Richard Tottel
Encyclopedia
Richard Tottel was an English
publisher and influential member of the legal community. He ran his business from a shop was located at Temple Bar
on Fleet Street
in London
. The majority of his printing was centered around legal documents
, but he is most known for a collection he edited and published in 1557 called Songes and Sonnettes
and held many public offices in his life span including bailiff
in 1528, sheriff
in 1529, and eventually mayor
in 1552. Tottel was the third child of eleven, having three brothers and seven sisters.
At some point, approximately 1540, Tottel was indenture
d to a William Middleton, a printer of law books in London. Towards the end of Tottel’s indentureship, in 1547, William Middleton died. Middleton’s wife remarried within seven months to William Powell, another printer of Law books. The new Mrs. Powell and William Powell freed Tottel, who then went on to take over the printing house of Henry Smithe at the Sign of the Hand and Star after Smithe’s death in 1550. Sometime after, Tottel married Joan Grafton who bore him one son, William, and several daughters.
that would allow him to print all authorized books dealing with common law. This patent was originally granted in April of 1553 and was to last seven years. In 1556, the patent was renewed for another seven years and, in 1559, Tottel's patent was granted to him for life.
Tottel’s publishing played a large role in the founding of the Worshipful Company of Stationers
. Upon receiving its royal charter
in 1557, the Stationers' Company of London named him as a the sixty-seventh member of their charter out of ninety-four. Tottel would later rise in the ranks of the Stationers' Company including the title of warden, upper warden, and master from 1578 to 1584. Due to Tottel's failing health he was continually absent to his duties within the company and was excluded from their ranks. He was still fairly loved and admired within the company and at liberty to attend their meetings whenever he was in the area.
Tottel’s published works mainly include law documents as he was the sole publish from 1553 until he died. However, he did publish a variety of other books ranging from literary works to books on animal husbandry. The book that gained him a lasting place in history is his publication and editing of Songes and Sonettes, also known as Tottel’s Miscellany.
Though not a full list, Tottel’s published works include:
a huge legal battle ensued upon his decease. Eventually the patent was dissolved and the rights to printing such volumes were free to any publisher.
Though Tottel printed several volumes unrelated to law, the bulk of his publications were legal pieces. In light of this, it is ironic that he is most well known for the compilation he edited and printed known as Tottel’s Miscellany or Songes and Sonnets. Tottel’s treatment of this piece is both careful and bold. His accuracy and ability are seen to be of scientific quality in an age where neither was of great importance. Now, hundreds of years passed and eight editions later he is still praised for his work on this and many other works of English literature.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
publisher and influential member of the legal community. He ran his business from a shop was located at Temple Bar
Temple Bar, London
Temple Bar is the barrier marking the westernmost extent of the City of London on the road to Westminster, where Fleet Street becomes the Strand...
on Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The majority of his printing was centered around legal documents
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, but he is most known for a collection he edited and published in 1557 called Songes and Sonnettes
Tottel's Miscellany
Songes and Sonettes, usually called Tottel's Miscellany, was the first printed anthology of English poetry. It was published by Richard Tottel in 1557, and ran to many editions in the sixteenth century.-Richard Tottel:...
Early life
Son of William Tothill (the more common spelling of the family name) and Elizabeth Matthew, Richard Tottel’s early life is not one easily deciphered. Tottel’s father was a wealthy citizen of Exeter, EnglandExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
and held many public offices in his life span including bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
in 1528, sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
in 1529, and eventually mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 1552. Tottel was the third child of eleven, having three brothers and seven sisters.
At some point, approximately 1540, Tottel was indenture
Indenture
An indenture is a legal contract reflecting a debt or purchase obligation, specifically referring to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, an instrument used for commercial debt or real estate transaction.-Historical usage:An indenture is a...
d to a William Middleton, a printer of law books in London. Towards the end of Tottel’s indentureship, in 1547, William Middleton died. Middleton’s wife remarried within seven months to William Powell, another printer of Law books. The new Mrs. Powell and William Powell freed Tottel, who then went on to take over the printing house of Henry Smithe at the Sign of the Hand and Star after Smithe’s death in 1550. Sometime after, Tottel married Joan Grafton who bore him one son, William, and several daughters.
Professional career and midlife
Tottel’s career leapt forward when he was granted a patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
that would allow him to print all authorized books dealing with common law. This patent was originally granted in April of 1553 and was to last seven years. In 1556, the patent was renewed for another seven years and, in 1559, Tottel's patent was granted to him for life.
Tottel’s publishing played a large role in the founding of the Worshipful Company of Stationers
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
. Upon receiving its royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1557, the Stationers' Company of London named him as a the sixty-seventh member of their charter out of ninety-four. Tottel would later rise in the ranks of the Stationers' Company including the title of warden, upper warden, and master from 1578 to 1584. Due to Tottel's failing health he was continually absent to his duties within the company and was excluded from their ranks. He was still fairly loved and admired within the company and at liberty to attend their meetings whenever he was in the area.
Tottel’s published works mainly include law documents as he was the sole publish from 1553 until he died. However, he did publish a variety of other books ranging from literary works to books on animal husbandry. The book that gained him a lasting place in history is his publication and editing of Songes and Sonettes, also known as Tottel’s Miscellany.
Though not a full list, Tottel’s published works include:
- William Baldwin’sWilliam Baldwin (author)-Life:From the West Country, England, Baldwin studied logic and philosophy at Oxford. On leaving Oxford, he became a corrector of the press to the printer Edward Whitchurch. During the reigns of Edward VI and Queen Mary, it appears that Baldwin was employed in preparing theatrical exhibitions for...
A Treatise of Morall Phylosophye Contaynyng the Sayinges of the Wise (1547) - Thomas More'sThomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulations (1553) - John Lydgate'sJohn LydgateJohn Lydgate of Bury was a monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England.Lydgate is at once a greater and a lesser poet than John Gower. He is a greater poet because of his greater range and force; he has a much more powerful machine at his command. The sheer bulk of Lydgate's poetic output is...
Fall of Princes (1554) - Stephen Hawes'Stephen HawesStephen Hawes was a popular English poet during the Tudor period who is now little known. He was probably born in Suffolk owing to the commonness of the name in that area and, if his own statement of his age may be trusted, was born about 1474. It has been suggested that he was an illegitimate...
Pastime of Pleasure (1555) - Translation of Cicero'sCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
De Officiis by Nicholas GrimaldNicholas GrimaldNicholas Grimald , English poet, was born in Huntingdonshire, the son probably of Giovanni Baptista Grimaldi, who had been a clerk in the service of Empson and Dudley in the reign of Henry VII....
(1556) - Translations of the second and fourth books of Virgil'sVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
AeneidAeneidThe Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
by Henry Howard, Earl of SurreyHenry Howard, Earl of SurreyHenry Howard, KG, , known as The Earl of Surrey although he never was a peer, was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry.-Life:...
(1557) - Thomas More’s Works (1557)
- A Hundreth Good Points of Husbandry (1557)
- Tottel's Miscellany
- First edition (1557), second edition (July 31, 1557), third edition (1558), fourth edition (1565), fifth edition (1567), and sixth edition (1574)
- Arthur Brooke’s Romeus and JulietThe Tragical History of Romeus and JulietThe Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet is a narrative poem, first published in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, who is reported to have translated it from an Italian novella by Matteo Bandello...
(1562) - William Painter’sWilliam PainterWilliam Painter was an English author and translator.William Painter was a native of Kent. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554. In 1561 he became clerk of the ordnance in the Tower of London, a position in which he appears to have amassed a fortune out of the public funds...
The Palace of Pleasure (1566–1567) - Sir James Dyer’sJames DyerSir James Dyer was a judge and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Edward VI of England.Dyer was knighted at Whitehall on 9 April 1553, Strand Inn, preparatory 1520s, Middle Temple abt. 1530, called to the bar 1537?, bencher 1540s, serjeant-at-law 17 Oct...
Collection of Cases (1586)
Death and legacy
Tottel’s death came as no surprise. He died in early July of 1593 after suffering little less than a decade of infirmity brought on by old age. As the sole owner of the printing patent for law books in the Kingdom of Queen ElizabethElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
a huge legal battle ensued upon his decease. Eventually the patent was dissolved and the rights to printing such volumes were free to any publisher.
Though Tottel printed several volumes unrelated to law, the bulk of his publications were legal pieces. In light of this, it is ironic that he is most well known for the compilation he edited and printed known as Tottel’s Miscellany or Songes and Sonnets. Tottel’s treatment of this piece is both careful and bold. His accuracy and ability are seen to be of scientific quality in an age where neither was of great importance. Now, hundreds of years passed and eight editions later he is still praised for his work on this and many other works of English literature.