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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about William Caxton

William Caxton By The Granger Collection –

William Caxton was an English merchant, writer, and diplomat.  He is best known for bringing the printing press to the United Kingdom.

Exerted as an important influence on English literature, he was a driving force in translation and written literature. However not much is known of him and his personal life? Here are 10 unbelievable facts about William Caxton

1. William Caxton moved to Belgium

When he was a teenager, he went to apprentice for an established mercer, Robert Large in London where he learned how to trade things and become a merchant. After Large died in 1441, William Caxton was left with a small sum of money 拢20.

In his late 20s, William visited Bruges in Belgium where he got exposed to many different people from around the world. He started buying and selling silk to earn money. It is here where he learned of Johannes Gutenberg who designed and built the first printing press.

2. He was governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London.

In Bruges, William Caxton put the skills he picked from his apprenticeship with Large to work. He was successful in business as a merchant selling luxury goods to the high-class society. His trade introduced him to the Dutchy of the Burgundy where he became a member of the household of Margaret.

She was the third wife of Charles the Bold and sister of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III. This acquaintance led to more continental travel, including to Cologne, in the course where he observed the new printing industry flourishing.

From 1462 to 1470 Caxton served as governor of the ‘English Nation of Merchant Adventurers’ because of his affiliation with the royals. This allowed him to represent his fellow merchants, as well as act as a diplomat for the king. He accrued significant wealth and influence from this post.

3. He opened his first printing press in Bruges

The Pyes of Salisbury, William Caxton, 1477 By William Caxton-

1470鈥檚 while in Cologne, Caxton took an interest in learning the art of printing from the Germans. He returned to Bruges in 1472 and started his own printing business in Bruges in collaboration with a Fleming calligrapher named Colard Mansion. William and Colard translated and printed his first book in English in 1473 about Troy 鈥� 鈥� Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye,鈥�.

It was the first book printed in English at the time. Caxton鈥檚 translation of the book Troy inspired an early Elizabethan play.  The book was a translation of a French courtly romance written by a chaplain to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, named Raoul Lefevre. William went on to print and publish about 90 different books over the next two decades

4. His 鈥� Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye,鈥� inspired a play

The Historye of Horestes of 1567, which was about the Greek myth of Orestes was inspired by his first book 鈥淩ecall of the Histories of Troye鈥�. It was written by John Pickering most likely performed by Lord Rich’s men. Horestes presents an ambiguous ending that is similar to both the Orestia and the Historyes of Troy.

5. William Caxton brought the printing press to London

William Caxton showing specimens of his printing to King Edward IV and his Queen By The Graphic June 30, 1877 –

Caxton returned to England in 1476 and went ahead to establish his printing press business at Westminster. He devoted himself to writing and printing mainly producing his books in English for the local market. This was different from most continental printers who produced books in Latin and other international languages.

Despite his books and printed materials not reaching a wider audience than his manuscripts, Caxton still made good money as his works targeted a fairly wealthy market. Amongst his most famous works were Chaucer’s 鈥淐anterbury Tales,鈥� Gower’s 鈥淐onfessio Amantis鈥� and Malory’s 鈥淟e Morte d’Arthur鈥�.  

Throughout his career and lifetime, William printed over 100 books and was well sought out for his craftsmanship and careful editing. Caxton was sometimes commissioned by kings, nobles, and rich merchants were to print special books.

6. Caxton published other books before 鈥淩ecuyell of the Historyes鈥�

A catalogue of books printed by William Caxton By William Blades –

Although Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye was the first book William Caxton printed in the English language, He had joined and helped a German printer called Johann Schilling to publish a thirteenth-century encyclopedia in Latin named De proprietatibus rerum, by Bartholomeus Anglicus.

7. His Translation of 鈥淩ecuyell of the Historyes鈥� made thousands at an auction

 A copy of Caxton鈥檚 Troy book was sold in a 2014 auction for a million pounds. It was sold by the Duke of Northumberland. The book was a success due to its famous reputation of being the first book to ever be printed.

Moreover, there are only 18 copies of Caxton鈥檚 original print run that have survived making them historical collector鈥檚 items.

8. He influenced the standardization of the English language

The printing press made books much cheaper to produce and more accessible to the public.  This, therefore, led to the rate of literacy growing higher among the English people.

In addition, more books were being produced and this called for some sort of standardization. This meant that there was a need to spell words the same way and this helped begin the greater standardization of spelling and grammar.

According to Simon Garfield in his book about fonts and typefaces, Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, he claimed the decision to spell 鈥榞host鈥� with an 鈥榟鈥� was most likely influenced by Caxton. Simon believes that Williams鈥檚 time in Belgium among Flemish speakers influenced the addition of the 鈥榟鈥�.

9. William Caxton was a gifted Translator

The printer’s mark of William Caxton By BabelStone –

Caxton was sought out for his printing works and thus he started translating and publishing by sometimes transferring French words into English. Because of the success of his translations, he is credited with helping to promote Chancery English.

He became the first person to print books in English and translated books from French and Dutch. One of the early books he printed were translations of Ovid鈥檚 epic poem Metamorphoses, Jacobus de Voragine鈥檚 book on saints the Golden Legend, etc. He was the first to translate Aesop’s Fables in 1484.

1o. His business continued after his death

Caxton retained his shop in Westminster throughout his life. He was also successful as a printer and publisher, he stayed in business until the end of his life.

Since his business continued to stay viable it was continued after his death by one of his employees, Wynkyn de Worde. This is not normal for many early printers whose businesses survived for short periods.

Wiliams contributions to English literature have helped grow literacy and were the foundation for the standardization of words and spelling.