Intro

Because of the diversity of English regional dialects at this time, and the changing nature of the language, it was difficult for Caxton to choose which words to use in his translations. In this book, Caxton tells the story of some merchants from the North of England trying to buy eggs from a woman in the South of England. The northerner uses the word egges, derived from Old Norse, but the Southern woman, who uses the word eyren from the Old English, does not understand. A humorous misunderstanding ensues.

Caxton needed to write in a dialect that would be understood by as many readers as possible, and decided to base his translations on a London dialect aimed at ‘a clerke and a noble gentylman’. Caxton felt his own Kentish dialect was 'broad and rude'; the London dialect was thought to be more refined, and included many words derived from French or Latin.

William Caxton, Eneydos, 1490.

Shelfmark: G.9723.