September 2, 1483, is another definite date, for on that day Caxton finished an edition of Gower's well-known poem, the Confessio Amantis, or Lover's Confession, written by command of Richard II., who, meeting the poet rowing on the Thames, near London, invited him into the royal barge, and after much conversation requested him to "book some new thing." The book is a folio of 222 leaves, of which no less than four are blank, and only one copy is now in existence in which these blank leaves have been preserved. Otherwise the book is not uncommon, though nearly every copy is imperfect. An extremely fine copy, wanting only the blank leaves, is in the library of Shrewsbury School, and is mentioned here to correct an error of Blades, who goes out of his way to state, "The copy ascribed by N. Carlisle to Edward VI. Grammar School, Shrewsbury, is not from the press of Caxton."
The Life of the Holy and Blessed Virgin Saint Winifred is a small folio of 16 leaves, printed about this date. Caxton states that he "reduced" this book into English, but there is some difficulty as to the source from which he took it. The life of the celebrated Welsh saint was written in Latin in the twelfth century by Robert, Prior of Shrewsbury, and this Caxton may have translated, but as no copy of the manuscript is now in existence the point cannot be determined. Only three copies of the printed book are known.
The book called Caton was translated by the end of December, 1483, and must therefore have been printed at the beginning of 1484. The Catonis Disticha was the best known school-book of the middle ages, and with the Donatus, was the groundwork of Latin learning over Europe. About 1480 a certain Daniel Church added a few Latin precepts to the original book, which acquired the name of Parvus Cato, and after his time the two are generally found together as Cato, parvus et magnus. In the second half of the fifteenth century it was, as Caxton himself tells us, "translated in to Englysshe by Mayster Benet Burgh, late Archdeken of Colchestre and hye chanon of saint stephens at westmestre, which ful craftly hath made it in balade ryal for the erudicion of my lord Bousher, sone and heyr at that tyme to my lord the erle of Estsex." Of this version Caxton printed three editions, which have already been noticed, but the present is a different and considerably larger work. It contains, besides the "disticha" and moral maxims, very extensive glosses or commentaries containing "histories and examples," translated by Caxton from a French original.
It is a folio of 80 leaves, of which four are blank and usually wanting. About twelve copies are known, and a good example is in the Lenox Library, New York.
On the 31st of January, 1484, Caxton issued the Booke whiche the Knyght of the Toure made to the enseygnement and techyng of his doughters. This work was compiled about the year 1371 by Geoffrey de la Tour-Landry, a literary knight of celebrated family, and was translated by Caxton, "at the request of a noble lady which hath brought forth many noble and fair daughters, which be virtuously nourished." In his preface he advises "every gentleman or woman having children desiring them to be virtuously brought forth to get and have this book," though it would in these days be considered anything but suitable for young persons,—or for the matter of that, for their elders.
THE FABLES OF ESOPE
(see page [61])]