In Feuerer the colde season.
The seventeenth year of Edward IV ran from 4th March, 1477, to 3d March, 1478, so that the “Moral Proverbs” were finished on February 20th of the latter year.
When a change of sovereigns occurred in the year in which a book was printed, the mere name of the earlier or the later of the two shows in which part of the year the colophon was written, and regnal dates supply the same information for years in which no change of sovereigns took place. Thus the colophon to Wynkyn de Worde’s edition of the “Vitas Patrum” ends: “Enprynted in the sayd towne of Westmynstre by me Wynken de Worde, the yere of our lorde M.cccc.lxxxxv. and the tenthe yere of our souerayne lorde Kyng Henry the seuenth.” As Henry VII’s reign began 22d August, 1485, its tenth year would cover the twelvemonth, August, 1494, to August, 1495, and we are thus told not only that the book was issued in 1495, but that it was printed before August 21st of that year.
A subsidiary date, of course, as a rule loses its usefulness when the printer explicitly mentions also the month and day on which the book was completed. It may, however, have a special value as furnishing a means of fixing the day from which the printer reckoned his year. In the fifteenth century the year could be reckoned as beginning on Christmas day, on January 1st, on March 1st, on March 25th, or at Easter. In arranging the books issued from any press in chronological order, it is of vital importance to know which reckoning the printer followed, and we may now give some examples to show how regnal years can be used to settle this.
Finiunt Petri de Abano remedia uenenorum. Rome in domo nobilis uiri Iohannis Philippi de Lignamine Messanensis, S. D. N. familiaris, hic tractatus impressus est. Anno domini Mcccclxxv. die xxvii Mensis Ianuarii, Pontificatu Syxti IIII, Anno eius quarto.
End the remedies of Petrus de Abano against poisons. At Rome in the house of the noble gentleman Ioannes Philippus de Lignamine of Messina, servant of our holy Lord, this tract was printed. In the year of the Lord 1475, on the 27th day of the month January, in the pontificate of Sixtus IV, in his fourth year.
The fourth year of Sixtus IV began on 9th August, 1474, and ended 8th August, 1475; therefore January, 1475, in his fourth year must be January, 1475, according to our modern reckoning, not January, 1476, as it would be had the year been calculated from March 25th or Easter day—two similar examples will be found in Hain’s “Repertorium Bibliographicum” under the numbers 255* and 2050*.
On the other hand, Caxton’s colophon to the “Mirrour of the World” ends:
whiche book I began first to translate the second day of Ianyuer the yer of our lord M.cccc.lxxx. And fynysshed the viij day of Marche the same yere, and the xxj yere of the Regne of the most Crysten kyng, Kynge Edward the fourth. Vnder the shadowe of whos noble proteccion I have emprysed and fynysshed this sayd lytyl werke and boke. Besechynge Almyghty god to be his protectour and defender agayn alle his enemyes and gyue hym grace to subdue them, And inespeciall them that haue late enterpraysed agayn ryght & reson to make warre wythin his Royamme. And also to preserue and mayntene hym in longe lyf and prosperous helthe. And after this short and transytorye lyf he brynge hym and vs in to his celestyal blysse in heuene. Amen. Caxton me fieri fecit.
As the twenty-first year of Edward IV ran from 4th March, 1481, to 3d March, 1482, Caxton’s 8th March, 1480, must clearly be 1480, old style, or 1481 of our reckoning, and Caxton is thus shown to have begun his year on March 25th.