Robert Copland

How do you rate a great book about a lousy writer?

Robert Copland's career was as a printer; he was probably an apprentice of Wynken de Worde, the successor of William Caxton, England's first printer. Copland started printing in his own right in the early sixteenth century, and was mentioned in de Worde's will when the older man died. Copland himself was succeeded as printer by his son (possibly brother) William shortly before 1550.

As a printer, Copland was unimpressive; his books are sloppily printed with type that looks like de Worde's -- it has been suggested that de Worde's gifts to his apprentices when they finished their term was to give them enough type to get started with. This was quite a generous gift, given what it cost to cut and cast a typeface. Copland's productions are neither interesting in themselves nor attractive. If all that was left from Copland was the books he'd printed, he'd be as anonymous as... all the other printers you've never heard of.

But Copland is remembered for another reason. De Worde, who wasn't a native speaker of English, often called upon Copland to create poetic prefaces or other editorial material for the books de Worde was printing, and Copland continued to do this on his own, and occasionally to publish pieces of his own. These can reveal quite a lot about the literary trades in the period from about 1520 to 1547. And this is why there is need for an edition of Copland's works.

Unfortunately, the poems themselves are by no means scintillating. Copland is mechanically proficient -- the ends of his lines rhyme, and he's pretty careful about syllable counts even while using very strange metres such as iambic trimeter. But there is only one poem in his entire career that strikes me as being worth anything at all; his introduction to Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls opens
Newes / newes / newes, haue ye ony newes
Myn eres ake / to here you call and crye
I.e. "News [or "new things"], news, news, Have you any news?
My ears ache to hear you call and cry"
as people seek for the latest tales and gossip. It's an effective, if crabby, complaint about people always seeking something new rather than looking for good old material (which Chaucer obviously was; could it be that introducing England's greatest writer briefly turned Copland competent?).

So you won't want this book for the joy of reading Copland. But if you want to study Copland for historical purposes, this is a good book. It opens with a sketch that tells us most of the little we know about Copland's life, then turns to the poems themselves, with publication information, context, and diplomatic editions of all the various texts, followed by extensive explanatory notes. There is also a glossary (although it seems a little short to me, given Copland's peculiar spelling) and an index. I might have wished for an index of first lines also, but with only 21 items, that's a relatively minor lack.

If you need to study Copland, this is the book. It is unlikely that there will ever be a better edition. On the other hand, if you want something great to read, all I can say is, "Turne over the leef and chese another... early writer of doggerel."… (meer)