John Gower
English poet, contemporary of Langland, friend of Chaucer.
via Wikipedia: Gawain Poet · see source
John Gower (c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered for three major long poems—the *Mirour de l'Omme*, *Vox Clamantis*, and *Confessio Amantis*—written in French, Latin, and English respectively, all united by common moral and political themes. His verse is religious, political, historical, and moral; his primary mode is allegory, though he favors a plain storytelling style over sustained abstractions. Chaucer famously called him “moral Gower,” and the two exchanged compliments in their works: Chaucer dedicated *Troilus and Criseyde* in part to Gower, and Gower placed a speech praising Chaucer in the mouth of Venus at the end of the *Confessio Amantis*.
Few details of Gower’s early life survive. He was probably born into a family with properties in Kent and Suffolk. Linguistic evidence suggests his formative years were split between those counties. He must have spent considerable time reading the Bible, Ovid, the *Secretum Secretorum*, Petrus Riga, the *Speculum Speculationum*, Valerius Maximus, and John of Salisbury. He once met Richard II: according to the prologue of the first recension of the *Confessio Amantis*, the king chanced upon him on the Thames around 1385, invited him aboard the royal barge, and their conversation resulted in a commission for that work. Later his allegiance shifted to the future Henry IV, to whom later editions of the *Confessio* were dedicated. The source of Gower’s income remains mysterious; he may have practiced law in or near London. He was party to several real estate transactions, and remarks in the *Mirour de l’Omme* suggest he may have dealt in wool. From 1365 he received ten pounds’ rent for a manor in Essex, and from 1382 until his death he received forty pounds annually from selling lands in Norfolk and Suffolk. In 1399 Henry IV granted him an annual pension of two pipes of Gascony wine, worth three to four pounds wholesale or eight pounds retail.
During the mid-1370s, Gower took up residence in rooms provided by the Priory of St Mary Overie, now Southwark Cathedral. In 1398, while living there, he married, probably for the second time; his wife Agnes Groundolf survived him. In his last years, possibly as early as 1400, he became blind. After his death in October 1408, he was interred in an ostentati
- field
- Poetry
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Three major trilingual works: Mirour de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, Confessio Amantis
Lore & Background
John Gower was an English poet active in the late fourteenth century, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major long poems, each written in a different language: the *Mirour de l'Omme* (French), *Vox Clamantis* (Latin), and *Confessio Amantis* (English). These works are united by common moral and political themes, and his verse is by turns religious, political, historical, and moral. His primary mode is allegory, though he favors a plain style of storytelling over sustained abstractions. Gower’s earliest surviving work, the *Mirour de l'Omme*, is a dense poem of nearly 30,000 lines on religion and morality, intended for the instructional betterment of the king and court. His second major work, the *Vox Clamantis*, begins with an allegorical account of the Peasants' Revolt, taking the side of the aristocracy while describing the king’s actions as a captain vainly trying to direct a ship’s course. Gower’s friendship with Chaucer is well documented: when Chaucer traveled to Italy in 1378, Gower was given power of attorney over his affairs in England, and the two poets exchanged compliments in their verse. Gower lived in rooms provided by the Priory of St Mary Overie, later marrying Agnes Groundolf. In his last years he became blind, and after his death in 1408 he was interred in an ostentatious tomb in what is now Southwark Cathedral.
Reader's Guide
Gower’s verse is by turns religious, political, historical, and moral—though he has been narrowly defined as “moral Gower” ever since Chaucer graced him with the epithet. His primary mode is allegory, although he shies away from sustained abstractions in favour of the plain style of the raconteur. His three major works—the *Mirour de l’Omme*, *Vox Clamantis*, and *Confessio Amantis*—were written in French, Latin, and English respectively, and are united by common moral and political themes. The *Mirour de l’Omme*, a poem of nearly 30,000 lines, offers a dense exposition of religion and morality, and was initially intended to instruct the king and court on social reform during a period when French and English peoples might be consolidated under a single crown. The *Vox Clamantis* opens with an allegorical account of the Peasants’ Revolt, which becomes increasingly specific and ends with an allusion to the suppression of the rebels; Gower sides with the aristocracy, yet depicts Richard II as a captain who vainly tries to steer the ship. Gower’s friendship with Chaucer is well documented: Chaucer gave him power of attorney during a diplomatic trip to Italy, and each poet praised the other in verse. Chaucer dedicated *Troilus and Criseyde* in part to “moral Gower,” and Gower placed a speech in praise of Chaucer in Venus’s mouth at the end of the *Confessio Amantis*. An apparent reference to Gower’s tales in the *Man of Law’s Tale* may have led to the removal of that praise in later versions, though modern scholars suggest more innocent reasons for the deletion.
Did You Know?
- Gower's three major works were written in three different languages: French, Latin, and English.
- He once met King Richard II on the Thames, which led to a commission for the Confessio Amantis.
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