Home > Literature and the Arts > Literature in English > English Literature to 1499: Biographies

Research topic:John Lydgate

Find more facts and information on our topic page about John Lydgate

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Lydgate.html" title="Facts and informations about John Lydgate">John Lydgate</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

John Lydgate

From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008 | Copyright information

John Lydgate , c.1370-c.1450, English poet, a monk of Bury St. Edmunds. A professed disciple of Chaucer, he was one of the most influential, voluminous, and versatile writers of the Middle Ages. His works may be divided into three classes: (1) poems written in the Chaucerian manner, such as the Complaint of the Black Knight, which resembles Chaucer's Book of the Duchess, and the allegory The Temple of Glass; (2) lengthy translations, of which the Troy Book (from the Latin of Guido della Colonna), The Fall of Princes (from the French of Laurent de Premierfait), and The Siege of Thebes (also from the French), are the best known; (3) short pieces, including fables, saints' lives, and devotional, philosophic, and occasional poems. After Lydgate's death his fame diminished rapidly. His poetry has been criticized for its prolixity and prosaic style.

Bibliography: See his Poems, ed. by J. Norton-Smith (1966); biography by L. A. Ebin (1985); study by D. A. Pearsall (1970).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"John Lydgate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jan. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"John Lydgate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (January 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Lydgate.html

"John Lydgate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved January 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Lydgate.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Worth a few Bob.(News) Newspaper article from: Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 11/22/2005; 25 words ; A collection of poems written by Bob Dylan when he was at the University of Minnesota in 1960 fetched a record pounds 43,350 at Christie's in New York yesterday Read more
	Dylan pounds 50k day.(News) Newspaper article from: Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 9/27/2005; 30 words ; A batch of poems written by a young Bob Dylan at the University of Minnesota in 1960 is expected to fetch around pounds 50,000 when it goes up for auction at Christie's in New York on November 21 Read more
	SHELLEYVISION: POETRY CORNER (1).(Features) Newspaper article from: The Mirror (London, England); 10/19/2004; 26 words ; Byline: JIM SHELLEY SEAN: Did you ever have any poems written about you? Eileen: Possibly the odd limerick on the toilet wall. (Coronation Street) All suggestions welcome Read more
	School poets get Royal approval. Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 9/13/2000; ; 162 words ; ...approval. Moat Farm junior school published the book made up of poems written by its 500 pupils - and now the book is walking off the shelves...commemorative gift. 'The poetry book was a great idea as it contains poems written by all the pupils.' Demand Originally 500 copies of the book... Read more
	School poets get Royal approval Newspaper article from: Evening Mail; 9/13/2000; ; 162 words ; ...approval. Moat Farm junior school published the book made up of poems written by its 500 pupils - and now the book is walking off the shelves...commemorative gift. 'The poetry book was a great idea as it contains poems written by all the pupils.' Demand Originally 500 copies of the book... Read more
	Valleys tales.(News) Newspaper article from: South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales); 10/29/2008; 54 words ; AN anthology of short stories and poems written by the people of Rhondda Cynon Taff has been launched. The collection, Inspirations 2008, is the latest in a series of annual publications... Read more
	Correction. Newspaper article from: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA); 12/2/2006; 81 words ; ...2-- Dec. 2--For VT/SRVT: A Friday front-page story about poems written for Iraq's people incorrectly characterized a poem by Debby...for CCT: A story on Page A6 in some Friday editions about poems written for Iraq's people incorrectly characterized a poem by Debby... Read more
	Poets work Newspaper article from: Evening Mail; 3/13/2001; 31 words ; POEMS written by Laura Norman and Alice Stanton, pupils at St Augustine's Catholic High School, Redditch, will be featured in an anthology of writing and art work backed by Worcestershire County Council. Read more
	Poets work. Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 3/13/2001; 31 words ; POEMS written by Laura Norman and Alice Stanton, pupils at St Augustine's Catholic High School, Redditch, will be featured in an anthology of writing and art work backed by Worcestershire County Council. Read more
	pounds 45,000 for poems.(News) Newspaper article from: Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England); 11/23/2005; 30 words ; POEMS written by Bob Dylan in 1960 as a university student sold for pounds 45,000 at a New York auction. Poems Without Titles was written by the aspiring poet under his real name, Robert Zimmerman Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	John Lydgate Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography John Lydgate The English poet John Lydgate (ca. 1370-1449) ranks as one of the most prolific, versatile writers of the Middle Ages. Little is known of John Lydgate's life. He was a professed disciple of Geoffrey Chaucer, and... Read more
	Lydgate, John Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History Lydgate, John ( c. 1370– c. 1450). Poet. Born in Lydgate, a village in Suffolk south of Newmarket, he became a...but from 1432 spent the rest of his life back at Bury. Lydgate's enormous output—twice the size of Shakespeare... Read more
	Lydgate, John Book article from: The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Lydgate, John (?1370–1449), spent nearly all his life in the monastery at Bury. He is one of the most voluminous of all English poets... Read more
	Shirley, John Book article from: The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Shirley, John (?1366–1456), the scribe of many works of Chaucer , Lydgate , and others, whose attributions have been particularly important for the ascriptions to Chaucer of some of the shorter poems. He translated a number of works from French and Latin. Read more
	Gower, John Book article from: World Encyclopedia Gower, John (1330–1408) English poet. Ranked in his time with Lydgate and Chaucer , his work includes Vox Clamantis (1379–82), an attack on social injustice, and his most famous work, Confessio... Read more