Young man, reading: Caxton's Book of Curtesye

This article discusses The Book of Curtesye, a manual of instruction for children written in the second half of the fifteenth century and published by William Caxton in 1477. The book is first set in the context of its genre; its original characteristics are then highlighted, together with the differences between the earlier manuscript versions and Caxton’s edition, in order to underline the reader-oriented manipulation operated by the printer. The most important trait differentiating this book from the great majority of courtesy books is the insertion of a list of English authors the child is encouraged to read: Gower, Chaucer, Hoccleve and Lydgate are not simply conventionally praised by the anonymous writer, but evaluated and discussed, while individual works are singled out and recommended: this makes of this book the first attempt at literary instruction in English literature. The book is then analyzed as part of a process of canonization of literature in the vernacular: a process initiated by Lydgate and strongly supported by Caxton, it recognized in Chaucer the father of the English language and the first literary spokesman of the nation.