Richard Tottel (died 1594) was an English

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and influential member of the legal community. He ran his business from a shop located at Temple Bar on Fleet Street in London. The majority of his printing was centered on

legal documents Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or ...

, but he is most known for a collection he edited and published in 1557 called '' Songes and Sonnettes''.

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, England Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and held many public offices in his life span including bailiff in 1528, sheriff in 1529, and eventually

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1552. Tottel was the third child of eleven, having three brothers and seven sisters.Byrom, H. J. "Richard Tottell—His Life and Work." Library 4th ser. VIII.2 (1927): 199. Print.Kinney, Arthur F., and David W. Swain, eds. "Tottel, Richard." Tudor England: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 2001. 699-700. Print. At some point, approximately 1540, Tottel was indentured 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

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

that would allow him to print all authorized books dealing with common law. This patent was originally granted in April 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 The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

. Upon receiving its

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

in 1557, the Stationers' Company of London named him as 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.Knott, Christopher A. "Richard Tottell." The British Literary Book Trade, 1475-1700. Ed. James K. Bracken and Joel Silver. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 170. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. Tottel's published works mainly include law documents as he was the sole publisher 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''. The following is an incomplete list of works published by Tottel: *

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– ''A Treatise of Morall Phylosophye Contaynyng the Sayinges of the Wise'' (1547) *

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

– '' A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation'' (1553) *

John Lydgate John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was an English monk and poet, born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk, England. Lydgate's poetic output is prodigious, amounting, at a conservative count, to about 145,000 lines. He explored and estab ...

– ''Fall of Princes'' (1554) * Stephen Hawes – ''Pastime of Pleasure'' (1555) *Translation of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

's ''De Officiis'' by

Nicholas Grimald Nicholas Grimald (or Grimoald) (1519–1562) was an English poet and dramatist. Life Nicholas Grimald was born to a modest yeoman family of farmers in 1519–20. His parents are unknown, despite the popular belief that his father was Giovanni B ...

(1556) *Translations of the second and fourth books of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...

'' by

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), KG, was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person executed at the instance of King Henry VII ...

(1557) *Thomas More – ''Works'' (1557) * Thomas Tusser – ''A Hundreth Good Points of Husbandry'' (1557) *'' Tottel's Miscellany'' ** First edition (1557), second edition (31 July 1557), third edition (1558), fourth edition (1565), fifth edition (1567), and sixth edition (1574) * Arthur Brooke – ''

The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet ''The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet'' is a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke, first published in 1562 by Richard Tottel, which was a key source for William Shakespeare’s ''Romeo and Juliet''. Brooke is reported to have translated it ...

'' (1562) * William Painter (author) – ''The Palace of Pleasure'' (1566–67) *

James Dyer Sir James Dyer (1510 – 24 March 1582) was a judge and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Edward VI of England. Life Dyer was knighted at Whitehall on 9 April 1553, Strand Inn, preparatory 1520s, Middle Temple abt. 1530, ca ...

– ''Collection of Cases'' (1586)

Death and legacy

Tottel's death came as no surprise. He died in early July 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 Elizabeth a huge legal battle ensued following his death. 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 best 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 on and eight editions later, he is still praised for his work on this and many other works of English literature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tottel, Richard 1594 deaths 16th-century English businesspeople English printers Year of birth unknown