, concludes in the
same abrupt way ; though it is not impossible that he printed
from an imperfect copy, and did not know it, as in this very
tract he has reproduced, with his usual carelessness, an acci-
dental error of Caxton's edition. Caxton, in printing, had
transposed the two pages of the second leaf, proving that,
even in the quarto size, he had not arrived at the art of
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 190
printing more than one page a time, and Wynken de Worde
blindly repeats the mistake.
Among the many pieces which make up the catalogue of
Lydgate's works must be included " Stans Puer ad Mensam,"
as the two concluding lines prove : —
" Of the writing, though there be no date,
If ought be amiss put the fault in lydgate."
Dan John Lydgate, who knew Chaucer in his old age,
and may have been acquainted with Caxton in his youth, was
an indefatigable rhymester. Eitson gives a list of 251 pieces
attributed to his pen. The dates of his birth and death are
equally obscure, and the only fact concerning him, of any
certainty, is that he was born at Lidgate, near Bury St. Ed-
munds, whence he doubtless derived his name. {Had. MS.
2251, folio 283).
The "Stans Puer" is a translation of the "Carmen juve-
nile de moribus puerorum" of Sulpitius, of which the first
edition was probably printed at Aquila in 1483." Bat the
type used for Caxton's tract (the last dated use of which in
its first state was in 1479), proves it to have been printed at
least some years previous to the impression at Aquila ; so that
we may fairly consider this as the "editio princeps" of the
tract. It was reprinted by Wynken de Worde three times
early in the succeeding century.
The " Salve Begina," in its style and metre, closely resem-
bles the acknowledged pieces of Lydgate, and was also, in all
probability, from his pen.
The copy in the University Library of Cambridge is the
only one known, and though now in a separate binding, was
formerly in a volume of poems all printed by Caxton, of which
an account is here appended.
Bishop Moore's library, rich in old black-letter poems, con-
tained, among its other treasures, one priceless little volume,
in quarto, bound in plain brown calf, and lettered on the back
" Old poetry printed by Caxton." The collection appears to
have been made before it came into the bishop's possession ;
but the fact of the poems being bound together led Middleton
and all succeeding writers to describe them as one work. Mr.
200
WILLIAM CAXTON.
Bradshaw's careful examination, however, showed that the
volume contained eight distinct publications, which have
since been bound separately. Some of these are unique, and
some are found alone in other collections. Before re-binding,
the volume contained the following pieces in the following
order : —
I. Stans Puer ad Mensani; Moral Distichs; The Salve
Regina. II. Parvus Catho and Magnus Catho. III.
The Chorle and the Bird. IV. The Horse the Goose
and the Sheep ; Stanzas ; The proper use of certain
nouns; The proper use of certain verbs. V. The
Temple of Glass. VI. The Temple of Brass ; A trea-
tise which John Skogan sent unto the lords and
gentlemen .... exhorting them to use virtues in their
youth; The good counsel of Chaucer; Balad of the
â– village without painting. VII. The Book of Courtesy.
VIII. Anelida and Arcyte and The Complaint of
Chaucer to his purse.
There is nothing to show in what order these tracts were
printed. Being all in verse we can draw no conclusions from
irregularity of spacing, and even where two editions were
printed it is sometimes impossible to say which had pre-
cedence. That they were all printed before February 2nd,
1479, we may safely assume, as they are, without exception,
in the early state of type No, 2, which then made its last
dated appearance in " Cordyale ;" and that many were among
Caxton's first essays seems probable from their popular nature,
and the small amount of labour required in their production.
For these reasons they are treated consecutively, together
with three other editions, in Nos. 14 to 25, those pieces whose
longest lines all measure 4 inches being placed before those
measuring 3f inches.
No. 14.— Parvus Catho.— Magnus Catho. Quarto. First
Edition, Sine ulld notd. {Ante 1479).
Collation.— Three 4 ns and one 5 n =34 leaves, of which
the first was doubtless blank, though wanting in the only
known copy.
HOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 201
There is no title-page. The type is No. 2 only. Full
lines measure 4 inches, and each page contains 23 lines,
counting the blank line between the stanzas. Without signa-
tures or catchwords.
The Text commences with title-line on the second recto, a
blank leaf having originally preceded it —
. W* $"ttptt pawns (Catfjo .
(£u aiatoutere qua plurimos hoies gutter errare
Mijan $ atmerte to mn rememiiranee
&rib see hoto fele follies etten greuousln
"Parvus Catho" terminates in the middle of the third
recto,
OThan ge it rehe let not gottr hert tie thense
*5ut ooth as this satfh totth al gour hole entente
. ?^ie finis parui eathonts .
making in all seven stanzas, in " Balad Koyal."
"Magnus Catho" immediatelv follows on the verso, with
space left for the insertion of a 2-line initial g>, with director.
. Wt Sfnripit magnus (Catho .
f § turns est aimus nobis bt rarmina tiieut
fflt tiot preeipue fit pura mente eolentius
dFoi tfjg that goti is intoaihig the tott
The Text ends on the 34th verso,
#}ere ijaue $ foifoe that shal gou gugfie & leor
iotteight to gotie fame & leue gou in \)ix ftous
. (JFrplieit (Catho .
The work is in four books, containing 42, 39, 27, and 52
stanzas of "Balad Royal," each of which is headed by a
couplet from the original Latin.
The "distichs" of Cato were very popular for many cen-
turies. Their author, and even the origin of their title, is
entirely lost, though some of their stanzas are traced as far
back as the second or third century of the Christian era. In
202 WILLIAM CAXTON.
the middle ages they were used as a school-book, to teach
Latin, as well as to inculcate moral maxims ; so that to be
unacquainted with "Cato" was synonymous with general
ignorance. Chaucer continually mentions the work. " He
knew not Catoun, for his wyt was rude," says the miller of
the rich "Gnof." These remarks apply to "Magnus Cato"
only. About 1180 Darnel Churche, an ecclesiastic attached
to the court of Henry II, added a few Latin precepts as intro-
ductory to the original, and from that period the two were
mostly transcribed together, being distinguished as " Parvus
Cato" and "Magnus Cato." Of the English version of these
"distichs" we cannot have a better account than that given
us by Caxton himself in his preface to "Cathon" glossed;
" which book," he says, " hath been translated out of Latin
into English by Master Benet Burgh, .... which full craftily
hath made it in Balacl Royal for the erudition of my Lord
Boucher son and heir at that time to my Lord the Earl of
Essex." This translation of Benet Burgh is the text printed
by Caxton, twice in quarto, and once in folio with woodcuts,
before he undertook the translation of the extensive French
Gloss, which will be brought to the reader's notice under the
year 1484.
"Maister Benet Burgh" was Vicar of Maiden, in Essex,
when he translated " Cato," as we learn from the colophon in
Harl. MS., No. 271. He afterwards filled the oflices of Arch-
deacon of Colchester, 1464 ; Prebendary of St. Paul's, 1472 ;
and soon after High Canon of St. Stephen's, Westminster.
He appears to have been an author as well as a translator.
The following is the title of a poem in Harl. MS. 7333, folio
149 b — "A cristemasse game made by Maister Benet: howe
god almyghty seyde to his apostelys and echefi off them were
baptiste and none knew of othir, &c." He also appears to
have written a considerable portion of the poetical translation
of " De regimine principum " attributed to Lydgate, as we
infer from Harl. MS. 2251, folio 23(5, in which occurs this
side-note, in the same handwriting as the body of the poem —
" Here deyde the trauslato r a noble Poet Dane John Lydgate
And his folower gan his prolog in this wise p' Benedictu
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 208
Burgh." He or Lydgate also wrote an original fourth book
to " Catho Magnus," which, although not printed by Caxton,
may be seen in several manuscripts. Ritson, indeed {Bib.
Poet., page G6), ascribes the whole to Lydgate.
It does not seem improbable that the printing of " Parvus
et Magnus Catho" was undertaken by desire of " High Canon
Burgh," who, holding a canonry in Westminster, was likely
to have become acquainted with Caxton.
The only Existing Copy is in the Public Library, Cam-
bridge (AB. 8. 48. 2). It is perfect, but Avithout the original
blank leaf, and measures 8£ x 5^ inches. For an account of
the volume which contained it, see page 200 ante.
No. 15. — Parvus Catho. — Magnus Catho. Quarto. Se-
cond Edition. Sine idla nota. {Ante 1479).
Collation. — Three 4 ns and one 5 n = 34 leaves, of which
the first was doubtless blank, although wanting in the only
known copy.
Typographical Particulars. — The variation in this
edition is only typographical. The poem is reprinted page
for page, and line for line, yet the composition of the type is
different throughout.
The only Existing Copy known is in the library of the
Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth, where it is bound with
the quarto edition of " Stans Puer," already described. It
came from the old library at Hardwicke Hall. In the
Harleian Catalogue (in. 0202) the above two tracts appear
together — probably this very copy.
No. 10. — The Horse, the Sheep, and the Goose. —
Various Stanzas. — The proper application op
certain Nouns substantive, and Verbs. First
Edition. Quarto. Sine ulld nota. {Ante 1479).
Collation. — One 4 n and one 5 n = 18 leaves, of which the
first was doubtless blank, although wanting in the only known
copy.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is all No. 2. Full lines measure 4 inches, and each
204 WILLIAM CAXTON.
page contains 23 lines, inclusive of the blank line between
the stanzas. Without signatures or catchwords.
The House, the Sheep, and the Goose commences on
the second recto, the first leaf being blank.
The Text begins, with space for a 2-line initial, with
director,
c ©ntrrbfrsirs / pices an* tiiscortics
$$tttoene pcrsones tocrc ttoo or tijrc
fought out % gvounofs or rrcortws
Z\)\% teas tty mstom of anttptte
On the fourteenth leaf verso,
Hllc in one ucsspU to spdtc in toortifs plcpn
Cfjat notnan sfjoloe of otijrr ijaue otstiajm
. 2Ti)us cntoti) tijc i)om tije gijoos 3? ttjc sheep .
There are in this poem 77 stanzas of seven lines each.
Various Stanzas follow 7 , ending on the sixteenth recto,
the verso being occupied with short sentences, as " An herdc
of Hertes. A murther of crowes. A byldyng of rooks," &c.
The whole ends on the eighteenth verso —
a tain bnlaceti Wtf ¥ take the lonoe ijc
a ^t-ton oismemuifti fleet!) . ^iplicit .
The only Existing Copy is in the Public Library, Cam-
bridge (AB. 8. 48. 4), and was formerly bound, with other
pieces in a volume already described at page 51.
The whole of these fugitive pieces are attributed to the
prolific pen of Dan John Lydgate.
No. 17. — The Horse, the Sheep, and the Goose. —
Various Stanzas. — The proper application of
certain Nouns substantive and Verbs. Quarto.
Second Edition. {Ante 1479.)
Collation. — One 4 n and one 5 n = 18 leaves, of which the
first is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — These are the same as
in (he first edition, with the exception of the orthography
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2.
and the use of a title-line, which in the other edition is
altogether wanting, a sufficient reason for attributing this to
a later period ; for, had the first edition been printed with a
head-line, we may certainly assume that the improved appear-
ance would not have been omitted by Caxton in the reprint.
In this edition we find the sixth leaf, noticed as wanting in
the only known copy of the first edition.
The text begins on the second recto,
&fje hors . the sfiepe & the p^joos.
©ntreuerstes . plecs arib oiseorties
itfittoene persones toere ttoo or thre
fought out the grounors fie reeorties
Chts toas the rustom of antiqutte
and ends with Cr.tpliett on the eighteenth recto.
There is a fragment of six leaves in the University Li-
brary, Cambridge, and a perfect copy, with the original leaf,
in the Cathedral Library, York, a reprint of which was pre-
sented by Sir M. M. Sykes to the members of the Roxburgh
Club.
No. 18. — Infancia Salvatoris. Quarto. Without Printer's
Natne, Date, or Place. (147-?).
Collation. — Eighteen printed leaves, unsigned, with a
blank both at beginning and end.
The type is all No. 2. There are 22 lines of uneven
length to a Ml page, and a long line measures 3| inches.
Without signatures, folios, or catchwords.
The Text begins thus on the recto of the first printed
leaf: —
tyic 3?nrtpit Craetatus qui gjntttulatur
$nfaneta saluatorts .
Xiit etitetu a (tfesare Eugusto bt tie
t srrtfieretur untusus ortns $ee autem
fceseripeio prima faeta est a preside .
£>trie (Kiritto . (£t tfiant oms ut pfiterentur
stngult in eiuttatem sua Useeirtitt et Joseph
and ends with a full page on the eighteenth recto.
20(5 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
Ofrrlfsiastici btjo . Sbi filtt tioi stnt . rrulii
tllos ft curba tllos a pufricia illos . g>t fi'ltr
tttit sint / smta corpus illas ft non ostntoant
hilarnn factfm tuam ao illas . (Hrfgorius .
<®uauis q's tustus sit . tu in har utta no Offift
fgsf smtr 9 <i? nfscit quo unf sit tfrminanbus .
This printed tract differs entirely from the MS. in the
British Museum, Royal 13 A xiv, "De Xti infantia," but
agrees partially with the "Evangelium Infantiae" attributed
to St. James, and printed in vol. i of the " Codex apocryphus
Novi Testamenti," by Fabricius.
The only Existing Copy known is in the Royal Uni-
versity Library, Gottingen. It is in good condition, and was
purchased in 1746 of Osborne, for this library, at 15s (?).
Ames described this very copy when in the library of Lord
Oxford, but neither Herbert nor Dibdin could hear- of its
existence, nor discover it in the Harleian Catalogue. It is
there nevertheless, among the "Libri Latini. Quarto," and
thus described, "Infantia Salvatoris Tractatus, cor to tufcico,
deaurat. Lond. apud Caxton, sins Loco." (See Catalogus
Bibliothecce Harleiantv, vol. v, page 252, No. 7008).
No. 19. — The Temple of Glass. Quarto. Sine ulld notd.
(Ante 1479.)
Collation. — Three 4 ns and one 5 n , unsigned, or 34 leaves,
of which the 1st is (?) blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is No. 2 only. Full lines measure 4 inches, and
each page contains 23 lines. "Without signatures or catch-
words.
After the blank the poem commences on the 2nd recto,
with space for a 2-line initial, with director : —
. 2Tf)f tnnplf of glas .
f (!T>r thought ronstrfimt & grnious hninnfs
jFor pntsifftrti ano high otstifs
<!To hfD ;?j( tornt noto this otijft nnght
BOOKS FEINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 207
The Text ends at the foot of the 34th recto,
§ mcne tfjat ocnpgnc an* goooln of face
jjloto go tt)p toag an* put the in her grace
. y?.rpltctt the temple of glas .
There seems no doubt that this was one of the less favoured
compositions of Dan John, although by some writers it has
been attributed to Hawes. It was reprinted by "Wynken de
Worde.
The only Existing Copy is in the Public Library, Cam-
bridge (AB. 8. 48. 5). It is perfect, excepting the blank (?)
leaf, and was formerly bound with other pieces in a volume
already described at page 51. Measurement Sj x 5^ inches.
No. 20. — The Chokle and the Bird. Quarto. First Edi-
tion. Sine ulla notd. (Ante 1479.)
Collation. — One 5 n , or 10 leaves, of which the 1st is
blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type used is No. 2 only. Full lines measure 4 inches,
and each page contains three verses of " Balacl Royal," or 23
lines, including a blank line between the stanzas. "Without
signatures or catchwords.
After the blank the poem commences on the 2nd recto,
space being left, with a director, for the insertion of a 2-line
initial.
The text begins thus : —
P Hoolemes of oltie Itfcncs ant) figures
2Mfttche prougo oen fructuo 9 of sentence
The Text ends on the 10th verso,
<8oo Utell quaner anto rccomanfce me
fcinto mn maistcr totth humole affection
iiesefee fjpm lotolp. of mercp an* ppte
Of tf)P ruox maknng to haue compassion
208 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
&nti as touching thg translaeion
<^ut of frenssf) / hoto that hit englisshfo fie
SUle thing is saio bntoer cortrrtton
21£iith suppottaeion of his henggnnte
. Explicit the ehorle ano the tiror .
This fable is always included among the compositions of
Lydgate. It was reprinted by Pynson, and a copy in the
Grenville library (11226), has the following autograph note —
" The same story is told by Alphonsus in his fable of the
labourer and the nightingale, and in Gesta Romanorum, cap.
169." A perfect copy is at Cambridge, taken from the volume
of poems already described at p. 200, and a fragment is in the
British Museum.
N 0- 21. — The Chokle and the Bird. Quarto. Second
Edition. Sins ulld notd. (Ante 1479.)
The similarity of these two editions is exact so far as the
number of stanzas, number of lines to a page, and the general
state of the text ; but there is an evident variation in the
typographical minutiae, such as the omission of the director,
the use of full-points and colons as ornamentation, and above
all the constant variation in orthography. Take the 1st line
as an example : —
Ed. i. p Ivoolemes of oloe lifcnes an* ft gures
Ed. 2. vohlemes of oloe liknes ano figures
and the last line,
Ed. i. . (JFipItctt the ehorle an* the htrtie .
Ed. 2. tJFxpliett the (tfhorle ano the fiiroe . : .
The only known Existing Copy is in the Chapter Library
at York. It is perfect, with the original blank. A reprint from
this copy was presented to the Roxburghe Club by Sir M. M.
Sykes.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 209
No. 22. — The Temple of Brass, or the Parliament of
Fowls. Some Balads. Envoy of Chaucer to
Skogan. Quarto. Sim ulld notd. (Ante 1479).
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type used is No. 2 only. Full lines measure 3f inches,
instead of 4 inches, as in the former pieces, and each page
contains 23 lines. Without signatures or catchwords.
The Text begins on the first recto, without a blank leaf, —
fje Inf go short the craft go loge to lerne
Chassage so haro 00 sharp the comxuergng
On the 1 7th recto,
Explicit the temple of oras
The Tract ends on 24th verso,
Mtas neuer erst scogan olameti for his toge
Doubtless the poem did not end here, but the copy at
Cambridge is imperfect, having only 24 leaves, besides which
there are a few leaves at the British Museum, but no perfect
copy has yet been discovered.
No. 23. — The Book of Courtesy. Quarto. First Edition.
Sine ulld notd. (Ante 1479).
Collation. — One 4 n and one 3 n =14 leaves, of which the
last is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is all No. 2. Full lines measure 3| inches. 23 lines
to a page, including a blank line between the stanzas. With-
out signatures or catchwords.
The Text begins thus : —
I 8tgl 3John sgtft gour tenure enfancpe
i&tonocth as pet bnocc / in otfferenee
Co bice or bertu to meugn or applne
210 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The Text ends on the 13th recto,
&trti hoto to hurte / igetft euer in a toagte
l£cpe pour quager / that it oe not tfter fiagte
<£rpltcit the ooofc of curtesge.
The 13th verso, and the 14th leaf are blank.
The only Existing Copy is in the Public Library, Cam-
bridge (AB. 8. 48. 7), and was formerly in the volume of
tracts described at page 51.
No. 24. †” Queen Anelida and False Arcyte. — The com-
plaint of Chaucer to his Purse. Quarto. Sine ulld
notd. (Ante 1479).
Collation. — One 5 n or 10 leaves, all printed.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is No. 2 only. Full lines measure 3f inches, 23
lines to a page. Without signatures or catchwords. Space
is left at the commencement for a 2-line initial.
The Text begins : —
t ijou fiers gotr of armes / mars the reoc
Chat in ti)f ftostg contre calico trace
SHtttjtn tftg grgslg temple ful of oreoe
The Text ends on the 9 th recto,
?&)to that arctte / anelfoa so sore
l^atf) thtrleto tottft the pegnt of rcmeorace
&ftus entieth tfje complennt of ancltoa
On the same page is Chaucer's ". Complaint to his Purse,"
in three stanzas of " Balad Royal," the tract ending with
drt sic est finis. • . *
on the 10th recto.
The only Existing Copy known is in the Public Library,
Cambridge, and was formerly in the volume of tracts described
at page 51.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 211
No. 25. — BOETHIUS DE CONSOLACIONE PHILOSOPHISE, TRANS-
LATED into English by Geoffrey Chaucer. Folio.
"I William Caxton have done my devoir to enprinte it."
Without Place or Bate,. {Ante 1479).
Collation. — Eleven 4 ns and one 3 n = 94 leaves, of which
the first is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — Without title-page, sig-
natures, catchwords, or folios. Two types No. 2 for the body
and No. 3 for the Latin quotations, are used. The lines are
not spaced to one length. Full lines measure 5 inches, and
there are 29 to a page. Space has been left at the commence-
ment of chapters for the insertion of 2-line initials.
After a blank leaf the Text commences with the title in
Latin in type No. 3, on the 2nd recto, the English translation
being uniformly in type No. 2 : —
iSofctiiss tie eonsolacione philosophic
(Eatmina (jut quonoam stuoio florente petegi
JUeoilts t)eu mestos cogor inire mooos
a Ulas % toepning am constrained to hegpnne bers
of soroufull matere . Chat OThglom in flourishing
stufcne maot Miracle tittees / jFor to renting muses of
On the 93rd recto, third line,
enen of the $ugge that seefh ant? also that tiemeth alle
tinges / IBeo gracias
©iplieit hoecius fce
eonsolacione philosophte
Caxton has added an interesting epilogue, which occupies
the remainder of the recto and the whole of the verso, being
followed, on the 94th recto, by the "Epitaphiu Galfridi
Chaucer," printed in type No. 3, which concludes on the
verso, and the last few lines of winch are : —
^ost outturn <£aiton bolutt te biuere cura
ffiHiltelmi . (fthauccr elate poeta tur
ifiam tua non solum eompressit opuscula formis
?£as quoq? s? lauoes . iussit hie esse tuas
p 2
212 WILLIAM CAXTON.
This epitaph was written by a brother poet, Stephen
Surigo, Lie. Deer., of Milan, and is most interesting as show-
ing, in connection with the previous epilogue (given in Yol. I,
page 149), that not only did Caxton perpetuate the memory
of the great poet by printing his works, but that he also
raised a public monument to his memory before St. Benet's
Chapel, in Westminster Abbey, in the shape of a pillar sup-
porting a tablet upon which the above "Epitaphye" was
written.
There are few ancient authors, whose works received
greater attention in the fifteen century than those of Boethius.
M. Paris gives an account of five different translations of the
" De Consolatione " into French verse, all of that age, and
contained in the Bib. Imp., Paris.
Every library of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, of
which we have any account, appears to have contained a copy:
many had several. In the Ducal Library, Bruges, 1467, was
a manuscript with this title, "Boece de Consolacion en
englois," which is not unlikely to have been the translation
of Chaucer.
Some writers, and among them Dibdin (" Typ. Ant." Vol.
I, page 306), have doubted whether Chaucer was the real
translator of the version under review, but none of the manu-
scripts attribute it to any other writer ; and, not to quote the
express mention of it in the " Retractation," Chaucer himself
includes it among his works in the following couplet (line
425) from the " Legend of Good Women," —
And for to speke of other holynesse
He hath in prose translated Boece.
In this translation Chaucer appears to have chosen the
original Latin for his text. He certainly did not take it from
any of the French versions noticed above, nor from those
described by M. Paris ; nor is it, as Dibdin suggests, from the
anonymous translation, printed by Colard Mansion in 1477.
But from whatever source derived, it was, if we may judge
from the many copies extant, very favourably received. Our
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 213
printer especially took great delight in what he terms the
" ornate and fayr " language of the poet, and in the epilogue
to his edition he has left us a most interesting tribute of his
admiration.
There are three copies of this book in the British Museum,
one at Cambridge two at the Bodleian, one at Exeter, and
one at Magdalen College, Oxford ; one at Ripon Minster, one
at Sion College, London, and six in private hands. The copy
discovered at the St. Alban's Grammar School was sold to the
British Museum, and was remarkable for the largest "find"
of printed fragments in the boards with which the book was
bound, ever recorded.*
* An account of this discovery may be found interesting, showing
strongly the importance of examining the covers of old books before
rejecting them. In the summer of 1858 I inspected the old library in
the Grammar School attached to the Abbey of St. Albans. I found a
few valuable books all contained in an old deal cupboard, upon which
the leakage from the roof had dripped, apparently for years. It must
have been long since any one had touched a book there, and the amount
of dust and decay was certainly enough to deter even a bibliomaniac
from so doing. After examining a few interesting books I pulled out
one which was lying flat upon the top of others. It was in a most
deplorable state, covered thickly with a damp sticky dust, and with a
considerable portion of the back rotted away by wet. The white decay
fell in lumps on the floor as the unappreciated volume was opened. It
proved to be Geoffrey Chaucer's English translation of " Boecius de
Consolatione Philosophise," printed by Caxton, in the original binding,
as issued from Caxton's workshop, and uncut ! ! On examining the
amount of damage it had sustained, I found that the wet, which had
injured the book, had also, by separating the layers of paper of which
the covers were composed, revealed the interesting fact that several
fragments, on which Caxton's types appeared, had been used in their
manufacture. After vexatious opposition and repeated delays the Acting
Trustees were induced to allow the book, which they now prized highly,
to be deposited in the care of Mr. J. Winter Jones, of the British
Museum, for the purpose of rebinding. On dissecting the covers they
were found to be composed entirely of waste sheets from Caxton's press,
two or three being printed on one side only. The two covers yielded no
less than fifty-six half-sheets of printed paper, pi - oving the existence of
three works from Caxton's press quite unknown before. The following
is the list of the fragments, all genuine specimens of England's first
printer, though unfortunately mostly in very poor condition : —
214
WILLIAM CAXT0X.
No. 26. — CORDYALE, OR THE FOUR LAST THINGS. Folio.
With Printer's Name, hit without Place. March 2±th,
1479.
Collation. — Nine 4 ni and one 3 n = 78 leaves, of which
the 1st and last are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Two types are used, Nos. 2* and 3, the latter for proper names
and Latin only. The lines are not spaced out to one length.
A full line measures 5 inches. Mostly 29 lines to a page, hut
sometimes 28. Without signatures, catchwords, or folios.
Space left for the insertion of 3 and 4-line initials, with
director. Commencing with a blank leaf the prologue of the
translator follows on the 2nd recto, space being left for a
4-line a.
The Text begins thus : —
prologue of tfje translator.
!L ^ngratituor bttcrlp setting apart / to? otoe
to calle to our mnnors the manpfofor gnftrs
of grace / totth tije bmrfaittts . that our loroe
of his moost plrntturuse ftontc hath nmrn bs
torrtrftrs m this present transttotre Itf . SMhtche Memcm
a
The text ends with twenty lines on the 77th verso, the
last eight of which are —
1. The English "Jason," ten
leaves.
2. " Dictes," three leaves.
3. " Chronicles, ' six leaves.
4. " Description of Britain," eight
leaves.
5. "Works of Sapience," (ex-
tremely rare), two leaves.
6. " Tulle," seven leaves.
7. Lydgate's "Life of onr Lady,"
two leaves.
8. " Assembly of Fowls," fourteen
leaves.
9. " The Chorle and the Bird,"
two leaves.
10. "The Horse, the Sheep, and
the Goose," four leaves.
11. " Hora; beata Virginis "
(unique), four leaves.
12. " Pica Sarum " (unique), eight
leaves.
13. "An Indulgence of Pope Six-
tusV,"(?) two slips of;parch-
ment (unique).
BOOKS PEINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 215
lasting permanence in fjeuen &men . 512!Jf)tef)e toerfce pre=
sent § oegan the morn after tfjc satoe ^urtneactonof out
oltssto ILaop . rafttcfte toas the the oage of SeintJSlase
Itfisshop mi JHatttr . &nto ntnsshefc on the euen of than
nunctaeton of our sattj otltssrti Eaon falling on tfje toeto
nesoan the xxi'ttj oane of JHarche . $n the rti geer of
Hgng tirtotoartie thefourthe
The 78th leaf, which closes the volume, is blank.
The French edition of this work (see page 183, ante) was,
if similarity of workmanship in all points may justify the
conclusion, before the printer while at work upon this the
English edition.
Dr. Dibdin, to whom the French edition was unknown,
says that Earl Rivers translated from the Latin ; but as all
the other productions of the Earl's pen, printed by Caxton,
were from the French, there would be strong grounds for
supposing that this had come through the same channel, were
not the fact established by its not being a literal translation
of any Latin edition, while it is an accurate reproduction,
line for line and almost word for word, of the French edition.
About the date also there has been some confusion.
Maittaire and Panzer attribute the printing to 1478, Lewis
to 1479, Dibdin to 1480 ; and Lord Orford thinks Caxton,
unless he was two years employed upon it, has made a typo-
graphical error in the date. The dates in reality are very
plain. Caxton says that Lord Rivers delivered the English
translation to him to be printed, upon the day of "The
Purification," which is further stated to have been the 2nd
day of February, 1478 ; but as the year did not then begin
until the 25th of March, it would, according to the present
reckoning, be February, 1479. The printing was begun the
very next day, on the " morning after the said Purification,"
and completed upon the 24th day of March, in the nineteenth
year of Edward IV. This regnal year was comprised between
March 4th, 1479, and March 3rd, 1480, thus again giving
the year 1479 for the completion of the book. From this it
is evident that instead of taking over two years for the print-
ing it occupied Caxton just seven weeks. In Vol. I, page
21 C WILLIAM CAXTON.
149, may be seen the entire epilogue, as written and printed
by Caxton.
For the literary history of " Cordyale," see the remarks on
" Les Quatre Derrenieres Choses," already noticed.
Copies are hi the British Museum, Cambridge, Bodleian,
and Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. Five are in private
libraries.
No. 27. — Fratris Laurentii Gulielmi de Saona Mar-
garita Eloquently castigate ad eloquendum
DIVINA ACCOMMODATA. Folio. SitU ulld notd. (1479-
80?)
Collation. — One 3 n , one sheet, eleven 5 ns , and one 3 n =
124 leaves.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Type No. 2* only is used. The lines, of which there are 29
to a page, are in most cases of uneven length, although in
some pages they are spaced out very regularly. Long lines
measure 5 inches. Without signatures or catchwords. Space
is left, with a director, for the insertion of initials 3 or 4 lines
in depth. The hyphen is in this volume not unfrequently
used instead of the / or /, as a mark of punctuation. Chap-
ters generally commence with a line, or two or three words,
in capital letters ; and the ends of paragraphs are often orna-
mented with an array of points ; for instance, . :*:.:*: .
The Text begins on the 1st recto, with the prohemium, —
dFratris laumtcij guildmt or saona ortrims
into fac* tftco' tioctots pftnniu t noua rthotra
r
©gttantt mtcfjt sepcnumcro^ac titltgrnct 9 ron^
tpmplati cptu romotiitatis ajtuoj gplcntiotis & gloric affrrre
On the 5th verso,
On the 53rd recto,
toricr facultatts : $n quo jspccialttcr auctor agtt oe tyi* que
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO 2. 217
The Second Book ends and the Third begins on the 83rd
recto,
$&<&$W$& Hf^^iR tercius rijctortcc faeulta
On the 135th recto is a concluding chapter, the Text
ending, on the verso of the 136th leaf, thus : —
in trinttate pcrfecta mutt et regnat per infinita scrula seen-
lorum . aiFH<ffia .
(Explicit lioer tercius : et opus rftctorice facultatts p fta
tre laurenttu ©uilelmt be jcaona orfoinis minor sacre pa
ginc pfessore ex oictis testimonitsq* sacratissimar scripts
rar/ ooctortt? pfcatissimor rompilatu rt onrmatu : quiims
ex causis censuit appellanou fore JHargaritam eloctucntie
castigate at elociucntiu oiuina accomooatam
(Compttatu ant' futt hoc opus in alma uniuersitate (tan
taortgic . &nno tmi . i4 A 8 . uie et ♦ 6 . gulii . quo tite
frstum £ancte HHarthe rccolitr. £uo protection? 5>enissi
mi regis anglorum (Jrfcuartii (tuarti
Remarks. — There can be no doubt in the mind of any
one acquainted with the "Westminster books that this issued
from Caxton's press. It agrees with them not only in charac-
ter of type, but in length of line, depth of page, and other
typographical peculiarities. Nor is there much uncertainty
about the date. It was not written till July, 1478, and the
first dated book in the types with which it is printed (Type
No. 2*) made its first appearance in March, 1479, the latest
dated book in the preceding Type (No. 2) being February, 1478.
In 1480 Caxton discontinued entirely the practice of leaving
his lines of an uneven length, but the majority of pages in
this volume have their lines uneven. The book was therefore
printed after July, 1478, and before or very early in 1480.
It is worthy of notice, that about the same time that
Caxton, at Westminster, was engaged upon this work, the
printer-schoolmaster at St. Alban's was also making it one of
the first essays of his press. There certainly was not a longer
period than two years and a half between the two editions,
218 WILLIAM CAXTON.
which, so far as the text goes, agree very closely, the St.
Alban's printer having apparently reprinted from the edition
by Caxton.
It is also very remarkable that this work should have
been known and described for more than 150 years, yet never
till October, 1861, recognised as the production of Caxton's
press. In the Public Library, Cambridge, is a volume of
documents relating to Corpus Christi College, which was used
by Strype for his Life of Archbishop Parker; and among
them is a catalogue of the books bequeathed by the Arch-
bishop to the library of that College. At folio 255 is the
following entry under the general head of " Books in parch-
ment closures as they lye on heaps on the upmost shelves : " —
"Rethorica nova impressa Canfeb.fo. 1478." Strype, in his
Life of Parker, misled by this entry, attributed the book to
an early press at Cambridge ; and Bagford, writing to Tanner
in 1707, says, " I cannot but impart unto you, that very lately
good Mr. Strype hath gave me an account of a booke which
archbishop Parker gave to the Publick library of Benet college,
and is a piece of rethorick, by one Gul. de Saona, a minorit,
printed at Cambridge, 1478." Ames, who only knew the book
from these accounts, and a facsimile of the beginning and end
sent him by Mr. North, placed this work at the head of the
list of Cambridge books in his Typographical Antiquities,
1749, and gave an engraving of North's facsimile ; which led
him to state that " the types were much like Caxton's largest."
Herbert merely repeated the account of Ames ; and thus it
was reserved for Mr. Bradshaw in consulting the Library of
Corpus Christi College for another purpose, to examine the
volume and to recognise the interesting fact that, although
compiled at Cambridge in the year 1478, it was printed with
the unmistakeable types of Caxton, and agreed in typo-
graphical particulars with the books issued from the West-
minster press between 1479-80.
Laurentius Gulielmi de Traversanis, of Saona (or Savona,
as it is more commonly called), was born about 1414. His
native city, not very far from Genoa, is better known as the
birthplace of Christopher Columbus. He entered the Fran-
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 219
ciscau Convent there under Francesco di Rovere, afterwards
Pope Sixtus IV. He studied at the universities of Padua,
Bologna, Cambridge, and Paris, and seems finally to have
retired to his own convent at Savona, where he died, and to
which he was a great benefactor. Wadding {Scriptores Ord.
Min. folio, Ronue, 1650) mentions several of his works.
Besides the copy mentioned above, there is one at the
University Library, Upsala, both being in perfect condition.
No. 28. — The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers.
" Emprynted by me William Caxton at Westmestre."
Folio. Second Edition. Dated 1477, but printed about
1480. With Colophon.
Collation. — Eight 4 ns , and two 3 ns = 76 leaves, of which
the 1st is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Type No. 2* only is used. The lines are nearly always spaced
rat to an even length, and measure 5 inches ; 29 lines to a
rull page. Without signatures, folios, or catchwords. Space
is left at the beginning of chapters for the insertion of 3-line
initials.
The difference between this and the 1st edition (see page
186, ante) is considerable. That was printed from the original
fount of type No. 2 ; this front a re-casting of the same fount,
showing many alterations in the punches. (See the preliminary
chapter to this volume). That has the pages throughout the
volume very uneven as to the length of the line ; this nearly
always even. That, with the unique exception of the Althorpe
sopy, is without the colophon ; this has the colophon, of which
a facsimile is given in the annexed plate, in every copy.
Lastly, the orthography varies throughout the whole volume.
We must here notice the first instance of a practice com-
mon among the early printers, and doubtless inherited from
the scribes, namely, that of reprinting in subsequent editions
the colophons and dates strictly applicable to the 1st edition
only. Thus the three editions of "Dictes and Sayings,"
which issued from Caxton's printing office, all bear the same
date of imprint, November, 1477, while we know that type
220 WILLIAM CAXTON.
No. 2*, in which the 2nd edition is printed, was not used till
after February, 1478, and type No. 6, in which the 3rd edition
is printed, was not in use till about 1488.
The literary history of "Dictes and Sayings" has been
already recounted at page 188, ante.
Copies are in the British Museum, Trinity College, Dublin,
and the library of the Duke of Devonshire.
No. 29. — Letters of Indulgence issued by John Ken-
dal IN 1480, BY AUTHORITY OF POPE SlXTUS IV,
for Assistance at the Siege of Ehodes. On
parchment.
Typographical Particulars. — The type is No. 2* only,
but from the warping of the skin assumes in many parts a
very deceptive appearance. The lines, which are considerably
extended, but all of one length, measure 94; inches. The large
4-line wooden initial is to be noticed as being in all probability
the earliest instance of printed initials in this country ; they
certainly do not appear in any book for which this type was
used. The whole of the document occupies 19 long lines, of
which the following are the beginning and end : —
3ftatrr Johannes fcnrtiale Curripclmus t&fyffbi at
^ rommissartus a sanrttssrino in jpristo patre | tt
tiomtno nostro tiomtno gixto otutna proutornria
papa quarto rt btgore Itttrrarum suarum pro f.rpc= |
trition? contra prrfftios turchos xpristiant nomtnis hostcs .
in offenstonnn tnsule Hvhotot & fCbci ratijoli= | tt farta rt
factntta ronrrssarum afi mfrasripta p bnturrsum ororm
OfputatUS . ffliticV noflis in apo | Symoni Mountfort et
Emme vxori ei s Salute m ono sempiterna |3roufnit tx tm
ocuottonts affrrtu quo rotnana |
3Jn quor' fitom has Pras nostras ictgini nostrt ap |
prnstonc munttas fieri iussimus atqj manoauunus . Bat'
ultimo die- Mesis marcij &nno toomtm | JHiUfsimo quati~
ringrntrsimo ortogrsimo
Remarks. — The following particulars concerning John
Kendal are gathered from an article in Archcwlogia, vol. xxvii,
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 221
•age 172, written by Sir F. Madden, and entitled "Docu-
aents relating to Perkin Warbeck."
In a deposition made by [one Bernard de Vignoles, at
louen in 1495, concerning a plot against the king's life, one
if the persons implicated was John Kendal, Grand Prior of
he Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England. He is also
emarkable as having been the subject of the earliest contem-
»orary English medal in existence, which is dated 1480, the
>eriod of the Siege of Rhodes. On this he is styled " Turco-
>olier," or General of the Infantry of the Order, the office of
rtiich was annexed to that of Grand Prior of England. Yet
tlthough the medal so designates him, it is not probable that
le was actually present at the siege, as in that very year
Rymer, April, 1480) Edward IV ordered all persons to assist
rohn Kendal, in Ireland, in procuring aid and money against
he Turks. In this proclamation he is styled " Turcopolier
if Rhodes, and locum tenens of the Grand Master in Italy,
England, Flanders, and Ireland." In Browne-Willis (Mit.
Uab.) Kendal appears in 1491 and 1501 as Prior of the
lospital of St. John of Jerusalem in London. He was lieu-
enant of the Grand Master in Italy, England, Flanders, and
reland, and was amply furnished with indulgences and par-
Ions for all who give personal service. In this office of
ecruiting he was occupied at the time of the celebrated Siege
>f Rhodes in 1480. His arms, impaled with those of England,
nay still be seen on the walls of an hotel at Rhodes.
In the Numismatic department of the British Museum is
i medal connected with John Kendal. Obv. Bust of Kendal
n armour marked with the cross of the Knights of St. John ;
lead bare ; hair straight and long ; legend, io. kendal ehodi
cvrcvpelarivs. Rev. Arms of Kendal. Cross of St. John
n Chief. Legend, »J< tempore obsidionis tvrchorvm
klCCCCLXXX.
There are probably two Existing Copies, although but
)ne is a present known. This is in the British Museum (C.
18, e. 2), and was purchased in 1845. The blank space for
;he name is filled in with " Symoni Mountfort et Emrm vxori
n% and it is dated the last day of March, 1480.
222 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The Rev. Joseph Hunter noticed the existence of this
" Indulgence," and wrote to Herbert about it, but it was not
then recognised as a production of Caxton's press; and,
although the same document, must have been another copy,
as the blanks were filled in with the names of Richard Cattlyn
and John Cattlyn, April 16th, 1480.
No. 30. — Paevus et Magnus Chato. Folio. Sine ulla notd.
With Woodcuts. Third Edition. (1481 ?)
Collation. — a C 4 n ", tl 2 n = 28 leaves, of which a ) is
blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Two sizes of type occur. No. 2* and No. 3, the latter being
used for the Latin couplets as well as the " Incipit " and
" Explicit " lines. Length of long lines 4f inches ; 29 lines
to a page. Signatures are met here for the first time, lower-
case letters and Roman numerals being used. Without folios
or catchwords.
Commencing with a blank leaf the title-line follows, on
a H recto, in type No. 3. The Text begins thus : —
ftit incipit paruus (Chato
( Woodcut of Four Pupils, one of whom wears a fool's cap, kneeling
before a Tutor, who, rod in hand, sits in a high-backed chair).
2Em aia atouertere tiuamftoies grainier mar?
Mfjan § atwerte in mg rememoraunce
airti see hoto fclc folfccs erren gmiouslg
On sig. a Hi) recto,
OTfjan pe it refce let not pour We 6e thence
J?ut ooti) as this santft toitft al nour entente
?^ic finis parui eatftonia
(Woodcut of Five Pupils kneeling before thi'ir Tutor, who, seated in
a chair, is teaching them from a book upon a lectern before him).
" Parvus Chato " contains 7 stanzas, and is followed, on
sig. a iti verso, by
Jftic incipit maanus (Ehato
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 223
The Text ends, on 4th recto of sig. fc —
?&m fjaue g fonto t|)at sijal ge gugor anti Irtie
£>tofifl!)t to flooti fame & Iwe gou in ijnt fjous
©ipltctt <£J)ato
Remarks. — The Text is evidently a reprint from one of
the early editions in quarto (see pages 200 and 203, ante), and
was by no means intended as a kind of supplement " to the
" Cathon glossed," printed a year or two later by Caxton, as
supposed by Dr. Dibdin in Typ. Ant., vol. i, page 201.
Two woodcuts add to the interest of this volume; one
being at the beginning and one at the end of the " Parvus
Chato." (See Plate 27.) The same cuts also appear in the
" Mirrour of the "World," which raises the question of pre-
cedency. Here, at first sight, one would give priority to
the "Mirrour," as the cuts appear newer and cleaner; but
this is very deceptive, depending more upon the amount of
ink and pressure used than on the condition of the cuts.
The breakage of some of the lines in the " Mirrour " is a much
more sure sign, and this tells strongly in favour of " Parvus
Chato." The greater appropriateness of the designs to the
"Parvus Chato," a boy's book, than to the illustration of
grammar and logic as in the " Mirrour," leads to the same
conclusion. It is therefore considered that these two cuts
were designed originally for the " Parvus Chato," which
in that case must have been printed previously to the
"Mirrour," 1481.
There is nothing to induce us to attribute to foreign
artists the production of these woodcuts, which show no
amount of skill either in design or execution, which is not
far surpassed in the undoubted productions of English scribes
and miniature painters of the same period. They may, there-
fore, be considered as probably the earliest specimens of wood-
engraving in England.
Two perfect copies are known : one in St. John's College,
Oxford, and the other at Althorpe.
994 WILLIAM CAXTON.
N 0t 31. — The Mirrour of the World. Folio. First
Edition. Translated 1481. Woodcuts. Without Printer's
Name, Bate or Place, but in 1481.
Collation.— a C e f g h t fc I m are 4 ns , n is a 2" =
100 leaves, of which a 1 and the verso of n 4 are blank.
Typographical Particulars.— There is no title-page.
The only type used is No. 2*. A full page contains 29 lines,
which are fully spaced out and measure 4f inches. Without
folios or catchwords. Signatures in lower-case letters and
Arabic numerals. The number of woodcuts is 34. After the
first (blank) leaf the " Table " commences on sig a 2 recto.
The Text begins thus : —
ffim ficggnncth the tabic of the tutrices of this presen
tc uolumc'namelj the jmirrour of the toortti or thgmagc
of the same
ends on the 4th recto of sig. n, the verso being blank,
helthe / an* after this short # transitory igf he orgnge
fjfim aria bs in to his cclestgal olgsse in hcuene amen/
Remarks. — The origin of this work cannot be traced very
satisfactorily; but as showing a much better acquaintance
with the cosmology of the world than any previous compo-
sition, it may be interesting to examine the evidence of its
authorship.
Vincent de Beauvais, of the Order of Preaching Friars,
who, from the dedication attached to several of his produc-
tions, appears to have flourished in the reign of St. Louis,
composed an extensive work in Latin, consisting of four
p ar t S -_« Speculum Naturale," " Speculum Doctrinale," " Spe-
culum Historiale," and " Speculum Morale." The whole was
entitled " Speculum majus," for the following reason, given in
the third chapter of the First Book, "Majus autem, ad differ-
entiam parvi libelli jamdudum editi, cujus titulus Speculum
vel Imago mundi, in quo scilicet hujus mundi sensibilis dis-
positio et ornatus paucis verbis describitur. M. Daunou thinks
that the " parvus libellus " here referred to was the " Imago
ROOKS PKINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 225
dundi" from which "Lymage du Monde" was translated,
md that it was a previous composition of Vincent de Beau-
T ais ; and Montfaucon quotes a manuscript in the St. Germain
:ollection (Fonds Latin, 926) in support of the same view, in
vhioh we read " Iste liber intitulatus Speculum vel Imago
duudi editus a fre. Vincentio ordinis fratrum predicatorum."
3ut Vincent's reference to a Speculum Mundi, " jamdudum
idifcus," by no means suggests that he wrote that as well as
lis own; and unfortunately as no copy is known, the fact
iven of its agreement with " Lymage du Monde " cannot be
•erified. The manuscript quoted by Montfaucon is no evidence
it all, as M. Paris, on examination, found it to be identical
vith the " Speculum Historiale," or the Third Part of Vin-
:ent's " Speculum Majus," which is by no means " a rational
lescription of the world and its products shortly described."
Che compilation of " Speculum Mundi," from Vincent's " Spe-
;ulum Naturale," as suggested by Greswell, is equally far from
he truth. Although no copy of the Latin " Speculum vel
mago Mundi," referred to by Vincent, is known, there appears
ittle reason to doubt that it existed in the thirteenth century,
r'erhaps an earlier copy of the Latin manuscript in the Cotton
library, already described, may have formed the foundation
»f the French version, although in that case, as in Vignay's
ranslation of the " Chess Book," considerable additions have
>een made. The history of the ", Mirrour of the World" may
>e summed up thus: — Before the middle of the thirteenth
lentury an unknown author wrote in Latin " Speculum vel
mago Mundi;" of this no copy has yet been recognised
Cotton, Vesj). E in?) In 1245 this was turned into French
netre for the Duke of Berry, of which manuscripts in several
ibraries attest the popularity {Sham 2435 ; Royal 20, A in).
Shortly afterwards the French metre was turned into French
)rose, probably by " Maistre Gossouin." (Royal 19, A. ix ; Bib.
r mp., Paris, No. 7070). Here we find the Text used byCaxton
or his translation, who even adopted a considerable portion
>f the French prologue (see ante Vol. I, page 153). Who
his " Gossouin " or " Cossevin " was, and whether he was the
luthor or only the scribe is quite unknown.
Q
226 WILLIAM CAXTOX.
The celebrated Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly compiled, in 1409,
a work entitled " Tractatus de ymagine mundi " (Earl MS.
637), which, however, is principally astronomical, having a
portion of the same as the work under review.
The publishing of this book was not a speculation on
Caxton's part. He was employed, as we learn from the pro-
logue (printed verbatim in Vol. I), to translate and probably
to print it by Hugh Brice, citizen and alderman of London,
who wished to make a present to Lord Hastings. To adorn,
as well as illustrate the pages, the art of the wood-engraver
was employed, and we may consider the figures here displayed
as some of the earliest specimens of that art in England. The
designs were borrowed from the manuscript copy, the illumi-
nations in the French manuscripts showing the same treat-
ment. All the copies issued from Caxton's press have the
words necessary for the explanation of the diagrams inserted
with the pen, instead of being engraved on the wood, which
may perhaps be an argument for their home execution, as the
Flemish artists were certainly well skilled in engraving words
in their blocks. They all appear to have been perfected by
the same scribe, which probably induced Olclys to assert that
they are in Caxton's autograph. Of this there is no evidence.
Hugh Brice, of the same county as Caxton, where he held
the manor of Jenkins (Li/sons, vol. iv, page 75), was also of
the Mercers' Company, although Stow calls him a goldsmith
(Thoms's Stow, page 77). He was knighted about 147:? ; and
in that year accompanied John Russell and others on a trade
embassy to Bruges. John Russell was the orator whose cele-
brated speech, upon the reception of the Order of the Garter
by the Duke of Burgundy, is one of the earliest pieces attri-
buted to the press of Caxton. In 1473, Hugh Brice, who is
called " Clericus in officio Contrarotulatoris Monetae nostras,"
was sent on a similar embassy, "De difficultatibus super inter-
cursu Burgundiae removendis ;" and on both occasions would
necessarily become personally acquainted with Caxton, who at
that Lime was in the service of the Duchess of Burgundy at
Bruges (Bymer, edit. 1727, vol. xi, page 738, &c. &c.) He
also held the offices of Keeper of the King's Exchange,
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 227
London ; Governor of the King's Mint in the Tower, under
Lord Hastings; and Mayor of London, 1494. He died in
1496.
Fifteen copies are known : British Museum (2), Cam-
bridge, Bodleian, St. George's, "Windsor, and ten in private
libraries.
No. 32. — The History op Reynard, the Fox. First
Edition. Folio. Translated in the Able;/ of Westmin-
ster by William Caxton, 1481, but without Printer's
Name, Place, or Date.
Collation.— a e tl t f g h i are 4 ns , It and I are 3 ns , a 1
and I 6 being blank. Between the leaves h 8 and i 1 is in-
serted a leaf half printed on both sides. This was probably
owing to the accidental omission of a page by the compositor.
Total, 84^ leaves, of which the first and last are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is No. 2*, none other being used throughout the
volume. The lines are spaced out to one length, and measure
4| inches. A full page has 29 lines. Without folios or catch-
words. Arabic figures are used in the signatures. Spaces 2
lines deep are left for the insertion of initials.
The Text begins, on sig. a 2 recto, thus : —
f his is tfte tatde of the history of tegnart the to
ending half-way down sig. a 3 recto,
2#oto tfte to toith his ftrnots orparteti nobis fro the
fennge & toente to his eastel malepertmp / eapitulo iliii
On the verso begins the story —
fflyycx oegnnneth thpstorge of renartj tije to
ending half-way down the verso of the 5th folio of sig. I,
OThere then, sfjat fpnor faute / jFor $ haue not afcoefc ne
mpnussheti tut haue foloroeti as nnghe as § ran mn eopge
tofjiefje toas in ontrhe / antJ fig me totllm OTaxton trans=
latetJ in to this rutje & snmple englnssh in thatoejt) of toest
Q2
228 WILLIAM CAXT0X.
mrstrc . fgngssfjrti tije or oage of f ugn tije prre of our
lovti * JH , i£(&<&(& . ILmj . & tf>e nj gm of tt»e regne of
fcgnge <£otoarti tfje ttijtf) /
$a;c rnoctf) ti)c ijtstorge of i&egnatfc tJ)e to &c
Remarks. — The date of printing this book is nowhere
stated, though it was probably put to press directly after if
not during the translation, which was finished on the 6th of
June, 1-481. The literary history of this fable is very obscure.
It appears to have had great popularity for some centuries
previous to Caxton's time, as quotations from it appear so
early as the twelfth century. Caxton's translation was made
from " Die Historie van Reinaert die Vos, gheprent ter goude
in hollant by mi gheraert leeu Jnt iaer Mcccc en lxxix," or
perhaps from the stiU earlier edition in Dutch, discovered in
1854, and described in K. Godike's Deutsche Wochenschrift
for that year, Heft 8, page 250.
Copies are in the British Museum, Eton College, and two
private libraries.
No. 33. — Tully of Old Age ; Tully of Friendship ; The
Declamation of Noblesse. Folio. " Empryntcd oy
me symph persons William Caxton" No Place. 1481.
Collation. — Old Age : sigs. 1 and a are 3™, with 1 1,
and a 6 blank — t) c "0 Z i jj i) are 4 ns — t is a 2 n , with t 4 blank.
Friendship and the Declamation : a 6 r "0 t i are 4 ns , with no
blanks. The first section in the " De Senectute " is signed in
Arabic numerals only, thus : 1 2 — 1 3 — 1 4, the rest of the
work being signed in letters and Arabic numerals. The three
tracts together have 117 printed and three blank leaves.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page to
any of the three treatises. The type is all No. 2*, except
where Latin quotations or proper names are introduced, when
Caxton's largest type, No. 3, is used. The lines are frilly
spaced out, and the long lines measure 4| inches; 29 lines
make a full page. Without folios or catchwords. Space is
left at the beginning of the chapters with a director, for the
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. "2. 229
insertion of 2 to 5-line initials. The peculiar &"C belonging
to type No. 1 is used in this book.
After a blank leaf the Text begins on sig. 1 2, space being
left for a 2-line initial Jfc} with director,
Ij (Jrte oegjmncth the piofjcmne upon the rctmctnge/
both out of latnn as of frenssijc in to our englgssh
tongue/ of the polptnquc cook namctiCul Uus tic scncc=
tute . h)t)ichc that Cull tug tototc upon the tiisputacons &
The treatise " De Senectute " ends, with the following
colophon, at the head of the 3rd recto of sig. i,
SThus cnticth tijc oofce of &ulle of oltic age translated
out of latnn into frcnshc fig laurence tie primo facto at
the comaunoemcnt of the nofile prnncc Hotons Buc of
burton / anti enprnntcti on me sprplc pcrsone &2Rilliam
(Earton into UFnglnsshe at the plansic solace anti reue=
rence of men grotonng in to oltie age the xi) tiag of &u=
gust tijc ncre of our leirti . M . <&<£<&& . Ixxxj :
A blank leaf, and then the " De Senectute " begins with a
new series of signatures on a ), the whole work ending on the
8th verso of sig. f,
that toe at our oepartnng mage ocparte in suche togsc/ that
it mane please our lorti goti to vecenue us in to §is eun>
lastnng fclnssc . &men :
(Explicit $)er barton
Although in three distinct treatises, Caxton intended them
to form but one volume, as is plainly stated in the epilogue,
which renders it difficult to imagine a reason for his printing
the volume with two sets of signatures.
We learn from Caxton's own pen, that the translation of
Cicero's "De Senectute" and "De Amicitia" into French was
made by the command of Louis Duke of Bourbon, in 1405,
by Laurence de Premierfait. This learned priest was a native
of the city of Troyes, and obtained great celebrity by his
numerous translations.
2?>0 WILLIAM CAXTON.
To Jean Mielot we must attribute the French version of
" The Declamation," in which he styles the author " Surse
Pistoic, Docteur en Loix, et grand Orateur." This was one of
the first books that issued from the press of Colard Mansion
at Bruges.
The English translation of the " De Senectute " was accom-
plished, as we learn from the first prologue, at the ordinance
and desire of Sir John Fastolfe. It has been ascribed by
Leland to the Earl of Worcester, and by Anstis to Wyllyam
de Wyrcestre ; in both cases without evidence. We have seen
already that the"Dietes and Sayings of the Philosophers"
bad been translated in 1-450 for Sir John Fastolfe, by Stephen
Scrope, his son-in-law (see page 189, ante), and this possibly
came from the same pen. Whoever the translator may have
been he took for his text the work of Laurence Premierfait,
of which this version is a most literal translation, notwith-
standing his assurance (see the end of the first prologue) that
" this book is more amply expounded and more sweeter to the
reader, Tceeping the just sentence of the Latin" The English
version of " De Amicitia " and the " Declamation " are attri-
buted by Caxton to the Earl of Worcester, a great traveller,
a great collector of books, and a great orator. The Earl's
history and acquirements have been "described by Fuller, Dr.
Henry, and many others ; Caxton's admiration for him is
expressed in the most touching and characteristic terms. Pro-
bably their love of literature was a friendly bond. The Earl
also translated, at a later period, Caesar's Commentaries, which
Pas tell printed.
Of 22 copies extant, twelve are in the chief corporate
libraries in England, and ten in private hands.
No. 34. — The Game and Play of the Chess. Second
Edition. Folio. Woodcuts. "Explicit per Caxton."
Without Place or Date. (1481?)
Collation.— a b r ) l f g i) t are 4 ns , It I are 3 ns = 84
leaves, of which the first is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The only type used is No. 2*. The lines are spaced out to
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2. 231
an even length, and signatures are used. A full page has 29
lines, and a full line measures 4| inches. Space left for the
insertion of 2 or 3-line initials, with director. Without folios
or catchwords.
After the blank leaf the prologue of Caxton commences
on sig. a ttf.
The text begins thus : —
jfye ijolg appostle anti dortour of the peple sagnt
t ^Joulc santi) in f)ts rpnstlc . Me tfjat is torgten
is torgten onto our tiortrgne anti for our ler~
nnnfi . S&tfjerefore manj) noble rlerfcrs haue enoeuonreo
The table of chapters follows on the verso, and ends on
a itj recto, the verso being blank. On a titf recto, the first
chapter commences, and is illustrated with a woodcut repre-
senting King Evilmerodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar, " a jolly
man without justice who did do hew his father his body into
three hundred pieces."
The Text ends on I G recto, the verso being blank —
man out as a oeste . Chenne late euern man of toijat
rononrion he he that rrtjptfj or herith this litel fcoofc retire *
take 'theron ensaumplc to amenoe hpx *
(Explicit per (taton.
The woodcuts in this volume number only sixteen, not
twenty-four, as Dibdin and other writers say, eight of them
being impressions from blocks used for previous chapters. As
already noticed, there seems a probability that the two
cuts for " Parvus Chato," third edition, were the earliest used
by Caxton. These were soon after printed again, with the
addition of many others in the " Mirrour of the World." The
present cuts were perhaps the third essay of Caxton in this
department, and for these, judging by the general style, and
greater breadth of treatment, he appears to have employed
another artist.
The literary history of the work has been given under the
first edition, but wc must notice that the original prologue
232
WILLIAM CAXTON.
j:\ii.mkkodach, a jolly man without justice who did do
hew his father in pieces."
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1*. 233
dedicated to the Duke of Clarence, the major portion of which
was a translation from the French, has been superseded in
this edition by a prologue from Caxton's own pen, the ideas
in which, with the exception of the first few lines, and almost
the very words, are often met with in manuscripts of that age.
The year in which this edition is generally considered to
have been issued seems to me very incorrect. Ames assigns
no date to it, but Dibdin, probably misled by Bagford's obser-
vations, thinks it one of Caxton's earliest efforts, while in
some remarks attached to a reprint of this edition by Mr.
Figgins, it is considered as the earliest specimen of the West-
minster press, and to have been printed from cut metal types.
An examination of the work, however, with a typographical
eye does not afford a single evidence of very early workman-
ship. " All Caxton's early books were uneven in the length of
their lines — this is quite even. Not one of the early works
had any signatures — this is signed throughout. These two
features alone are quite sufficient to fix its datejof impression
at least as late as 1480, when Caxton first began the use of
signatures.
Copies are in the British Museum; the Pepysian and
Trinity, Cambridge ; Bodleian and St. John's, Oxford ; Impe-
rial Library, Vienna ; and six in private hands.
DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED
IX
TYPE No. 3.
BOOKS FEINTED IN TYPE No. 3.
35. An Advertisement ...... 1477-78 ?
36. Directorium. First Version . . . 1477-78?
37. Horse. Second Edition . . . . . 1480?
38. Psalterium, &c. ..... 1480-83?
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE No. 3.
No. 35. An Advertisement 1 . Octavo. Westminster. No
Date, {About 1477-78.)
Typographical Particulars. — The type is all No. 3,
the whole advertisement being in one paragraph of seven
lines, unevenly spaced, the longest measuring five inches.
The verso is blank.
§f it plese ong man spiritual or temporel to one onp
pges of ttoo anfc thre eomemoraeios of salisourt use
rnprgntfo after the forme of this preset lettre toljiefie
oen toel ant> trulg eorreet / late hgm eome to roestmo-
nester in to the almonesrge at the reeti pale anti Ije sfjal
haue them gooti eljepe
Supplteo stet crtrula
Remarks. — This is an interesting relic, not only as giving
us the name of the house inhabited by our first printer — the
Red-pale (" reed " was commonly used by Caxton for " red ")
— but also as a specimen of advertisements in the fifteenth
century. Although small in size it may also be considered as
the earliest instance known of a " broadside " printed in this
country.
Our printer was not alone in advertising his books,
although, from the fugitive nature of such productions, speci-
mens are very rarely to be found. An interesting list of
books printed by Coburger, at Nuremberg, in the fifteenth
century, is in the British Museum (C. 18. c. 2. 27), to which
is attached the following heading: — "Cupientes emere libros
238 WILLIAM CAXTON.
infra notafcos venient ad hospicium subnotatum Ycuditorem
liabituri largissimmn," &c.
Tbe " Pye " * was a collection of rules to show the priest
how to deal (under every possible variation in Easter) with
the concurrence of more than one office on the same day. In
reading Caxton's Advertisement the question arises, " In what
respect did the " pyes of two and three commemorations of
Salisbury use " differ from the ordinary pyes of Salisbury use ?
The very Eeverend Canon Rock, D.D., has kindly placed at
my disposal for an explanation which confines the "pye of
two commemorations " to the rules for Easter and Whitsun-
tide, and the " pye of three commemorations " to the rules
for Easter, "Whitsuntide, and Trinity.f Caxton's Advertise-
ment, therefore, refers to separately published portions of the
common " Directorium seu Pica Sarum," applicable, perhaps,
to the current year only. In the succeeding article is de-
scribed a " Pica," which, in some particulars, agrees entirely
with Caxton's description.
* The Pica type of printers is commonly supposed to derive its name
from having- been used for printing the early " Pica seu Directorium."
I have searched iu vain among the earliest editions of the Directorium
for a copy printed in types approaching the size of Pica. They are
mostly the size of modern Brevier.
t " Easter being a moveable feast, and ruling the time for Septua-
gesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays, and the beginning of
Lent, as well as the Sundays for Whitsuntide and the beginning of
Trinity, makes great and ever-recurring alterations in the Service of
the Calendar on Saints' days. Hence -was it to show the Cleric at a
glance how to commemorate the Saints' days that came in the ever-
changing times of Lent, Easter. Whitsuntide ; and the Octave of the
Trinity, the Pica began by giving a table of the Dominical letters,
which make the keys of all the rest of the Pica ; and after such a way
no matter what month or week Easter might fall on, the manner of
commemorating the Saints' days happening then, or of putting them
off till another time, was accurately described for all variations. But as
the chief variations in keeping the Saints' days happened at Easter
and its following week — at Whitsuntide and its week or Octave— and at
Trinity and its Octave; and, as during these three great feasts, with
th.cir Octaves, the occurring feast itself was chiefly celebrated with
mere mention, or Collect, or Commemoration ; and as people in Caxton's
BOOKS I'IMNTKI) IN TYPE NO. 3. 239
A poor copy is among the Donee" fragments in the Bod-
leian ; and a good one, formerly in Dr. Farmer's library, at
Althorpe.
It has been suggested that the first line being very short,
tlic syllable co has accidentally dropped out, and that the text
should read "to buy any copies," &e\; but the Avord "copy,"
in that sense, was unknown in the fifteenth century.
No. 36. — Directorium, seu Pica Sartjm. First Version,.
Quarto. Sine ulta notu. (About 1477-8.)
N< ) perfect copy of this book being known, the Collation
is necessarily omitted. The four fragments from the covers
of the St. Alban's "Boethius" are from separate half sheets
in quarto, making a total of sixteen pages.
Typographical Particulars. — Only one type, No. 3, is
used in these fragments. The lines are not spaced out to one
length. The longest measure 3| inches. A full page has 22
lines. Without signatures, or catchwords, or printed folios
to the leaves. There are no initial letters, nor is there any
space left for them. The whole is in very contracted Latin.
Kemarks. — There can be no doubt that this was the pro-
duct of Caxton's press, as all the circumstances connected
with it tend to prove. It was extracted from the covers of a
book which was evidently bound in Caxton's workshop, and
for the binding of which he had used waste sheets from the
press (see ante, page 214). The fragments belonging to known
books were all printed by Caxton before 1481; while the
" Advertisement " and " Directorium," reasoning from the
days had not printed but handwritten Breviaries without the Pica or
Pye in them, Caxton printed, to supply their want, " pyes of two and
three commemorations," — that is to say, directions for saying the whole
office of tiro Octaves or Commemorations, say of Easter and Whitsun-
tide, and of three Octaves, Easter. Whitsuntide, and Trinity. It should
be borne in mind, as I have pointed out in t. \,p. 139 of " The Church
of our Fathers" that ihe Laity as well as the Clergy used to say the
Breviary. Hence Caxton's invitation to buy his -'pyes" to the Laity
too. — Extract from a Utter to J. F. Goulding, Esq., from the Very
Hit. Canon Rock, I).]). February, ISfiL'.
240 WILLIAM CAXTON.
measurement of the lines and their uneven length, were cer-
tainly printed before 1480, and probably about the same time
as the later set of quarto poetic pieces, i. e. about 1478.
This " Directorium" is not the same version as that printed
by Carton, about 148G, in type No. 5, and a second edition
of which was issued a few years later in type No. 6. These
last are the text revised for Bishop Eotherham, founded upon
an earlier version, of which latter the leaves under notice
appear to be a portion.
Formerly in the library of the St. Alban's Grammar School;
they are now in the British Museum.
No. 37. — Hoe^ ad ustjm Sarum. Second Edition. Quarto.
(1480-83.)
No perfect copy being known, the Collation is of neces-
sity omitted, and the following remarks are made from three
fragments rescued from the St. Alban's " Boethius," already
noticed.
Typographical Particulars. — The only type used,
judging from these fragments, was No. 3. The lines are
spaced out, and measure 3§ inches. A full page has 20 lines.
The initials and paragraph marks are not inserted.
The first fragment, a quarto leaf printed on both sides,
but very defective, contains part of the " Suffragia of the
Three Kings," which are among the additions to the first
part of the " Primer ;" and in an early edition by TVynken
de Worde, immediately precede the Latin " Fifteen Oes."
The second fragment is also but one leaf, and contains
the commencement of Part II of the " Hora," the "Ne
Reminiscaris " being the anthem belonging to the Seven
Penitential Psalms.
The third fragment consists of two pages of prayers, con-
taining the first of the « Fifteen Oes " in Latin, and some
prayers near the end of the Litany.
Remarks.— As all the " Fifteen Oes " and the Litany, as
well as other prayers, intervene between the two pages of the
third fragment, it is evident they were not intended to be
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 3. 241
printed on one sheet • this, added to the fact that the paper
is printed only on one side, makes it clear that these are
proof pages.
This edition of " Horas " is entirely unknown to any of
our bibliographers, and was doubtless a second edition of that
already noticed at p. 189.
These fragments, now in the British Museum, were pur-
chased in 1874. They were formerly in the library of King
Edward VI Grammar School, St. Alban's.
No. 38.— Psalteritjm, etc Quarto. Sine ulld notii. (1480-
83?)
Collation.— a ft c ) ? f g f) iftlmnoyirgtuxg
are 4 ns , with a 1 blank ; but as only one copy is known to be
in existence, and that imperfect, no complete collation can be
given.
Typographical Particulars. — There is only one type,
No. 3, used throughout the work, excepting for the signatures,
where the Arabic numerals belong to type No. 2. The lines,
which are spaced out, measure 3| inches, and a full page
has 20. Without printed folios or catchwords. Space for
the insertion of 2 to 4-line initials, generally without director,
is left at the beginning of paragraphs. The signatures are
in letters and Arabic numerals, a mode of signing used by
Caxton only between the years 1480 and 1483.
The book doubtless commenced with a blank leaf for a 1,
which is wanting in this copy.
The Text begins at the head of a 2 recto, thus : — •
$totontmus to lauto toi supc.
psaltettum
Refill mint est in ijac utfa
n mortalt in quo nossumus fa=
mtliariuss inform too <j) iris
tuniss lautote. Jiullus t*m mor=
" Jheronimus super Psalterium " ends on a 6 recto, and
if? followed by two prayers and a metrical hymn.
R
242 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The Psalter finishes on sig. t 3 recto, and is followed by
the Canticles, Te Deum, Athanasian Creed, a general Litany,
including most of the prayers now in use, and ends imper-
fectly on sig. g 7 verso. There is an eighth leaf, which at
first sight is very defective, seeming to be £ 8; in fact it is
an intercallary leaf, consisting of two pages accidentally
omitted between X 7 and X 8, and bound up wrongly after
g 7, the real g 8 being absent.
The only copy at present known is in the British Museum,
having formed a portion of the old Royal Library. It was
recognised as being printed with Caxton's types by Mr. Bullen,
through whose hands it passed for re-cataloguing.
A
DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED
IN
TYPE No. 4
it 2
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPES No. 4 AND 4*.
39. Chronicles. First Edition .
Type 4
1480
40. Description of Britain .
. Type 4
1480
41. Curia Sapientise
Type 4
1481?
42. Godfrey of Bologne
. Type 4
1481
43. Indulgence. First Edition .
Type 4
1481
44. Ditto Second Edition
• Type 4
1481
45. Chronicles. Second Edition
Type 4
1482
46. Polychronicon . . . .
. Type 4
1482
47. Pilgrimage of the Soul
Type 4
1483
48. A Vocabulary . . . .
• Type 4
1483?
49. The Festial ....
Type 4 *
1483
60. Four Sermons . . . .
. Type 4*
1483?
51. Servitium de Visitatione
Type 4
1483?
62. Sex Epistola? ....
Type 4 and 4*
1483?
53. Confessio Amantis .
Type 4 and 4*
1484
64. The Knight of the Tower
Type 4 and 4*
1484?
55. Caton ....
Type 4*
1484
56. Golden Legend ....
Type 4 and 4*
1484
57. Death-bed Prayers .
Type 4*
1484 ?
58. -(Esop .....
. Type 4*
1484
59. Order of Chivalrye .
Type 4* 1483-85
60. Canterbury Tales. Second Edition
. Type 4*
1484?
61. Book of Fame
Type 4*
1484?
62. The Curial ....
. Type 4*
1484?
63. Troilez and Cresside
Type 4*
1484?
64. Life of our Lady
. Type 4*
1484?
65. St. Winifred
Type 4*
1485 ?
66. King Arthur ....
. Type 4*
1485
67. Charles the Great
Type 4*
1485
68. Paris and Vienna
. Type 4*
1485
69. The Golden Legend. Second Edition
Type 4*
1487
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE No. 4.
No. 39. — The Chronicles of England. Folio. "Em-
prynted by me William Caxton in thabbey of West-
mynstre." June 10th, 1480. First Edition, with short
commas.
Collation. — Prologue and table a 4", signed j, tij, and
tttj, the first leaf being blank, a (a j blank) ft t fc Z % g % \
felmnopqrsturare 4 ns ; g is a 3 n . Total 182 leaves,
of which two are blank.
Typogeapical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Type No. 4 only is used. There are forty lines to a full page.
The lines are spaced out to an even length, and measure 4|
inches. The signatures are in lower-case letters and Arabic
numerals. Spaces left for the insertion of initials. Without
folios or catchwords.
Commencing with a blank leaf, the prologue follows on
sig. if recto, the Text beginning, with a space for a 5-line
initial,
§l the gere of thgncarnarion of our lort $hu erist itt.
<&<&<&<& . Ixxx . &nfc in the xx , gere of the Megne of
3J fcgng (fftitoarti the fourth? / &tte repute of tiguerre
gentilmen $ haue enoeuourti me to enprinte ffie rro=
nicies of ©nglonti as in this boofce shall bg tfie sufr
fraunre of got> folotoe/ glnti to tfjentie that euerg mon man
see ano
The Chronicle ends on the sixth recto of sig. g, the verso
being blank,
2Thus entietft this present boofce of the eromcles of
engloirti/ enpn | Wti bg me toilliam (Carton $n tbabbeg of
toestmgnstre bg loifoon | dFgngsshib anti accomplissbitJ
246 WILLIAM CAXTON.
the x ."bag of Wvgn tfjc vm of tfjtn- 1 carnation of our lore
gotj i& . <!tar(!M . Im . &nti in tf)c n . gcrc of | the rcgnc
of fcpng <£otoarti tfjc fourth
Remaeks. — The use of short commas, which characterises
the early state of this type, would induce us to give priority
to this edition over the other, in which the long commas are
used, independently of any printed date.
The history here printed by Caxton differs but little from
the " Cronicle of Brute," one of the most popular of the
fifteenth and sixteenth century books. It is, however, carried
further than any manuscript chronicle I have seen, and it
appears probable that, as any writer who felt competent made
his own additions in transcribing, so Caxton added more or
less to his copy, and brought the history down, as he acknow-
ledges having done in " Polycronicon," to the battle of
Towton. The old " Cronicle of Brute " was so called from
the opening chapter which describes the settlement of Brutus,
the descendant of the iEneas in Britain. The respective parts
due to Nennius, Douglas of Glastonbury, and Geoffrey of
Monmouth, are probably too obscure to determine. The St.
Alban's Chronicle, printed two or three years later, and in
types somewhat resembling those of Caxton, is the same text,
interpolated throughout with a history of the Popes and
ecclesiastical matters. This, and the edition of Machlinia
(Caxton's text), about the same date, are not unfrequently
catalogued erroneously as from Caxton's press.
This work is often called " Caxton's Chronicle " by old
writers, probably from the publicity he gave it both as editor
and printer, and he is often blamed for its inaccuracies,
although, with the exception of the last few pages, he had
nothing to do with its compilation ; nor indeed does he in
any way lay claim to it.
Of this edition with the short commas there are copies
at Cambridge, Bodleian (2), St. John's, Oxford, Hunterian
Museum, Glasgow, and Lambeth Palace. Six are in private
hands.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 247
No. 40. — The Description of Britain. Folio. "Fynyshcd
ly me William Caxton" No Place. 18th August,
1840.
Collation. — Three 4 n3 and one 3 n , unsigned. Thirty
leaves, the last being blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Type No. 4 only is used. There are forty lines to a full page.
The lines are spaced out to an even length, and measure 4f
inches. Spaces left for the insertion of initials. Without
signatures, folios, or catchwords. The signatures were pro-
bably omitted on account of the limited extent of the
work.
The text begins, on the verso of the first leaf, thus : —
l^it is so tfjat in mang an* *iurcse places the romgn
ctoniclcs of englon* 6m ha* an* also noto late enprinte*
at tocstmgnstre
and ends on the 29 th recto,
late* the took of ^olicronicon into rnglissh / dFnnnssfje*
6g mt toilltam (ilaiton the xbiii . *ag of august the uere of
our lor* go* M . <£<£(£<£ . Ixxx '. an* the xx . pm of ti)e
regne of fcgng (£*toar* the fourth? .
Eemarks. — " The Description of Britain " is one of the
chapters out of Ralph Higden's " Polycronicon." Caxton
printed it as a supplement to the Chronicles, and evidently
intended it to follow on after the termination of that work.
The blank leaf at the end instead of the beginning favours
this idea.
It is improbable that a second edition of " The Description
of Britain " was issued, as no copy with the long commas ( / )
has yet been found.
Copies are in British Museum, Cambridge, Oxford (3),
St. John's, Oxford, Lambeth, Glasgow, and four in private
libraries.
248 WILLIAM CAXTON.
No. 41. — ClJRA SAPIENTL33; OR THE COURT OF SAPIENCE.
Folio. Without Printer's Name, Place, or Date. (1481?)
Collation. — a & c b are 4 ns , e is a 3 n = 38 leaves, of
which the first is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is No. 4 throughout. The whole work is in " Balad
Koyal," or stanzas of seven lines, of which there are five to
each page. "Without folios or catchwords. Space is left for
the insertion of 3-line initials.
After a blank the Text begins on a \) recto, with space
for a 3-line initial, with director,
Be laoero 9 & g E most memento 9 tocdtcs
<Bt sapience sgn firste repeti nature
t i$g purpos is to tell as tortten clerfees
&nti speegallg ijec moost notable cure
The Text ends half-way down the second column, on the
sixth verso of the same signature,
Ipunng/ netieful toerftes/ anto
toretieful toefces of toge anti of
pegne
Eemarks. — The only manuscript copy of this poem is
preserved in the library, of Trinity College, Cambridge. It
belonged formerly to John Stow, who has noted several omis-
sions in the text, as compared with some other copy, probably
the printed edition ; and who has written over the top, " By
John Lydgate." The poem itself is headed " Here beginneth
a brief compiled treatise called by the Author thereof Curia
/Sapiential."
The following description by Oldys is taken from Bib.
Earl. Vol. Ill, No. 3313: "Though neither the author's nor
printer's name appears to this poem, it was visibly enough
printed by Caxton and composed by Lidgate, had we not the
authority of John Stowe for it, in the catalogue of his writings.
The author tells us it was written at the command of his
Sovereign (perhaps King Hen. V), and it seems to be one of
the scarcest of his pieces extant. There seems to be more
invention in it and variety of matter than in most other
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 249
poems of his composition, displaying, after a copious debate
between Mercy and Truth, Justice and Peace, a distinct sur-
vey throughout the palace and domains of Sapience, of all
the products of nature, in distinct chapters, and of arts and
sciences ; with his further reference, at the end of each, to the
authors who have written on them." Ames says ( Typ. Ant.,
page 67), after quoting the whole of the " Prohemium," " I
take Caxton to be the poet or author, by the above verses."
This opinion was perhaps too readily adopted. Although there
is a curious parallel between the poet's statement of his rude
and corrupt speech, and the apology of Caxton in his addi-
tions to "The ftecuyefi" for his " vnperfightness " in English,
owing to his having been educated where was "spoken as
brode and rude englissh as is in ony place of englond;"
and although we know that Caxton coidd put together a few
verses, as in the instance of the last two stanzas of " Moral
Proverbs;" yet, judging from the literary ability of his
known works and translations, we should hardly be justified
in ascribing the authorship of "Curia Sapientias" to him.
The plan of this work, in which theology, geography, natural
history, horticulture, grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy are all in turn described, was certainly
too high a flight for our printer.
The titles given to this book, " The werke of Sapience "
and " Tractatus de Fide et Cantus famule sue," adopted by
Ames and other bibliographers, were taken from the first and
last fines of the poem. The proper title, " Curia SapientiaB,"
appears at the end of " Liber Primus."
Caxton's edition is very scarce. St. John's, Oxford, and
Earl Spencer, have copies, and fragments are in the Bodleian
and the British Museum.
No. 42. — The History of Godfrey of Boloyne ; or the
Conquest of Jerusalem. Folio. Printed the 20th
November, in tlie Abbey of Westminster, by William
Caxton, 1481.
Collation. — a is a 3 n , with a j blank ; t) a 2 n , i) 1 being
blank; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and
250 WILLIAM CAXTON.
16 are all 4"", 17 is a 3 n = 144 leaves, of which two are
blank. Excepting the first two gatherings, the signatures are
entirely in Arabic numerals. Dibdin corrects Ames, and says
he counted 146 leaves, but Ames was right.
Typogeaphical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is entirely No. 4. A full page has forty lines, which
are of an even length, and measure 4| inches. Without folios
or catchwords. Space at the commencement of chapters is
left for the insertion of 3 to 7-line initials.
The volume commences with a blank leaf, after which fol-
lows the prologue, the Text beginning on a 2, with a space
for a 4-line initial,
fflt hge eouraggous fagtes/ &n0 balgaunt artes of
t noole SHlustrous anO bertuous oersonnes hen oigne
to oc rrrountrti , put in memory/ ano toreton. to thenOe
that ther mag he gguen to them name ;?jnmortal bg so-
uerngn lauOe anO pregsgng. &n0 also for to moeue anO
tenflato |
ending half-way down the recto of the sixth folio of sig. 17,
the verso being blank,
mgng. tohirhe hooofc $ began in marrhe the xi\ tape an*
fgngs= | shgo the bij oag of fugn / the gere of ouf lorO •
M . <£<£(£<£ • ixxxi | & tjjc the xxi were of the regne of our
sagO saueragn lorO fcgnfl t£0 | toarti the fourth . & in this
maner sette in forme & enprgnteti the | xx Oag of nouenu
ore the gere a forsago in tfjabhag of toestmester | bg the
sato toglliam OTaiton
In the British Museum is a splendid manuscript of this
work, a large folio, on vellum, fifteenth century, with nume-
rous illuminations. The character of the writing is very
similar to the large type of Colard Mansion, and it begins
" Les anciennes histoires diet que eracles fut moult bon x'pien
et gouuerneur de lempire de romme." The text is without
doubt the original of Caxton's translation, with which it
agrees chapter for chapter, but is carried much further than
the death of Godfrey, with which Caxton concludes. The
author appears to be unknown.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 251
All edition was printed at Paris, in 1500, with the title
" Les faits et Gestes de prenx Godefroy de Bovillon et de ses
chevalereux freres Baudouin et Eustache."
Copies are in the British Museum, Cambridge (2), Impe-
rial Library, Vienna, Hunterian College, Glasgow, Baptist
College, Bristol, with four in private libraries. The copy
belonging to S. Holford, Esq., is specially interesting ; it is
in its original vellum cover, and contains the following inter-
esting notice : — " This was king Edw. y e fourth Booke." Also
the autographs, " p'tinet Rogero Thorney," and " Rob* Well-
borne." The former of these names is worth a comment,
because it throws some doubt upon the accuracy of the pre-
vious notice. Roger Thorney, like other literary mercers of
his time, was probably a friend and supporter of Caxton : he
certainly patronised his successor, Wynken de Worde, as the
following lines from the " Polychronicon " of 1495, show : —
" this bokc of Policronicon
" Whiche Roger Thorney Mercer hath exhorted
" Wynken de Worde of vertuous entent
" Well to correcte, and gretely hym comforted,
11 This specyal boke to make and sette in prente."
How then did Roger Thorney become possessed of the copy
of " The History of Godefroy of Bulloyn," belonging to his
king ? On the inside cover is also the book-plate of Sir John
Dolben, Bart., of Finedon, in Northamptonshire. This volume
was sold among the books of Secondary Smyth, in 1G82, and
passed into the library of the Earl of Peterborough. It was
afterwards in the Vernon collection, which is now included in
that of Mr. Holford.
No. 43. — Letters of Indulgence from Johannes de
Leigliis, alias De Liliis, issued in 1481 on the
authority of pope slxtus iv, for assistance
against the Turks. On Parchment.
This Indulgence is represented by two slips of parch-
ment, extracted from the St. Alban's " Boethius." (See ante,
page 214).
252 WILLIAM CAXTON.
Originally in one, the document was cut in two pieces by
Caxton's binder, who used them for strengthening the back
of the book. They were pasted, one at the beginning and
one at the end, down the whole length, inside the boards.
When the volume was dissected they were, unfortunately,
subjected to the usual soaking in water. This has entirely
changed their original appearance, as the print has necessarily
participated in the shrinking of the parchment. From per-
sonal examination, while the volume was in its original state,
the following particulars are obtained : —
Typographical Particulars. — The Type is all No. 4.
The lines, which are spaced to an even length, measured nine
inches. The complete document, apparently, contained 13
lines.
The second slip containing the date, is as follows : —
mutare lioere ft Itrtte | . et mngttloru tf&e pre-
scutes statllt omissionis moulgectaru rt trispensactonu
sanctc cruciate p . . | mus ct frcimus appenstone com
. . trt / IBatum trie mensts |
<£ (Ear® . Imj . &c pontificatus pcefati sancttsstmt fcomtiu
nostti oo . tnt £utt pape . .
The two slips, now measuring each 7j X 1 inches, were
originally about 11x2 inches. They are now in the British
Museum.
No. 44. — Letters of Indulgence issued in 1481, on the
AUTHORITY OF POPE SlXTUS IV, FOR ASSISTANCE
against the Turks. Second Edition. On parchment.
1481.
The type is all No. 4. The lines are spaced to an even
length. The whole document is printed on one side of a slip
of paper.
The only two copies known are pasted inside the " Royal
Book " printed by Caxton, and now in the Bedford Library,
Bedford. They measure 8 x G inches. A slip of parchment
containing four lines was discovered by Mr. Bradshaw in the
Library of King's College, Cambridge.
BOOKS PEINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 253
No. 45. — The Chronicles oe England. Folio. " Em-
prynied by me William Caxton In thabbey of icest-
mestre," October 8th, 1482. Second Edition, with long
commas.
Collation. — Prologue and title a 4 n , signed tj, itj, and
tttt, the first leaf being blank, a (a f blank) firhefghtfc
I m n p <t X S t U X are 4 ns ; g is a 3 n . Total 182 leaves, of
which two are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
Type No. 4 only is used. There are forty lines to a full page.
The lines are spaced out to an even length, and measure 4f
inches. The signatures are in lower-case letters and Arabic
numerals. Spaces left for the insertion of initials. Without
folios or catchwords.
The above collation and particulars are identical with
those of the first edition, described at page 245, ante.
Commencing with a Wank leaf, the prologue follows on
sig. tj recto, the Text beginning with space for a 4-line initial,
iJL the gere of thgnearnargon of our tort gfju rrist fB
TOOM / Ixxx I &nt> in the xx gere of tfje Megne of
t fcgng ©totoartJ the fourth /atte request of hguerse Qrn
tglmen § haue entieugrgtj me to enprgnte the 4!ro=
ngeles of <2Fnglontyas in this toofe shal og the suffraunre
of go*
The Text ends on the sixth recto of sig. g, the verso being
blank,
SThus entieth this present fcoofe of the OTrongeles of
©nglontyiJFnprgntetJ fig me ftHtlliam (taton $n thairteg
of toestmestre og lontion / dFgngsshefc / an* aeeomplgsshgti
the/bui/tag of ©etoore/flThe gere of the fnearnaegon of
our tort ©oti / JH / ararar© / Ixxxii &n* in the xxii gere of
the regne of ftgng (JFbtoarto tie fourth
Copies are in the British Museum (2) and Oxford, with
three in private libraries.
254 WILLIAM CAXTON.
No. 4G. — Polyceoxicon. Folio. " Imprinted and set in
forme by me William Caxton." Without place or Bate.
Translation ended 2nd July, 1482.
Collation.— a are 4 ns , with the first leaf of a blank ;
<ft is a 2 n ; sigs. 1 to 28 are 4 ns , the first and 5th leaves of
sig. 1 being blank ; sig. 28 is followed by an unsigned single
sheet, of which but one leaf is printed, the other being blank ;
29 to 48 are 4 n9 ; 49 a 2 n ; 50 to 55 are 4 ns , with the last leaf
of 55 blank ; sig. 50 is followed by 52, sig. 51 being accident-
ally omitted=450 leaves, of which five are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type is all No. 4. The lines, which measure 4f inches,
are fully spaced out, and forty make a full page. Space is
left at the beginning of the chapters for the insertion of
initials. The first gatherings have the signatures in Roman
numerals, but all the rest are signed with Arabic numerals.
After the introductory matter folios are introduced, although
with many errors.
The Text, preceded by a blank, begins on sig. a 2 recto,
with space for a 4-line initial,
^Jrohemge
g Kete thanknnges labrtie & honoure toe mergtorpous-
In oen oounoe to peftie an* offre unto torgtcf* oHjps-
torpess / tohtehe gretelp haue prouffnteb oure mortal
Ipf/tfjat shetoe onto the refers anti herers og the
ensamples of fhpnges passgoV tohat thgnge is to fie orsgrety
The Text ends on the recto of 55-7 ; the verso and 55-8
being blank.
torgtgnge / (Sribeli the seeonti bag of gitfiU thf rctf gm
of the tegne of fcgnge (JPotoarothe fourth & of the § nrar=
narton of oure lorto a thousand four honoer* foure srore
anto ttoegne/
dFgngssfteti per ©aiton
Remarks. — Few of Caxton's books have excited more
interest and research than the " Polycronicon." It appears
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 255
to have had its origin with Roger, Monk of St. Werberg, in
Chester, who, about the beginning of the fourteenth century,
made an extensive compilation in Latin from several of the
old chronicles and works on natural history then in existence.
Ralph Higden, of the same monastery, who died before 1360,
amplified this compilation, entitling his work, "Polycronicon;"
and this, judging from the numerous copies still extant, had a
very extended popularity. In 1387 Trevisa, chaplain to the
Earl of Berkeley, translated the Latin of Higden into English
prose. An account of Trevisa, with a history of his works, is
given by Dr. Dibdin, in Typ. Ant. vol. i, page 140, who, how-
ever, has not included in his list Trevisa's English translation
of the Gospel of Nicodemus (Addit. MS. 16165). Trevisa's
translation of the Bible is expressly mentioned by Caxton in
his prologue. Nearly a century later, Caxton revised the
antiquated text of Trevisa, which, together with a continua-
tion of the history to the year 1460, was finished on July
2nd, 1482, and printed soon after. Caxton entitled his
continuation "Liber ultimus," and it is most interesting as
being the only original work of any magnitude from our
printer's pen.
Caxton tells us very little of the sources of his information.
He mentions two little works, "Fasciculus temporum" and
"Aureus de Vniverso," from which, however, he certainly
obtained but little material for his " Liber ultimus," which
treats almost entirely of English matters.
As a specimen or the alteration made by our printer, when
he " a lytyl embellyshed " the text as rendered by Trevisa, the
following quotation is given, in which the consequences of
Man's fall are graphically described. The embellishment
chiefly consists in modernising the old English, although here
and there Caxton added sentences to the text.
TREVISA'S TEXT, 1387. CAXTON'S TEXT, 1483.
(Harleian MS., No. 1900, fol. 94i). (Sig. 10 4 verso).
From that day forthward Fro that day forth the body
ye body y* is corrupt by syne that is corrupt by synne greu-
25G WILLIAM CAXTOX.
greuey y e soule / Ye flesche eth the soule The flesshe
couetiy azen 9 y e soiile / and coueyteth ayenste the soule
manes wittes torney & as- and mannes wyttes tome and
sentith liztlich to euel A assente lightly to euyl A
manes owne meynal wittes mannes oune meynal wyttes /
bey his owne enemyes {[ So be his owne enemyes / so that
y* al a manes lif is tempta- al mannes lyf is in temptacion
cion while he lyuey here in whyle he lyueth here in erthe .
erye Also man is eu failynge & the disposipon of the soule
and aweyward . he may nouzt ruleth meynteneth / helpeth
stidfastlich abide he falliy and conforteth the body / But
liztliche bot he may nouzt ayeinward the wretched dis-
lightlich arise . P'fite is of posicion of the bodye dis-
birye sorowe & care I lyuyng/ tourbeth the soule â– Also man
and man mot nedes deye is euer fayllyng and wayward
And thouz alle oy e yat bey he may not stydfastly abyde /
made haue schelles â– ryndes â– he falleth lightly but he may
skynnes ' wolle . heer . bristels â– not lightly aryse / Profyt of
fethers ■wynges other skales • byrth is sorow and care in
man is y bore wiyout eny lyuyng and man must nedes
helyng / naked & bar . anone dye And thaugh oil other
at his birye he gyney forto that be made haue shelles
wepe atte bygynyng liche to ryndes skynnes . wolle heer
a best . but his lymes failey bristels feders wynges owther
hym & may nouzt help hym- skals / Man is born withoute
self . But he is febler yan any ony helyng or keueryng
oy r beste â– he kan noon helpe â– nakede and bare / anone at
he may nouzt do of hymself his birth . he gynneth for to
but wepe wiy al his myzte. wepe atte begynnyng lyke a
No best hay lif more brutel beest but his lymmes fayllen
and vnsiker Noon hay seke- hym and maye not helpe hym
nesse more greuous ■noon self • but he is febler than ony
more likynge to do oy r wise other beeste / he can noon
than he sholde / noon is more helpe / he may nought doo of
cruwel Also oy r bestes louey hym self but wepe with al his
eueche oye of ye same kynde myght No beest hath lyf
& woney to gedres & bey more brutyl & vnseker / None
nouzt cruwel but to bestes hath sekenesse more greuous
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 257
of other kynde y* ben con- noon more lykyng to do other-
trairie to hem But man wyse than he shuld . none is
torney y* maner doyng vpso- more cruel Also other bestes
dou & is contr'ie to hym self lone eueryche other of the
& cruel to oy r men same kynde . and dwell to
gyder and be not cruel / but
to beestes of other kynde that
be contrary to hem / But man
torneth that maner doyng vp
so downe and is contrary to
hymself and cruel to other
men/
This is one of the most common of Caxton's works, at
least thirty copies being known, of which half are in various
public libraries.
No. 47. — The Pilgrimage of the Soul. " Emprynted at
westmestre by ivilliam Caxton, and fynysshed the sixth
day of June" 1483.
Collation. — An unsigned 2 n , with the first leaf blank ;
aocfcefghtfclmttare 4 n9 , with 3 j blank ; o is a 3 n ,
with the last two leaves blank. Total 114 leaves, of which
four are blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title-page.
The type throughout is No. 4. The lines are of an equal
length, and measure 4| inches. A full page has forty lines.
There is a running head to the pages, and the leaves have
printed folios, numbered very carelessly. Space has been left
for the insertion of 2, 3, and 6-line initials. Commencing
with a blank, the title and table follow on Mo i), which is
unsigned.
The Text begins, on the second leaf, thus : —
Chts oook is mtntleo the pwlgremage of tftc sotolr/ trans-
late || oute of dFvcnsshc in to (Pnglpslje / toi)id)f book is
ful of oeuonte || maters tourhmig the soroie/ ano mam> ques^
258 WILLIAM CAXTON.
tDons assopleo to ca || use a man to Inue the better in ttitet
roorlo / Rrii it rontenneth fgue || ooofces/as it appereti) her^
after bs (£hap)>tres
The text ends on the fourth leaf of sig. 0, and the verso of
folio <£x,
$ere enoeth the tireme of pglgremage of the soule txm&
latto || oute of dFrensshe in to ^nglpsshe roith somtohat of
aooieions/the pere of our lort/iH.ararcar/^ thprten/
ano enorth in t\)t £tigp || te of segnt i3artholometo
iPmprpntetj at toestmestre op USailltatn (taton / Rri*
fpnpssheol the sixth tian of Jupn/the pere of our lor*/
Jtt.itforar© / Imttj || &no the first pere of \\)t regne of
ftrmge ^toart the fpfthe/ 1|
This is the only book from the press of Caxton having the
name of Edward V in the colophon.
Remark*. — The common custom among preachers of the
Middle Ages of engaging the attention of their hearers by
spiritualising tales and even jests current among the people
is well known. This practice seems to have suggested to a
monk named Guillaume de Deguilleville the idea of moralising
the celebrated " Roman de la Rose." His poem was divided
into three parts, and completed about 1335. It contains
more than 36,000 lines, and its title is " Le Romant des trois
Pelerinages." These three pilgrimages are "Le pelerinage de
la vie humaine ;" " Le pelerinage de l'Ame ;" and " Le pele-
rinage du Jesus Christ." Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 22937 con-
tains the three parts complete. None of these appear to have
been printed. Not satisfied, however, with the result of his
labours, Guillaume again set to work and recast the whole
poem, with many amplifications and additional verses. This,
which was finished about 1350, and of which a manuscript
copy is in the Bib. Imp. Paris, 6988 2 , is the text of which
several editions were issued from the early French press.
Nearly a century passed when another monk, Jehan de
Gall opes, transposed the rhymes of Deguilleville into French
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 259
prose. This was with the object of modernising the old lan-
guage, or, as he says, "pour esclaircir et entendre la matiere
la contenue." Gallopes, however, apparently extended his
labours no further than "The Pelerinage de l'Ame," and
here we find the text used by the translator of " The Pyl-
gremage of the Sowle," printed in 1483 by our William
Caxton. Manuscripts of the prose "Pelerinage de l'Ame"
are very scarce, but a perfect copy is in Bib. Imp. Paris,
No. 7080.
Of the author and translators mentioned above, but little
can be said. Guillaunie de Deguilleville was monk, and
afterwards prior, of the Abbey of Chalis ; and this seems all
that is known of him. His name appears in the later manu-
scripts as Guillaume de Guilleville, and is mostly so printed,
but is spelt correctly in some of the early French printed
editions. In a fourteenth century manuscript, already noticed,
the name appears " de Deguilleville," and that this is the true
orthography is placed beyond question by an acrostic, con-
sisting of two "chansons" in the French text. Here the
mthor has veiled himself in the initial letters of each line,
md by putting these together we obtain his real name,
' Guillaume de Deguilleville."
" Jean de Gallopes, dit le Galoys," as we learn from the
prologue to his French prose version, was the " humble chapel-
ain" to John, Duke of Bedford and Regent of France, for
vhom the translation was undertaken. It was, therefore,
jxecuted before the death of the Regent, in 1435, and there
leems reason to suppose that its author was an Englishman.
[n the Imperial Library, Paris, is a manuscript, mentioned
)y M. Paris (Les Msc. Franc., vol. v, page 132), entitled
' Vie de Jesus Christ," which is attributed also to Gallopes,
mt which appears to be a different work from the third
' Pilgrimage" of Deguilleville.
To John Lydgate, monk, of Bury, is generally attributed
he English version of " The Pylgremage of the Sowle," and
>robably with truth, as some of the additional poems found
Lere form a part also of Lydgate's well-known poem "The
jife of our lady." He is also supposed, from internal
s2
260 WILLIAM CAXTON.
evidence of style, to be the author of "The Pilgrimage of
man" {Cotton MSS., Vitel. C. xii), an English metrical trans-
lation of Degnilleville's " Pelerinage de la vie humaine."
The numerous copies of the " Pilgrimages " still extant in
our old libraries prove that they must have attained a con-
siderable amount of popularity. In France there were several
printed editions; but in England, probably owing to the
growth of the Reformation, " The Pylgremage of the Sowle,"
printed by Caxton, is the only known edition.
Copies are in the British Museum, St. John's, Oxford, and
Sion College, London; also in the Althorpe and Britwell
Libraries.
There is no connection whatever between this work and
Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress." Caxton's book treats of the
journey and trial of the soul after death, the only point in
common being that both are supposed to happen in a dream.
"The Pilgrimage of man" is nearer in idea, but equally dis-
tinct in treatment.
No. 48. — A Vocabulary in French and English. Folio.
Sine ulld notd. 1483 ?
Collation. — Two 4 ns and one 5 n , unsigned = 26 leaves,
the first being, doubtless, blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title of any
sort. The type is No. 4 throughout. 42 lines in double
column (84 lines) make a full page, and the long lines
measure 2| inches. The words "Frensshe" and "Englissh"
appear as head-lines to every page. Without folios, catch-
words, or initials.
The Text begins, in double column, on the 2nd recto,
thus : —
dFccnssfic (Enfllwsaf)
(£}) commence la table %\\tx bennnnetfi the table
3Be cest proufffltable ooctvtne <M this pvouffntaolc lernnnge
|3our trouuer tout par orocne jFor to fnntie all bn orore
OTe que on boulora apvcnoie GTijat tofttclje toen toulle leme
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4* 2CA
The Text ends, with seven lines on the 26 th recto, thus : —
Jf renssJjc ©ngltsslj
Ea (©tare tie sainct espertt Cfje grace of tfje Jjoln gljoost
&teul enlummer Irs cures Mtnlle enlngijte t|)e ijcitrs
Be ceulr qui le aprrnoxont ©f tljem tfjat sijail leme it
4£t nous ootnst perseucrance &no us gnuc perscueraunre
<£n tonnes operarions $ti gooo to'aftrs
©t aprrs rcstc bte transitortr &no after ti)is Orf transttow
3La parouraolc tone & gloric Cfjc t urrlastgng tone ano glow
"A Book for Travellers" is the title given to this work in
Typ. Ant. vol. i, page 315, but as there is no especial suit-
ability in it for the use of travellers, and as from its composi-
tion it appears to have been formed with a scholastic aim, it
has been thought advisable to change so evident a misnomer.
No manuscript of this compilation in French or English
is known to exist, nor is there any clue to the author.
A copy is in each of the four following libraries — Ripon
Cathedral, Bamborough Castle, Earl Spencer, and Duke of
Devonshire.
No. 49. — The Festial (Liber Festialis). First Edition.
Folio. "Enjmjnted at Westmynster by Wyllyam Caxton
the taste day of Jay n, 1483."
Collation.— a o c fc Z i g fj t fe I m n are 4 ns , a r being
blank; o and p are 3 n3 =llG leaves, of which one is blank.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title of any
sort. The type is entirely No. 4*, which here appears for the
first time. The lines, which are fully spaced out, measure
5 inches. A full page has 38 lines. Without folios or catch-
tvords. Space left for the insertion of 3 to 5-line initials,
vith director.
Commencing with a blank leaf, the sermon for the First
Sunday in Advent follows on sig. a \), space being left for the
nsertion of a 5-line initial.
The Text begins thus : —
262 WILLIAM CAXTON.
$is fcag is callgo ti)c first sonoag of aburnt / tijat
is ti)f sonoap in cristas romrmg / ^nheif ore ijolg
t rfjirrhe this cap mafcetft mention of ii tomrmges
£he first tomrmg teas to owe manfcgnoe out of oon
fcage of the oeurdl anti to ornnge mannns sotoie to
olnsse / &no this other romrmg stjal or at tijr Sag of oome
The Text ends on the sixth recto of sig. p,
os that for bs orgeti on the rooo tree /<GJui rum oro patre&
spu || sancto biuit et regnat tints &M&M /
^Pipltrit
<£nprrmteo at TOestmrmster on hrnllnam Otajton tfje laste
toa» of 3>ugn Hnno tiomini M (&<£(&& HLxxxiii
The compiler of " The Festial," John Mirkus, was a canon
of the Monastery of Lilleshul, an old foundation in Shrop-
shire, as we learn from a MS. copy of his work in the Cot-
tonian Library. He says that, finding many priests, from
incapacity, were, like himself, unable to teach their parish-
ioners properly, he had taken pains to compile sermons for all
the principal feasts of the year, which he had extracted chiefly
from the " Golden Legend." The omission of the prologue,
by Caxton, as well as the sermons on Burial and Paternoster,
mentioned above, makes us suspect that our printer had a
copy imperfect at beginning and end. The subject of nearly
every chapter in "The Festial" may also be found in the
" Golden Legend ;" but, taking the two books, as printed by
Caxton, for comparison, it will be seen that the sermons for
the Moveable Feasts, with which each work commences, have
nothing in common but their subject, and that the histories
of the saints are treated very differently, and often disagree
even in their supposed historical facts. The " Gesta Romano-
rum" furnished many stories for the "Golden Legends," but
in "The Festial" that mine of anecdotes has contributed
still more largely to the illustration and enforcement of the
preacher's remarks. "The Festial" is yet further removed
from our Book of Common Prayer, with which it has been
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1. 2G3
associated. With the exception of the names in the calendar
there is nothing in common between them.
Although in Caxton's edition of this work it is entirely
without a name, there seems no reason for giving it the Latin
title by which it is generally known, " Liber Festivalis."
John Mirkus, its compiler, who Avrote it in English, says, " I
will and pray that it be called a Festial ;" and, accordingly,
it was so called by Wynken de Worde in several editions, by
Rood of Oxford, and by other early printers.
Copies are at the British Museum, Bodleian, Lambeth,
and Althorpe.
No. 50. — Four Sermons, etc. (Quatuor Seraiones, etc.)
First Edition. Folio. " Enprynted by Wylliam Caxton
at Westmestre." Without Date. (1483?)
Collation. — a h C are 4 ns , Tr a 3 n =30 leaves. No blanks.
Typographical Particulars. — There is no title. The
type is entirely No. 4*. The lines are fully spaced out, and
measure 5 inches. A full page has 38 lines. Without folios
or catchwords. In this book we find, for the first time, the
paragraph mark {[ used — a mark which never appears in
the early state of this type.
The Text begins on sig. a j, with space for a 3-line initial,
without director,
#?e magstcr of sentence in the sccono hooe anti the
first tigstgnction/sagth that the soucragn cause/
rohg gofi maoc al creatures in henen crthe or toater /
toas his oune gooti || ncs / fig the tohiefjc he toolo that some of
On sig. tj U) recto,
C STijc ©eneralle Sentence
<©oti men ano rogmmen § tio gou to unorrstonor that
8 Wit that haue cure of gour sotolgs fie rommaumogti of
our orocnartcs ano fig tjje cogstgtucions ano the ia&2He
of holg chtrthc to shctoc to gou foure tgmes fig the gere
in eche a quarter of the gere ongs mhen tie peple is most
2G4 WILLIAM CAXTON.
The Text ends on the sixth verso of sig. ti,
rcsurrcctionis gloria inter sanrtos tt rlrrtos tuos rmissitati
wspi || rent, per xprtstum oomimn nostrum Hmen/
^nprgntfO on tonUiam (taton at torstmrstrc/
Remarks. — The name of the writer of these homilies is
not known, nor do they appear attached to any of the manu-
scripts of the Festial above noticed. That they were, how-
ever, printed by Caxton at the same time as the Festial
appears evident from the identity of their typographical
arrangements, strengthened by the fact of their being, in
several instances, under the same cover. That Caxton also
intended to allow their separate use may, nevertheless, be
deduced from the first gathering having a for its signature,
and from the existence of some copies unaccompanied by the
Festial. In the Lambeth copy the sermons precede the
Festial.
The four sermons are thus apportioned : —
1. On the Paternoster, the Creed, and the Ten Command-
ments.
2. The Seven Sacraments, the Seven Deeds of Mercy, and
the Seven Deadly Sins.
3. A continuation of the subject of Deadly Sins.
4. On Contrition, Confession, and Satisfaction.
After the sermons are " The General Sentence or Commi-
nacion," and two forms of bidding prayer, called " The Bedes
on Sondaye."
Every priest was obliged by the Canon Law to read the
"Modus Fulminandi," or Commination, and to preach at
least one sermon every three months, and these were probably
compiled for that purpose.
Nine copies are known, of which two only are in private
hands.
No. 51. — Servitium de Vlsitatione B. Marls; Virginis.
Quarto. Sine ulld nota. (1481-3).
Collation. — One 4 n =8 leaves, of which the last is blank.
BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 4. 2G5
Typographical Particulars. — The type is entirely
No. 4. The lines, which are fully spaced out, measure 3£
inches in length ; there are 26 lines to a full page. Without
signatures, folios, or catchwords.
The first leaf is wanting in the only copy known. The
second 
