Reynard the Fox

The story of our was inspired by William Caxton, the first English printer, who published Reynard the Fox in 1481. Caxton reminds us that people from different countries have been sharing animal fables with each other for centuries. Caxton worked for more than 30 years in Flanders and became a fluent speaker of Dutch; he translated the beast epic of Reynard the Fox, from Dutch into English, and thanks to this translation this animal story became hugely popular in England too. Today not everyone is familiar with the wily fox Reynard and his mortal enemy, Ysengrim the Fox, with Bruin the Bear and King Noble the Lion, but once upon these were household names.