Caxton article about caxton by the free dictionary. Here fynyssheth the boke yf sic eneydos, compyled by vyrgyle, which hathe be translated oute of latyne in to frenshe, and oute of frenshe reduced in to englysshe by me wylliam caxton, the xxij. His major guiding principle in translating was an honest desire to. He is thought to be the first english person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into england. Those who applaud unreservedly the accomplishments of william caxton, englands first printer, and those who feel that these exploits have been overrated are invited to consider caxton s own point of view, as stated in the prologue to his publication, the boke of eneydos, printed in 1490. The name, which was apparently pronounced cauxton, is identical with causton, the name of a manor in the parish of hadlow, and was a fairly common surname in the 15th century. Caxton publishes an english translation of virgils aeneid, titled eneydos.
The words of uncertain meaning are marked with asterisks. In this book, caxton tells the story of some merchants from the north of england trying to buy eggs from a woman in the south of england. William caxton s eneydos, published in 1490, and gavin douglass eneados, completed in 15 and published in london in 1553. Full text of caxtons eneydos, 1490 internet archive. Assess william caxtons contribution to the english. As a good example of the english prose, the following is a text from the prologue to caxtons translation of eneydos the aeneids from 1490. Instead of being in twelve books like the aeneid, the eneydos is divided into. Caxtons chaucer caxtons english the british library. March 1492 was an english merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. In the early 1440s he went to bruges as a mercer, whilst in bruges he was appointed governor of the merchant adventurers.
Egges or eyren the boundless chase slu special collections. The egg dilemma, penned and printed by william caxton in eneydos 1490. He tells it in the preface to his book eneydos written at the end of the fifteenth century. William caxton s eneydos and gavin douglass eneados alessandra petrina. 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 retail er of printed book s. This article analyses two early english translations of virgils aeneid. A biography of the worlds second language, by david crystal. Englisht from the french liure des eneydes, 1483 classic reprint at. Excerpt from the printed edition of the prologue to eneydos by william caxton 1490 in which caxton comments on misunderstandings in the. William caxton, 1490 let me begin with william caxton s story about eggs. It is a translation into english by caxton himself of a french version of the. On his return to england, heavy demand for his translation prompted caxton to set. After a mention of translating old english on another site, i had to go track down.
Prologue to the aeneids wikisource, the free online library. William caxton is thought to have been born between the years 1415 and 1424. What links here related changes upload file special pages. The same theme recurred in his translation of the eneydos one of his last works, where he summed up more than 30 years experience with translating into. Simon in a modern style as if caxton would have dictated it to a modern secretary.
He was also the first english retailer of printed books. Eneydos translated by william caxton from the french, based on vergils aeneid and on boccaccio ranulphus higden, polycronicon. Caxton adds a general prologue, in which he sets out his translating and. All things linguistic written english had a rocky start 1490. In 1469 he began work on his first translation which was a. Excerpt from the printed edition of the prologue to eneydos by william caxton 1490 in which caxton comments on misunderstandings. The latter presents original prologues and marginal notes to the text, rubrics, and articulate conclusive material. As a translator of books which were to be printed caxton had to.
The eneydos, translated in 1490 and printed about the same time, is not in any way a translation of the aeneid, but, rather, a romance founded on it. English translation of dilemma collins italianenglish. In 1476 caxton returned to london and established a press at westminster. George parker winship, william caxton and his work 1937, provides a brief introduction. William caxton the first english printer, william caxton 14221491, printed a total of about 100 different works. Modern blindstamped full green goatskin over paper boards 26. The eneydos, as englisht by caxton from the french eneydes, is a romance mainly following the outlines of virgils story in the aeneid, but by no means a translation of it. Caxton s version was translated from a french version, probably the work called le livre des eneydes, printed at lyons, in 1483, by guillaume le roy. Caxton s own translation of the recuyell of the histories of troye was the first book printed in the english language. The name, which was apparently pronounced cauxton, is identical with causton, the name of a manor in the parish of hadlow, and was a. In the latter half of 1490, english printer william caxton prepared a folio for prince arthur, son of king henry vii, containing a translation from french of le liure des eneydes 1483, itself a translation from latin of virgils.
Over 100,000 english translations of italian words and phrases. English translation of dilemma the official collins italianenglish dictionary online. William caxton s eneydos, a very free version via a french intermediary published in 1490, and gavin douglass eneados, a translation of the latin poem into the scottis. He was also the first english retailer of printed books his london contemporaries in the same trade were all dutch, german or french. Here fynyssheth the boke yf sic eneydos, compyled by. William caxton, prologues and paratexts 21st september. Their boat becalmed in the thames, some english merchants landed. In the 1490 edition of the prologue to virgils eneydos, caxton refers to the problems of finding a standardised english. In 1438 he was apprenticed to robert large, a rich mercer. By william caxton edited by jack lynch the text comes from william caxton s eneydos. As far as is known, he was the first english person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into england.
Caxtons oftreferenced egges versus eyren anecdote may be. Old or middle english works accessible to the masses by translating. It is harde to playse every man by cause of dyversite and chaunge of langage. He is thought to be the first english person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into england, which he did in 1476. Caxton s golden legend and varagines legenda aurea 215 it is true that caxton abbreviates he does not omit the story of nero and the frog iv, 24, but his other omissions in this chapter are of the most innocuous details, namely, neros reasons for burning rome, his excelling skill in music, and the origin of the name lateran. A lively essay together with a facsimile reprint of caxton s preface to his eneydos may be found in c. Contact us privacy policy terms of use help suggestion box tools. He produced the first translation of ovid s metamorphoses in english. In the preface to the eneydos he told a story of some merchants going down the thames. Each exercise contains a discussion of the work and its place in the. The first english printer, william caxton 14221491, printed a total of. Historical english caxton s translation of the aeneid, early english printing. Caxtons 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. William tyndale british library board public domain, via wikimedia commons first page of the gospel of saint john, from the 1526 peter schoeffer printing of william tyndales english translation of the bible.