Robert Copland, author and printer, was associated with the London printing trade for almost fifty years in the varied capacities of printer, editor, writer, translator, and bookseller. He was one of the minor printers of the sixteenth century and, as far as we know, printed about thirty books. His various ballads, practical treatises, law books, and romances attest to his broad humanist interests. Copland's work provides important evidence of an early French influence in Tudor literature, and his interest in secular learning is demonstrated by his printing the first French grammar book, as well as the works he selected to translate from Latin and French. He also wrote original works of popular literature for English readers. The intensely personal approach of these writings provides considerable insight into contemporary printing, publishing, and bookselling practices. His significance as a literary figure lies in three major compositions: The Highway to the...