Caxton Press at Westminster

1476

William Caxton set up England's first printing press in a shop in the almonry at Westminster Abbey. Within a few years he was issuing Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Malory's Morte d'Arthur, and popular translations. The English language began its slow consolidation around his editorial choices in spelling and usage. His decision to print in London dialect helped standardize the form of English that eventually became the national language.