William Caxton: England's First Publisher
Nothing is better than liberty.
Key words
- Prestige: causing admiration because of being connected with being rich or powerful
Many people are attracted by the prestige of Royalty.
- Advocate: someone who publicly supports or recommends an idea, a policy, etc.
She is known as an advocate for tax cuts.
- Commissioned: A commissioned piece of work has been formally asked for by someone in authority
There will be a specially commissioned sculpture at the front of the building.
- Dilemma:a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do
She faces the dilemma of disobeying her father or losing the man she loves.
- Credit with: to say that someone is responsible for something good
She is credited with making the business a success.
Read to find the answers
- Who was the first person to bring printing to England?
- What was the first book to be printed in English?
- What was William Caxton's most famous printed work?
- What was he credited with?
William Caxton
The first person to bring printing to England was William Caxton. He moved to London at the age of 16 to become a merchant's apprentice, then moved to Bruges, Belgium, where he eventually became the King's diplomat. Caxton learnt the art of printing, set up a printing press and published his translation of a medieval French romance for the King's sister which gave his enterprise a great deal of prestige.
"A Collection of the Histories of Troy" was the first book to be printed in English. European royalty were fascinated by Greek mythology and this story allowed them to trace their family line back to the heroes of ancient Greece.