William Caxton
William Caxton (c. 1422 in Kent, † 1491 in Westminster) was the first English printer and are also active as a publisher and translator. He is considered an important creator and reformer of the English language, as they knew how to develop a modern and unified English in his prints and translations from the various dialects.
Biography
Due to sparse source location can be combined into Caxton's childhood and early youth make no reliable information. Even the year of his birth can only be determined approximately. First documented assignable testimony of his life is the entry as an apprentice at the London draper Robert Large in 1438th On April 24, 1441 Master died before Caxton his commercial apprenticeship had been able to finish. For a good relationship between master and apprentice is the fact that the young Large Caxton generously gave in his will. Which new teaching Lord of his training finally ended, is not known.
Sure is, however, is that Caxton came in the early 1440s to Flanders. In Bruges, the former center of European cloth and wool trade, he was very successful as a merchant in 1463 as Head of the Merchant Adventurers, the Foreign Organization of the English merchants, elected. As Acting Governor of the English Nation beyond the Sea, he was an influential diplomatic mediation in the cloth trade important but quite conflictual relations between England and the ruling dukes of Burgundy in Flanders. Also because of Caxton's negotiating skills came in the long-standing trade disputes eventually to a solution whose outer highlight the marriage of the English princess Margaret of York Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy was formed in 1468.
A little later Caxton joined the entourage of the new Duchess. With high probability, he worked as her secretary and court librarian. This position allowed him to lead the valuable library of the Dukes of Burgundy and sufficiently gave him the opportunity to pursue his passion for books and literature. In the time of his Hofdienstes also dealing with the first own book project falls. Raoul le Fevres known French-language summary of stories about the Troy myth inspired Caxton to translate them into English. He began work on it in Bruges and finished it by its own account in September 1471 in Cologne. In fact, his presence in Cologne for the years 1471/1472 is mentioned in documents.
Even if the original motivation of this stay nothing more is known, so he was of crucial importance for Caxton's future life. From records of his later business successor Wynkyn de Worde can be inferred that William Caxton in Cologne learned the printing trade. The first own printing company he set up with his business partner Colard Mansion However, in Bruges. There arose in 1474 The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troy, the first printed book in English. The following year, the translated by Caxton himself was brought down for output. Due to the great similarity of the types used, it is assumed that Caxton and his partner procured her letters material in the printer Johann Veldener in Leuven.
After he had learned printing in Cologne and Bruges in his first book project was put into effect, to Caxton decided anno 1476 to return to England. In Westminster, which formed an independent, not belonging to London district at this time, he established the first printing press on English soil. Due to accurate analyzes of the types of paper used and it is the Inkunabelforschung managed to clarify the previously controversial order of Caxton's printing, also appeared all without title page and in many cases without a date in the colophon or Incipit with high probability. The first publication produced in England was therefore a letter of indulgence. The first major work should the Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer English author have been.
Without a doubt, was the introduction of printing in England of great cultural and historical significance. As an experienced businessman Caxton saw but also the business prospects that offered the innovative technology. Thanks to its cooling deliberative business acumen and good contacts with the social elite, his Offizin developed into a prosperous enterprise. Access to the medium book, previously largely reserved for the nobility and clergy, has now opened up by Caxton's work to wealthy bourgeois circles.
In the spring of 1491 the first English printer, died at Westminster, and was buried at St. Margaret 's Church. His employee Wynkyn de Worde took over the management of the print below.
Work
Scope of the work
To date, 107 individual publications have become known, were produced in William Caxton's workshops. His Brügger Offizin be assigned to it six titles. Run lengths are likely to be to settle depending on the size of the work at 300 to 400 copies. More than a dozen of Caxton's publications reached a second edition. It remains to be considered that is not to say with certainty due to incomplete source material, how many incunabula Caxton's actually spawned printers. But already the number of known works speaks for quite a high productivity. Given the high workload and the significant physical demands of the printer craft is assumed that William Caxton small craft business predominantly left his employees for reasons of age and focused on his talents as a publisher and translator.
Generic Installation Program
Caxton's publishing program has distinct differences from the concepts of other printers publisher of the incunabula period. While specialized a large part of his professional colleagues on the works of classical antiquity or brought writings on theology and philosophy in the Latin language edition, Caxton is focused on the wise recognized by him needs his English readership. So he printed 74 of his 107 known works in English. He drew both on the writings of English authors as well as translations. In over twenty cases transferred Caxton foreign language text bases by hand in his mother tongue.
The first English printer abandoned but not entirely on Latin title. He also brought documents in the universal language of scholars and clergy for output. This, however, were for the most part texts that served the practical use in worship and community life, such as prayer books, Psalms, liturgical instructions and letters of indulgence. French -language title printed Caxton rarely.
A striking feature of Caxton verlegerischem program is addition to the high proportion of English language writings also brought to the versatility of the output content. In contrast to most other printers in its time, directed their attention to Latin and Greek classics, William Caxton set to a different range of topics. A large part of his program made secular entertainment literature in English. These were mostly tales of ancient times (eg The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troy, History of Jason ) or chivalrous and romantic narratives (eg Godefrey of Boloyne ). In many plants, the entertaining aspects have also been combined with philosophical and moral teachings, such as the Dictes of the Philosophers or the issue of Aesop's Fables. Already Caxton's second printed still in Bruges book about the game of chess ( The Game and Playe of the Chesse ), the translation of a work by Jacobus de Cessolis, combined cleverly with instructive entertainment. Furthermore, Caxton also printed historical and geographical writings (eg, Chronicles of England, Mirror of the World ) and the first law book in English, the Statutes of Henry VII He also brought a variety of other publications of different content for output, including the aforementioned liturgical texts, but also textbooks or instructions for courtly etiquette.
The English classics
Great attention and lasting contribution to the teaching of English literature, William Caxton acquired through the promotion of the literary classics of the English Middle Ages. He printed significant works of renowned local authors such as John Gower ( Confessio Amantis, for example ), John Lydgate (eg Life of our Lady ) and Sir Thomas Malory (Le Morte d' Arthur). Special appreciation felt for Caxton 's writings Geoffrey Chaucer, of which he printed a larger selection and brought to the output (eg, The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, Boethius, Book of Fame ). Caxton's admiration for this writer was always in the prefaces and epilogues to his works clearly. The sincerity of his enthusiasm for Chaucer's art can also be seen that Caxton, after he had discovered that his first edition of the Canterbury Tales in 1476 was based on an erroneous text, spared neither cost nor effort and anno 1483 a new, improved edition of this significant work brought out, which was also illustrates yet.
Economic conception
However, it would be a mistake to conclude from Caxton's passionate commitment to the English classics that he had been passed as a printer, publisher and editor priority of his majestic idealism. Even where he pursued his own literary preferences, Caxton was always thinking of the useful and Expedient. His promotion of the English language and literature was based solely on personal preference, but was also the result of sober commercial viewing of the English market. William Caxton realized that the demand for the Latin and Greek classics was already sufficiently covered by the work of his colleagues and English printer entertaining literature corresponded much more to the needs of his audience. Consequently, he printed primarily what his contemporaries took up willingly and good sales promised. The works of his printers are also distinguished by no means special beauty or magnificent interiors from. Caxton, who printed his Latin writings in Gothic types and the English title in Bastarda not produced books for bibliophiles, but those works which were widely demand and good profits promised. These same commercial rationality is likely to have played a crucial role, that the first English printer, unlike many of his colleagues did not fail to economic difficulties, but was a successful businessman.
Importance for the development of the English language
William Caxton's cultural and historical significance arises not only from his role as a pioneer of English printing press and his success as a particularly adept economic printers forming the incunabula period. Sustainable merits Caxton acquired in relation to the development of the English language. He is considered an important creator and reformer of his native language, because as a translator and editor decisive contribution through his work as a printer and its activities to develop a modern and uniform standard English language. Caxton's services for the English language are thus quite comparable with the merits, the Martin Luther acquired through his Bible translation for the German and Dante Alighieri in his literary work for the Italian.
The starting point for the programmatic translated to English literature Caxton was quite problematic. In England at that time there was an enormous variety of different local dialects, which culminated in an arbitrariness of language and spelling. Caxton was faced with the difficult task of the present texts him to work so that they could be understood throughout the country. He was guided by the most common variant of his mother tongue, namely the common in and around London dialect.
The printing press proved to be a suitable instrument to enforce an approximately uniform written English. Caxton first time produced a greater number of mechanically produced and therefore completely identical set of fonts that were spread throughout the country. Thus introduced the new technology by today's standards, despite the extremely short runs ( 300-400 copies) but one not to be underestimated factor for the further language development in England dar.
Even William Caxton's work as a translator had a significant influence on the formation of the modern English language. At least 23 of the pressure and to issue it had put plants were transferred by hand from Caxton into English. These writings thus likely to have been considerably affected by the subjective views of its author in terms of vocabulary and linguistic style. With the proliferation of literary content therefore always also found Caxton's model of a modern English language the way to the reader. Of course, were the significant progress which meant the introduction of the printing press for the dissemination of literature and formed content change much because the access to the medium of the book remained a small, privileged especially true circle reserved. This exclusive group had but due to their prominent position in society have a particularly strong influence on the development of sophisticated linguistic communication and the education of the English written language.
Stylistically particularly successful are the works ahead or trailing prologues and epilogues. This self- authored by Caxton posts contained not only the usual information a colophon or incipits (eg author, date, place of publication ). It was brief and insightful essays, the reader presented knowing about author and work and einordneten the present text in a larger context. Here, the first English printer took no means a neutral stance. The prologues and epilogues always transported and subjective judgments and interpretations. He themed open his personal relationship to the pressure and to issue it had put plants and gave the audience information about motivation and self- understanding of the printer, publisher and editor William Caxton. For dealing with the incunabula book scientific research, the prologues and epilogues also of particular interest because in them a variety of anecdotes and reports can be found, can that help, a better insight into the working of a printer of incunabula and the surrounding social circumstances are to win. As language and content particularly noteworthy Caxton's preface is valued at Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. This editing process of this work is regarded as English for teaching literature of paramount importance.