A Source of Mundus et Infans

Abstract

The morality of Mundus et Infans exists in a print dated 1522, from Wynkyn de Worde's press, and is styled by him a ‘new production.‘ The word must be taken for what it is worth, but it should be remembered that Wynkyn was not afraid to print old works, and call them such. In his print of Ragmannes Rolle, Wynkyn adds an envoy attributing the faults of the poem to “Kynge Ragman holly, whiche dyde the make many yeres ago.” The printer is therefore entitled to some confidence, especially since certain internal evidence points to the same fact.