William Caxton’s and Richard Pynson’s Editions of the Janua Grammar

Abstract

William Caxton’s and Richard Pynson’s editions of the Janua grammar are not widely known to scholars of the English Middle Ages. The fragments that have survived contain a Latin grammar that must have been used in English grammar schools at the end of the fifteenth century. This article examines the fragments more closely and provides extensive bibliographical information. It also demonstrates features of the Janua that are different from Donatus’ Ars minor.