Читать книгу A Brief History of Printing in England. A Short History of Printing in England from Caxton to the Present Time онлайн

5 страница из 17

Bruges was at this time a city of wealth and culture, the Flemings being far in advance of the English in this respect. Life in these surroundings caused Caxton to become interested in reading and good literature, and in 1467 he undertook a translation into English of a collection of stories of Troy, or as he called it “Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye.” Shortly after this, Margaret, sister of Edward IV of England, married the Duke of Burgundy and came to Bruges to live. Caxton immediately came into friendly relations with the Duchess, who shortly after gave him a position in her personal service. It is not quite clear what this position was. It has been supposed by some that the purpose of the Duchess was to enable Caxton to pursue his literary labors with the special end of making continental literature known to the English through translation. A more probable supposition, however, is that he was the confidential business adviser to the Duchess. It is a well-known fact that royal personages at this period engaged freely in trade and that sometimes they engaged in extensive commercial transactions with other royal personages although trade between their two countries might be strictly prohibited by law, as was the case with England and Flanders during part of the reign of Edward IV. At an early period of their friendship Caxton showed the Duchess Margaret his unfinished translation of the Troy stories. Fortunately for the world, the Duchess was a friendly but candid critic. She saw both the strength and the weakness of Caxton’s work, and while she took him to task roundly for his rough and poor English she encouraged and commanded him to complete his translation and at the same time improve himself in English. Caxton thereupon renewed his work and completed the translation of the Troy stories at Cologne in 1471.