Richard Day (printer)
Encyclopedia
Richard Day was an English
printer
, Church of England
clergy
man, and the son of printer John Day
. He was born in Aldersgate
, London
, where his father maintained a home and a newly established printing press. He studied at Eton College
and enrolled at King's College, Cambridge
in 1572, where he was named a fellow in 1574. He graduated with a bachelor's degree
a year later, and intended to continue his studies to earn a master's degree
. However, he instead returned home without matriculating. Day would later assert that family pressures forced him to leave Cambridge; he claimed that his stepmother (his father's second wife, Alice Lehunte) had been complaining about the high cost of his education, and that his father needed him to be his "corrector of his print" for his publishing business. It seems, though, that his real reason for returning home may have been that he had fallen in love with a young woman who lived near his father's printing press.
Day's return to Aldersgate coincided with the third printing run of his father's highly successful publication of John Foxe
's Actes and Monuments. His father decided to put Day in charge of the printing of this edition, despite his son's youth and inexperience. The result was a disaster, and the third edition was criticized for its poor quality. As a result, Day's father imposed strict constraints on him to maintain close scrutiny of his work, which led to a strain in their relations.
Day hoped to obtain greater freedom from his father and independence as a printer. He was allowed into the Stationers' Company
, of which his father was also a member, and in 1578, he printed his first publication: his own translation of Foxe's Christ Jesus Triumphant. He also started pirating his father's works, issuing illicit editions of The ABC with Little Catechism and The Whole Booke of Psalmes, Collected into English Meter. His father, who had by now become a Master of the Stationers' Company, was enraged. In 1580, with the help of the Company's wardens, he entered his son's premises and seized his printing equipment and stock by force. The public act may have been an attempt by John Day to send a message that he would pursue issues of piracy, no matter who the perpetrator.
Jobless, Richard Day turned to the Church of England. His father had intended on him entering the clergy since childhood, and Day's turn to religion may have been an attempt to repair relations. He was ordained on December 1, 1580, and began serving as a vicar
in Mundon
, Essex
. This did little to appease his father though, who wrote his deed to deprive Day of his inheritance. After his father's death in 1584, he successfully challenged the deed in court.
Little is known about Day's activities in his later years. He resigned from the Church in 1584, and watched over the patents that he inherited from his father, although he never printed any works himself. When Thomas Morley
published Richard Allison
's Psalmes of David in Metre in 1599, he sued, claiming this infringed on the Day patent for printing the metrical psalter
. It is unknown whether any settlement was reached. On April 13, 1606, the Stationers' Company granted 7 shilling
s to "Richard dayes wydowe for her relief". The Day patents were passed to the Stationers' Company in 1614.
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...
printer
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
man, and the son of printer John Day
John Day (printer)
John Day was an English Protestant printer. He specialised in printing and distributing Protestant literature and pamphlets, and produced many small-format religious books, such as ABCs, sermons, and translations of psalms...
. He was born in Aldersgate
Aldersgate
Aldersgate was a gate in the London Wall in the City of London, which has given its name to a ward and Aldersgate Street, a road leading north from the site of the gate, towards Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington.-History:...
, 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...
, where his father maintained a home and a newly established printing press. He studied at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and enrolled at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1572, where he was named a fellow in 1574. He graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
a year later, and intended to continue his studies to earn a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
. However, he instead returned home without matriculating. Day would later assert that family pressures forced him to leave Cambridge; he claimed that his stepmother (his father's second wife, Alice Lehunte) had been complaining about the high cost of his education, and that his father needed him to be his "corrector of his print" for his publishing business. It seems, though, that his real reason for returning home may have been that he had fallen in love with a young woman who lived near his father's printing press.
Day's return to Aldersgate coincided with the third printing run of his father's highly successful publication of John Foxe
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
's Actes and Monuments. His father decided to put Day in charge of the printing of this edition, despite his son's youth and inexperience. The result was a disaster, and the third edition was criticized for its poor quality. As a result, Day's father imposed strict constraints on him to maintain close scrutiny of his work, which led to a strain in their relations.
Day hoped to obtain greater freedom from his father and independence as a printer. He was allowed into the Stationers' Company
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...
, of which his father was also a member, and in 1578, he printed his first publication: his own translation of Foxe's Christ Jesus Triumphant. He also started pirating his father's works, issuing illicit editions of The ABC with Little Catechism and The Whole Booke of Psalmes, Collected into English Meter. His father, who had by now become a Master of the Stationers' Company, was enraged. In 1580, with the help of the Company's wardens, he entered his son's premises and seized his printing equipment and stock by force. The public act may have been an attempt by John Day to send a message that he would pursue issues of piracy, no matter who the perpetrator.
Jobless, Richard Day turned to the Church of England. His father had intended on him entering the clergy since childhood, and Day's turn to religion may have been an attempt to repair relations. He was ordained on December 1, 1580, and began serving as a vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
in Mundon
Mundon
Mundon is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. It lies 3 miles south-east of Maldon. The manor of Munduna passed from the king's thegn Godwin to Eudo Dapifer at the Conquest...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. This did little to appease his father though, who wrote his deed to deprive Day of his inheritance. After his father's death in 1584, he successfully challenged the deed in court.
Little is known about Day's activities in his later years. He resigned from the Church in 1584, and watched over the patents that he inherited from his father, although he never printed any works himself. When Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. He was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England and an organist at St Paul's Cathedral...
published Richard Allison
Richard Allison
Richard Alison was an English composer. He wrote de la Tromba, a fine broken consort piece which has several professional recordings and first became well known due to the Julian Bream Consort....
's Psalmes of David in Metre in 1599, he sued, claiming this infringed on the Day patent for printing the metrical psalter
Metrical psalter
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonizations...
. It is unknown whether any settlement was reached. On April 13, 1606, the Stationers' Company granted 7 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s to "Richard dayes wydowe for her relief". The Day patents were passed to the Stationers' Company in 1614.