William Caxton - wikipedia William Caxton `` Caxton '' redirects here. For other uses, see Caxton ( disambiguation ). William Caxton c. 1422 c. 1491 Resting place St Margaret 's, Westminster Occupation merchant, diplomat, writer, printer Period Late Plantagenet, Early English Renaissance Notable work Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres Brut Chronicles Printer 's mark of William Caxton, 1478. A variant of the merchant 's mark William Caxton ( c. 1422 -- c. 1491 ) was an English merchant, diplomat, and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer was the first English retailer of printed books. Neither his parentage nor date of birth is known for certain, but he may have been born between 1415 and 1424, perhaps in the Weald or wood land of Kent, perhaps in Hadlow or Tenterden. In 1438 he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a wealthy London silk mercer. Shortly after Large 's death, Caxton moved to Bruges, Belgium, a wealthy cultured city, where he was settled by 1450. Successful in business, he became governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London ; on his business travels, he observed the new printing industry in Cologne, which led him to start a printing press in Bruges in collaboration with Colard Mansion. When Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV, married the Duke of Burgundy, they moved to Bruges and befriended Caxton. It was the Duchess who encouraged Caxton to complete his translation of the Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, a collection of stories associated with Homer 's Iliad, which he did in 1471. On his return to England, heavy demand for his translation prompted Caxton to set up a press at Westminster in 1476, although the first book he is known to have produced was an edition of Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales ; he went on to publish chivalric romances, classical works, and English and Roman histories, and to edit many others. He is credited with two other firsts : he printed perhaps the earliest English translation verses of the Bible, and was the first to translate Aesop 's Fables in 1484. Caxton was not an adequate translator, and under pressure to publish as much as possible as quickly as possible, he sometimes simply transferred French words into English ; but because of the success of his translations, he is credited with helping to promote the Chancery English he used to the status of standard dialect throughout England. In 2002, Caxton was named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Printing and later life 1.3 Death and memorials 2 Caxton and the English language 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links Biography Early Life Caxton 's family `` fairly certainly '' consisted of his parents, Philip and Dionisia, and a brother, Philip. His date of birth is unknown. Records place it in the region of 1415 -- 1424, based on the fact that his apprenticeship fees were paid in 1438. Caxton would have been 14 at the date of apprenticeship, but masters often paid the fees late. In the preface to his first printed work The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, he claims to have been born and educated in the Weald of Kent. Oral tradition in Tonbridge claims that Caxton was born there ; the same with Tenterden. One of the manors of Hadlow was Caustons, owned by the Caxton ( De Causton ) family. A house in Hadlow reputed to be the birthplace of William Caxton was dismantled in 1936 and incorporated into a larger house rebuilt in Forest Row, East Sussex. Further evidence for Hadlow is that various place names nearby are frequently mentioned by Caxton. Caxton was in London by 1438, when the registers of the Mercers ' Company record his apprenticeship to Robert Large, a wealthy London mercer or dealer in luxury goods, who served as Master of the Mercer 's Company, and Lord Mayor of London in 1439. After Large died in 1441, Caxton was left a small sum of money ( £ 20 ). As other apprentices were left larger sums, it would seem that he was not a senior apprentice at this time. Printing and later Life A page from the Brut Chronicles ( printed as the Chronicles of England ), printed in 1480 by Caxton in blackletter Caxton was making trips to Bruges by 1450 at the latest and had settled there by 1453, when he may have taken his Liberty of the Mercers ' Company. There he was successful in business and became governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London. His trade brought him into contact with Burgundy and it was thus that he became a member of the household of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, the third wife of Charles the Bold and sister of two Kings of England : Edward IV and Richard III. This led to more continental travel, including travel to Cologne, in the course of which he observed the new printing industry and was significantly influenced by German printing. He wasted no time in setting up a printing press in Bruges, in collaboration with a Fleming named Colard Mansion, and the first book to be printed in English was produced in 1473 : Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, a translation by Caxton himself. In the epilogue of the book, Caxton tells how his `` pen became worn, his hand weary, his eye dimmed '' with copying the book by hand, so he `` practiced and learnt '' how to print it. His translation had become popular in the Burgundian court, and requests for copies of it were the stimulus for him to set up a press. Caxton 's 1476 edition of Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales Bringing the knowledge back to England, he set up the country 's first ever press in the almonry of the Westminster Abbey Church in 1476. The first book known to have been produced there was an edition of Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales ( Blake, 2004 -- 07 ). Another early title was Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres ( Sayings of the Philosophers ), first printed on 18 November 1477, translated by Earl Rivers, the king 's brother - in - law. Caxton 's translations of the Golden Legend ( 1483 ) and The Book of the Knight in the Tower ( 1484 ) contain perhaps the earliest verses of the Bible to be printed in English. He produced the first translation of Ovid 's Metamorphoses in English. Caxton produced chivalric romances ( such as Fierabras ), the most important of which was Sir Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur ( 1485 ) ; classical works ; and English and Roman histories. These books appealed to the English upper classes in the late fifteenth century. Caxton was supported by ( but not dependent on ) members of the nobility and gentry. Death and memorials Stained glass to William Caxton, Guildhall, London Caxton 's precise date of death is uncertain, but estimates from the records of his burial in St. Margaret 's, Westminster, suggest that he died near March 1492. However, George D. Painter makes numerous references to the year 1491 in his book William Caxton : a biography as the year of Caxton 's death, since 24 March was the last day of the year according to the calendar used at the time, so the year - change had n't happened yet. Painter writes, `` However, Caxton 's own output reveals the approximate time of his death, for none of his books can be later than 1491, and even those which are assignable to that year are hardly enough for a full twelve months ' production ; so a date of death towards autumn of 1491 could be deduced even without confirmation of documentary evidence. '' In November 1954, a memorial to Caxton was unveiled in Westminster Abbey by J. J. Astor, chairman of the Press Council. The white stone plaque is on the wall next to the door to Poets ' Corner. The inscription reads : `` Near this place William Caxton set up the first printing press in England. '' Caxton and the English language Caxton printed 80 per cent of his works in the English language. He translated a large number of works into English, performing much of the translation and editing work himself. He is credited with printing as many as 108 books, 87 of which were different titles, including the first English translation of Aesop 's Fables ( 1484 ). Caxton also translated 26 of the titles himself. His major guiding principle in translating was an honest desire to provide the most linguistically exact replication of foreign language texts into English, but the hurried publishing schedule and his inadequate skill as a translator often led to wholesale transference of French words into English and numerous misunderstandings. Caxton showing the first specimen of his printing to King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth at the Almonry, Westminster ( painting by Daniel Maclise ) The English language was changing rapidly in Caxton 's time and the works that he was given to print were in a variety of styles and dialects. Caxton was a technician rather than a writer, and he often faced dilemmas concerning language standardisation in the books that he printed. He wrote about this subject in the preface to his Eneydos. His successor Wynkyn de Worde faced similar problems. Caxton is credited with standardising the English language through printing -- that is, homogenising regional dialects and largely adopting the London dialect. This facilitated the expansion of English vocabulary, the regularisation of inflection and syntax, and a widening gap between the spoken and the written word. Richard Pynson started printing in London in 1491 or 1492 and favoured what came to be called Chancery Standard, largely based on the London dialect. Pynson was a more accomplished stylist than Caxton and consequently pushed the English language further toward standardisation. It is asserted that the spelling of `` ghost '' with the silent letter h was adopted by Caxton due to the influence of Flemish spelling habits. References William Caxton printer 's device, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress ^ Jump up to : Joan Thirsk, ed. ( 2007 ). Hadlow, Life, Land & People in a Wealden Parish 1460 ~ 1600 ( PDF ). Kent Archaeological Society. pp. 107 -- 109. ISBN 978 - 0 - 906746 - 70 - 7. ^ Jump up to : L.B.L. ( 1859 ). `` Notices of Kent Worthies, Caxton '' ( PDF ). Archaeologica Cantiana. Kent Archaeological Society. 2 : 231 -- 33. Jump up ^ `` William Caxton English printer, translator, and publisher ''. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. Jump up ^ Duff, Edward Gordon, William Caxton, p. 25. Jump up ^ Timbs, John ( 1855 ). Curiosities of London : Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis. D. Bogue. p. 4. Jump up ^ Blake, N.F. William Caxton and English Literary Culture. p. 298. Jump up ^ p. 188 Jump up ^ Official Abbey website Jump up ^ James A. Knapp, `` Translating for Print : Continuity and Change in Caxton 's Mirrour of the World, '' in : Translation, Transformation, and Transubstantiation, ed. Carol Poster and Richard Utz ( Evanston, IL : Northwestern University Press, 1998 ), pp. 65 -- 90. Jump up ^ Caxton 's Chaucer -- Caxton 's English Jump up ^ Baddeley, Susan ; Voeste, Anja ( 2012 ). Orthographies in early modern Europe. Berlin : De Gruyter Mouton. p. 148. ISBN 9783110288179. Jump up ^ Simon Garfield, Just My Type : A Book About Fonts ( New York : Gotham Books, 2011 ), pp. 82. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59240 - 652 - 4 Jump up ^ Spell It Out by David Crystal -- review, The Guardian, 14 September 2012 Further reading Blake, Norman Francis ( 2004 ). `` Caxton, William ( 1415 ~ 1492 ) ''. In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford : Oxford University Press, accessed 1 July 2006. Blake, Norman Francis ( 1976 ). Caxton : England 's First Publisher. London : Barnes and Noble. ISBN 0064904504. Blake, Norman Francis ( 1991 ). William Caxton and English Literary Culture. A&C Black. ISBN 1852850515. Blake, Norman Francis ( 1969 ). Caxton and His World. Deutsch. ISBN 0233960937. Duff, Edward Gordon ( 1905 ). William Caxton. Chicago : Caxton Club. Loades, David, ed. Reader 's Guide to British History ( 2003 ) 1 : 236 - 37 ; historiography Duff, Gordon. The Introduction of Printing into England and the Early Work of the Press. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. vol II ch XIII. Painter, George Duncan ( 1976 ). William Caxton : A Quincentenary Biography of England 's First Printer. London : Chatto and Windus. ISBN 070112198X. Fredrick W. Hamilton. ( 1918 ) A Brief History of Printing In England : United Typothetae of America. Chicago External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : William Caxton Wikisource has original works written by or about : William Caxton Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Caxton. Works by William Caxton at Project Gutenberg Works by or about William Caxton at Internet Archive Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres Works by William Caxton at LibriVox ( public domain audiobooks ) Caxton 's Canterbury Tales from the British Library Selected works, printed by Caxton from the Folger Shakespeare Library 's digital image collection The Game and Playe of the Chesse. Introduction and text, part of the TEAMS Middle English Texts Series The Lyf of the Noble and Crysten Prynce Charles the Grete from Celtic Twilight Works published by Caxton from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress : A book of the chesse moralysed AL Ingratitude vtterly settying apart, we owe to calle to our myndes the manyfolde gyftes of grace... Cordiale quattuor novissimorum. Here begynneth the prohemye vpon the reducynge, both out of latyn as of frensshe in to our englyssh tongue of the polytyque book named Tullius de senectute. Here begynneth the table of the rubrices of this presente volume named the Mirrour of the World or thymage of the same. Livre des faits d'armes et de chevalerie The recuyles or gaderige to gyder of ye hystoryes of Troye... Medieval European Printers England William Caxton Julian Notary William de Machlinia Richard Pynson Wynkyn de Worde France Barthelemy Buyer Guillaume Fichet Ulrich Gering Wolfgang Hopyl Berthold Rembolt Germany Eucharius Cervicornus Andreas Frisner Johannes Gutenberg Jobst Gutknecht Gottfried Hittorp Anton Koberger Michael Lochmaier Johannes Mentelin Albrecht Pfister Erhard Ratdolt Peter Schöffer Johann Sensenschmidt Günther Zainer Ulrich Zell Switzerland Bernhard Richel Berthold Ruppel Michael Wenssler Italy Subiaco Press Subiaco Press Netherlands Gerard Leeu Colard Mansion Dirk Martens Richard Pafraet Johann Veldener John of Westphalia Hadlow Locations in the parish of Hadlow Barnes Street Golden Green Buildings Bourne Mill Goldhill Mill Hadlow Castle Hopper huts from North Frith Farm Pierce Mill St. Mary 's Church Institutions Hadlow College Hadlow Cricket Club Industry Crystalate Ltd. Notable people William Caxton Stephen Crow Allison Fisher Bernard Hailstone John Larkin John Rivers Joan Thirsk WorldCat Identities BIBSYS : 90059651 BNE : XX1202513 BNF : cb12213955g ( data ) BPN : 17576238 GND : 118667572 ISNI : 0000 0001 1827 5959 LCCN : n79007370 LNB : 000132359 NDL : 00435568 NKC : jx20050920001 NLA : 35026736 RKD : 249524 SELIBR : 180669 SNAC : w6c8277s SUDOC : 030796423 ULAN : 500093929 VIAF : 68979076 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Caxton&oldid=859848722 '' Categories : 15th - century English writers English writers English translators 15th - century translators 1492 deaths 15th - century births English book publishers ( people ) English printers 15th - century English people People from Kent Printers of incunabula Translators to English People of the Tudor period People from Hadlow 15th - century printers Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from December 2013 Pages using Infobox writer with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015 Articles with Project Gutenberg links Articles with Internet Archive links Articles with LibriVox links Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BPN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with LNB identifiers Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Wikipedia articles with RKDartists identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers AC with 17 elements Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Wikisource Afrikaans تۆرکجه Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Bikol Central Català Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Latina Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 24 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 September 2018, at 17 : 58 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did the printing press come to england
Answer: in 1476