Robert Copland (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1508–1547) was an English printer and author. He is said to have been a servant of

William Caxton William Caxton () was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into Kingdom of England, England in 1476, and as a Printer (publishing), printer to be the first English retailer ...

, and certainly worked for

Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (; died , London) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immi ...

. The first book to which his name is affixed as a printer is ''The Boke of Justices of Peace'' (1515), at the sign of the Rose Garland, in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

, London. Anthony à Wood supposed, on the ground that he was more educated than was usual in his trade, that he had been a poor scholar of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. His best known works are ''The hye way to the Spytell hous'', a dialogue in verse between Copland and the porter of St Bartholomew's hospital, containing much information about the vagabonds who found their way there, including

thieves' cant Thieves' cant (also known as thieves' argot, rogues' cant, or peddler's French) is a cant (language), cant, cryptolect, or argot which was formerly used by thieves, beggars, and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent i ...

; and ''Jyl of Breyntford's Testament'', dismissed in '' Athenae Oxonienses'' (ed. Bliss) as a poem devoid of wit or decency, and totally unworthy of further notice. He translated from the French the romances of ''Kynge Appolyne of Thyre'' (W. de Worde, 1510), '' The History of Helyas Knyght of the Swanne'' (W. de Worde, 1512, 1522), and ''The Life of Ipomydon'' ( Hugh of Rhuddlan), not dated. Among his other works is ''The Complaynte of them that ben too late maryed'', an undated tract printed by Wynkyn de Worde. William Copland, the printer, supposed to have been his brother, published three editions of ''Howleglas'', perhaps by Robert, which in any case represent the earliest English version of ''

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...

''. ''The Knyght of the Swanne'' was reprinted by W. Copland possibly in 1560, in William John Thoms's ''Early Prose Romances'', vol. iii, and by the

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

(1901); the ''Hye Way'' in

William Carew Hazlitt William Carew Hazlitt (22 August 18348 September 1913), known professionally as W. Carew Hazlitt, was an English lawyer, bibliographer, editor and writer. He was the son of the barrister and registrar William Hazlitt, a grandson of the essayist ...

's ''Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England'', vol. iv (1866). See further the Forewords to

Frederick James Furnivall Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the '' New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pion ...

's reprint of ''Jyl of Breyntford'' (for private circulation, 1871) and

John Payne Collier John Payne Collier (11 January 178917 September 1883) was an English writer and scholar. He was well known for publishing many books on Shakespeare. However, his reputation has declined as a result of the Perkins Folio forgery. Reporter and soli ...

, ''Bibliographical and Critical Account of the Rarest Books in the English Language'', vol. 1 p. 153 (1865). For the books issued from his press see ''Hand-Lists of English Printers'' (1501–1556), printed for the Bibliographical Society in 1896.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Copland, Robert 15th-century births 16th-century deaths English printers 16th-century English poets 16th-century English translators 16th-century English male writers 16th-century printers English male poets English male non-fiction writers