William Caxton and Printing in Vernacular Languages
An essay by Lotte Hellinga
Before Caxton ventured into printing in Cologne, he had spent some thirty years in Flanders, where eventually he reached a prominent position among his fellow-merchants. There he had had the opportunity to get acquainted with the rich culture of manuscript books, mainly in French, produced under the patronage of the highest echelons of society. He himself did not belong to those circles, but he came into contact with them due to his position as Governor of the English Nation in Bruges, and as diplomat negotiating with the ducal court and its administrators. Book production by the scribes in Flanders, working for the noble and the rich, often included the work of translating and editing texts that were either commissioned by, or dedicated to particular patrons. Caxton conformed to this pattern when he took the initiative to translate from French into English a text that related to the ducal court of Burgundy (residing mainly in Flanders), and that might in particular flatter the English princess, Margaret of York, who had married in 1467 the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold. The wedding was celebrated in Bruges with ceremonies full of pageantry and symbolism alluding to the ancient heroes of Troy, the reputed ancestors of the Burgundian dukes. Caxton watched the processions, and they inspired him to translate a recent version of the histories of Troy, written by Raoul Lefevre for the bridegroom’s father. In Caxton’s English translation this text became The Recuyell of the histories of Troy. He also translated the same author’s History of Jason, the heroic adventures of the Argonaut who conquered the Golden Fleece (another strong symbol in the Burgundian traditions). Some time after he had begun his translation, Caxton showed what he had done to Margaret of York, with whose court he had by that time a formal connection, possibly as adviser. She encouraged him to continue, and he completed the text while exiled in Cologne.
But for his stay in Cologne, where Caxton got acquainted with printed books — in Latin — his translation of the Recuyell might have followed the pattern that was now common in Flanders, the text to be presented to a patron in a beautifully written manuscript, the work of a professional scribe, and illustrated with fine miniatures. But the experience in Cologne, including his own venture into publishing three books in Latin, gave Caxton a different idea. He would produce the text in print, dedicated to his patroness Margaret of York. In this form there would also be the prospect of offering copies for sale. In an epilogue to the printed book he marvelled at producing so many copies of the book ‘all finished in one day’.
It was the first time a book was printed in English, and at that time — 1473 — it was still highly unusual to publish a printed book in a language other than Latin. There were the small books printed in German by Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg, with dates in the early 1460s, and also two Bible translations into German printed in Strasbourg, by Johann Mentelin in 1466 [JRL 9170, ISTC ib00624000] and by Heinrich Eggestein c. 1470 [JRL 3072, ISTC ib00625000].
Italian was the first vernacular language in which great literary works appeared in print: Boccaccio’s Decamerone was printed three times in c. 1470–2, in Naples, Venice and Mantua [JRL 16686, 17659, 8658, ISTC ib00725200, ib00725300, ib00725400]. Dante’s Commedia was published three times in 1472, in Foligno, Mantua and Venice [JRL 7295, 7495, 9380, ISTC id00022000, id00023000, id00024000]. The earliest books in French were to appear a couple of years later, and, surprisingly, are also connected with Caxton. At about the same time, one or two French books were printed in Lyon.
Caxton was probably not acquainted with any of the previous publications in vernacular languages. His decision to get his Recuyell printed is therefore a step of great originality and a courageous new enterprise. He combined the two patterns of book-ownership and book-trade that he had previously encountered: that of patronage in the culture of Flanders and the ducal court, and that of trade in printed books, as experienced in Cologne. To achieve his purpose he deliberately adopted a new style of typography, which was to resemble the handwriting of one of the foremost scribes of the era. He engaged the support of an experienced typographer, probably Johan Veldener, whom he must have known in Cologne, and from whom he commissioned a fount of type in the style that can be recognized as that of the scribe David Aubert and his atelier. He engaged compositors and press-men, and obtained supplies of paper. Thus equipped he initiated a printing house, and that in an environment, in Flanders, where no printer had ever operated before. Traditionally it is thought that the location of Caxton’s Flemish printing house was in Bruges, but there are strong arguments that all this took place in Ghent. The copy in The John Rylands Library [JRL 10863, ISTC il00117000] is decorated with arabesque red initials that contrast with the text set in a much more sober representation of a scribal style. The red printing, impeccably executed, reveals that Caxton engaged a very competent printer.
The resulting book is a complete success, but in one respect Caxton was unlucky: the book celebrates the Burgundian dynasty, but this was to come to an end only few years later, when by a succession of accidents the dynasty died out. The text had not much relevance to later generations, and was reprinted only once (in 1502) as an adventure story. Centuries later, in 1892, William Morris revived it to honour England’s first printer.
