John Lydgate
English monk and poet of prodigious output.
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John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was an English monk and poet born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk. He wrote an enormous amount of verse—about 145,000 lines by a conservative estimate—and worked in nearly every major genre that Geoffrey Chaucer had pioneered, steering clear only of those, like the fabliau, that clashed with his religious vocation. His *Troy Book*, a 30,117-line expanded translation of a thirteenth-century Latin history by Guido delle Colonne, was commissioned by Prince Henry (the future Henry V) and aimed to surpass Chaucer’s *Knight’s Tale* and *Troilus* with a full-scale epic. The *Siege of Thebes* (4,716 lines) is a shorter venture into chivalric epic. Chaucer’s *Monk’s Tale*—a brief catalogue of Fortune’s ups and downs—foreshadows Lydgate’s massive *Fall of Princes* (36,365 lines), which ultimately draws on Boccaccio’s *De Casibus Virorum Illustrium*, though not directly. Chaucer’s *Man of Law’s Tale*, with its rhetorical flourishes of apostrophe, invocation, and digression in a saint’s legend, served as the model for Lydgate’s legends of St Edmund (3,693 lines) and St Alban (4,734 lines)—both local monastic patrons—as well as for many shorter saints’ lives, though not for his more richly devout *Life of Our Lady* (5,932 lines).
In his late poem *The Testament*, Lydgate confessed to childhood misdeeds: lying, stealing apples, making faces like a wanton ape, gambling at cherry stones, rising late, being messy at meals, and faking illness. He entered the Benedictine monastery of Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1382, took novice vows soon after, and was ordained a subdeacon in 1389. A letter from Henry V indicates Lydgate studied at Oxford University, likely at Gloucester College (now Worcester College), from 1406 to 1408, during which he wrote his early *Isopes Fabules*, packed with scholastic references.
Ambitious as a writer, Lydgate admired Chaucer and befriended his son Thomas. He sought and won patronage at the courts of Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, with supporters including the mayor and aldermen of London, the chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral, Richard de Beauchamp (13th Earl of Warwick), and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (his main backer from 1422). In 1423 he became prior of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex, but soon resigned to focus on travel and writing. He produced poems, allegories, fables, and romances prolifically. His best-known longer works are the moralistic *Troy Book* (1412–20), the *Siege of Thebes* (translated from a French prose version of the *Roman de Thebes*), and the *Fall of Princes* (1431–8), his last and longest piece. His more accessible early poems, written in a Chaucerian style during the first decade of the 1400s, include *The Complaint of the Black Knight* (modelled on Chaucer’s *Book of the Duchess*), *The Temple of Glas* (indebted to *The House of Fame*), *The Floure of Curtesy* (a Valentine’s Day poem like the *Parlement of Foules*), and the allegorical *Reason and Sensuality*. As he aged, his poems grew longer, prompting Joseph Ritson’s harsh verdict: “A voluminous, prosaick and drivelling monk.” A twentieth-century historian similarly called his verse “banal.” The long allegory *The Assembly of Gods* was once attributed to him but is now considered anonymous, and the satirical *London Lickpenny* has been thoroughly discredited as his work. He also translated poems by Guillaume de Deguileville into English. In later years he lived and likely died at Bury St Edmunds Abbey, and at some point returned to his birthplace, where he left his signature and a coded message in a graffito on a wall at St Mary’s Church, Lidgate, discovered in 2014.
- born
- c. 1370
- died
- c. 1451
- field
- Poetry
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Troy Book, Siege of Thebes, Fall of Princes
Lore & Background
In his poem The Testament, written towards the end of his life, Lydgate admitted to childhood sins: 'I lied to excuse myself. I stole apples … I made mouths at people like a wanton ape. I gambled at cherry stones. I was late to rise and dirty at meals. I was chief shammer of illness.' He was admitted to the Benedictine monastery of Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1382, took novice vows soon after, and was ordained as a subdeacon in 1389. Based on a letter from Henry V, Lydgate was a student at Oxford University, probably Gloucester College (now Worcester College), between 1406 and 1408. During this period he wrote his early work, Isopes Fabules, with its broad range of scholastic references. Having literary ambitions—he was an admirer of Geoffrey Chaucer and a friend to his son, Thomas—he sought and obtained patronage at the courts of Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI. His patrons included the mayor and aldermen of London, the chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and Henry V and VI. His main supporter from 1422 was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. In 1423 Lydgate was made prior of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex, but soon resigned to concentrate on his travels and writing. His most famous works are his longer moralistic poems: Troy Book (1412–20), a 30,000-line translation of Guido delle Colonne's Historia destructionis Troiae; the Siege of Thebes, translated from a French prose redaction of the Roman de Thebes; and the Fall of Princes (1431–8), the last and longest of his works. In his later years he lived and probably died at Bury St Edmunds Abbey. At some point he returned to the village of his birth and added his signature and a coded message in a graffito onto a wall at St Mary's Church, Lidgate, discovered in 2014.
Reader's Guide
Lydgate's significance lies in his vast poetic output and his role in extending Chaucerian genres into full-scale epics and moral works. His Troy Book, commissioned by Prince Henry (later Henry V), is an amplified translation of the Trojan history of the thirteenth-century Latin writer Guido delle Colonne, deliberately moving beyond Chaucer's Knight's Tale and his Troilus to provide a full-scale epic. The Siege of Thebes (4,716 lines) is a shorter excursion in the same field of chivalric epic. Chaucer's The Monk's Tale gives a hint of what is to come in Lydgate's massive Fall of Princes (36,365 lines), which is also derived, though not directly, from Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium. The Man of Law's Tale, with its rhetorical elaboration, is the model for Lydgate's legends of St Edmund (3,693 lines) and St Alban (4,734 lines), both local monastic patrons, as well as for many shorter saints' lives, though not for the richer Life of Our Lady (5,932 lines). Of his more accessible poems, most were written in the first decade of the fifteenth century in a Chaucerian vein: The Complaint of the Black Knight, The Temple of Glas, The Floure of Curtesy, and the allegorical Reason and Sensuality. As he grew older, his poems grew progressively longer, and it is regarding Lydgate's later poetry that Joseph Ritson's harsh characterisation is based: 'A voluminous, prosaick and drivelling monk.' Similarly, one twentieth-century historian has described his verse as 'banal.' At one time, the long allegorical poem The Assembly of Gods was attributed to him, but the work is now considered anonymous. His authorship of London Lickpenny has been thoroughly discredited.
Did You Know?
- Lydgate's poetic output amounts to about 145,000 lines at a conservative count.
- He admitted in his poem The Testament to childhood sins including stealing apples and gambling at cherry stones.
- He was a student at Oxford University, probably Gloucester College, between 1406 and 1408, based on a letter from Henry V.
- Lydgate added his signature and a coded message in a graffito onto a wall at St Mary's Church, Lidgate, discovered in 2014.
- He is credited with the first known usage of the adage 'Needs must' in its fullest form: 'He must nedys go that the deuell dryves' in his The Assembly of Gods.
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