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John Skelton (c. 1460 – June 21, 1529), English poet, is variously asserted to have been born in Armathwaite, Cumberland, or to have been a native of Yorkshire. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Events The first Portuguese navigators reach the coast of modern Sierra Leone. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April 22 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... Armathwaite is a village in the English county of Cumbria. ... Cumberland is one of the 39 traditional counties of England. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He is said to have been educated at Oxford. He certainly studied at Cambridge, and he is probably the "one Scheklton" mentioned by William Cole as taking his M.A. degree in 1484. In 1490 Caxton writes of him, in the preface to The Boke of Eneydos compyled by Vyrgyle, in terms which prove that he had already won a reputation as a scholar. "But I pray mayster John Skelton," he says, "late created poete laureate in the unyversite of Oxenforde, to oversee and correct this sayd booke ... for him I know for suffycyent to expowne and englysshe every dyffyculte that is therin. For he hath late translated the epystlys of Tulle, and the boke of dyodorus siculus, and diverse other works ... in polysshed and ornate termes craftely ... suppose he hath drunken of Elycons well." The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... William Cole (c. ... The degree of Master of Arts degree is an undergraduate degree awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as by the University of Dublin. ... “Caxton” redirects here. ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese, Rome The Aeneid (IPA English pronunciation: ; in Latin Aeneis, pronounced — the title is Greek in form: genitive case Aeneidos) is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story... For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ... The 11th-century monastery of Hosios Lukas on the west slope of the Helicon is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. ...

The laureateship referred to was a degree in rhetoric. Skelton received in 1493 the same honour at Cambridge, and also, it is said, at Leuven. He found a patron in the pious and learned countess of Richmond, Henry VII's mother, for whom he wrote Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun, a translation, now lost, of Guillaume de Deguilleyule's Pèlerinage de la vie humaine. An elegy "Of the death of the noble prince Kynge Edwarde the forth," included in some of the editions of the Mirror for Magistrates, and another (1489) on the death of Henry Percy, fourth earl of Northumberland, are among his earliest poems. Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... Geography Country Belgium Community Flemish Community Region Flemish Region Province Flemish Brabant Arrondissement Leuven Coordinates , , Area 56. ... Margaret Beaufort, Mother of Henry VII, at prayer, by an anonymous artist, about 1500 Margaret Beaufort (May 31, 1443 – June 29, 1509) was the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, granddaughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt and his mistress... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... Mirror for Magistrates is a collection of English poems from the Tudor period by various authors which retell the lives and the tragic ends of various historical figures. ... Sir Henry Percy, also called Harry Hotspur (May 20, 1364/1366 – July 21, 1403) was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Lord Percy of Alnwick. ... The title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain. ...

In the last decade of the century he was appointed tutor to Prince Henry (afterwards Henry VIII). He wrote for his pupil a lost Speculum principis, and Erasmus, in dedicating an ode to the prince in 1500, speaks of Skelton as "unum Britannicarum literarum lumen ac decus." In 1498 he was successively ordained sub-deacon, deacon and priest. He seems to have been imprisoned in 1502, but no reason is known for his disgrace. (It has been said that he offended Wolsey). Two years later he retired from regular attendance at court to become rector of Diss, a benefice which he retained nominally till his death. “Henry VIII” redirects here. ... “Erasmus” redirects here. ... Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c. ... , Diss is a town (population 6742[1]) in Norfolk, England. ... Originally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward (Latin beneficium, means to do well) for services rendered. ...

Skelton frequently signed himself "regius orator" and poet-laureate, but there is no record of any emoluments paid in connection with these dignities, although the Abbé du Resnel, author of Recherches sur les poètes couronnez, asserts that he had seen a patent (1513-1514) in which Skelton was appointed poet-laureate to Henry VIII. As rector of Diss he caused great scandal among his parishioners, who thought him, says Anthony Wood, more fit for the stage than for the pew or the pulpit. He was secretly married to a woman who lived in his house, and he had earned the hatred of the Dominican monks by his fierce satire. Consequently he came under the formal censure of Richard Nix, the bishop of the diocese, and appears to have been temporarily suspended. After his death a collection of farcical tales, no doubt chiefly, if not entirely, apocryphal, gathered round his name--The Merie Tales of Skelton. A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events. ... Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood (December 17, 1632 - November 28, 1695) was an English antiquary. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ...

During the rest of the century he figured in the popular imagination as an incorrigible practical joker. His sarcastic wit made him some enemies, among them Sir Christopher Garnesche or Garneys, Alexander Barclay, William Lilly and the French scholar, Robert Gaguin (c. 1425-1502). With Garneys he engaged in a regular "flyting," undertaken, he says, at the king's command, but Skelton's four poems read as if the abuse in them were dictated by genuine anger. Earlier in his career he had found a friend and patron in Cardinal Wolsey, and the dedication to the cardinal of his Replycacion is couched in the most flattering terms. But in 1522, when Wolsey in his capacity of legate dissolved convocation at St Paul's, Skelton put in circulation the couplet: Alexander Barclay (c. ... William Lilly William Lilly (May 1 (O.S.)/May 11 (N.S.), 1602 - June 9, 1681), was a famed English astrologer and occultist during his time. ... This article is about the cathedral church of the diocese of London. ...

"Gentle Paul, laie doune thy sweard
For Peter of Westminster hath shaven thy beard."

In Colyn Cloute he incidentally attacked Wolsey in a general satire on the clergy, "Speke, Parrot" and "Why come ye nat to Courte?" are direct and fierce invectives against the cardinal who is said to have more than once imprisoned the author. To avoid another arrest Skelton took sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. He was kindly received by the abbot, John Islip, who continued to protect him until his death. The inscription on his tomb in the neighbouring church of St Margaret's described him as vales pierius. The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

In his Garlande of Laurell Skelton gives a long list of his works, only a few of which are extant. The garland in question was worked for him in silks, gold and pearls by the ladies of the countess of Surrey at Sheriff Hutton Castle, where he was the guest of the duke of Norfolk. The composition includes complimentary verses to the various ladies concerned, and a good deal of information about himself. But it is as a satirist that Skelton merits attention. The Bowge of Court is directed against the vices and dangers of court life. He had already in his Boke of the Thre Foles drawn on Alexander Barclay's version of the Narrenschijf of Sebastian Brant, and this more elaborate and imaginative poem belongs to the same class. Skelton, falling into a dream at Harwich, sees a stately ship in the harbour called the Bowge of Court, the owner of which is the Dame Saunce Pere. Her merchandise is Favour; the helmsman Fortune; and the poet, who figures as Drede (modesty), finds on board F'avell (the flatterer), Suspect, Harvy Hafter (the clever thief), Dysdayne, Ryotte, Dyssymuler and Subtylte, who all explain themselves in turn, until at last Drede, who finds they are secretly his enemies, is about to save his life by jumping overboard, when he wakes with a start. Both of these poems are written in the seven-lined Chaucerian stanza, but it is in an irregular metre of his own that his most characteristic work was accomplished. Sheriff Hutton Castle is a quadrangular castle in the village of Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire. ... Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk holding the baton of the Earl Marshal. ... The ship of fools is an old allegory, which has long been used in Western culture in literature and paintings. ... A portrait of Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt) (1457 – May 10, 1521), German humanist and satirist, was born in Strasbourg. ... Arms of Harwich Town Council Harwich (IPA, /hɑːˈɹɪtʃ/) is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. ... Rime Royal (or Rhyme royal) is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. ...

The Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe, the lament of Jane Scroop, a schoolgirl in the Benedictine convent of Carowe near Norwich, for her dead bird, was no doubt inspired by Catullus. It is a poem of some 1,400 lines and takes many liberties with the formularies of the church. The digressions are considerable. We learn what a wide reading Jane had in the romances of Charlemagne, of the Round Table, The Four Sons of Aymon and the Trojan cycle. Skelton finds space to give his opinion of Chaucer, Gower and Lydgate. He seems fully to have realized Chaucer's value as a master of the English language. Gower's matter was, he said, "worth gold," but his English he regarded as antiquated. The verse in which the poem is written, called from its inventor "Skeltonical," is here turned entirely to whimsical use. The lines are usually six-syllabled, but vary in length, and rhyme in groups of two, three, four and even more. It is not far removed from the old alliterative English verse, and well fitted to be chanted by the minstrels who had sung the old ballads. For its comic admixture of Latin Skelton had abundant example in French and Low Latin macaronic verse. He makes frequent use of Latin and French words to carry out his exacting system of frequently recurring rhymes. This breathless, voluble measure was in Skelton's energetic hands an admirable vehicle for invective, but it easily degenerated into doggerel. For the college, see Benedictine College. ... A Beguine convent in Amsterdam. ... Norwich (pronounced IPA: ) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England. ... Fresco from Herculaneum, presumably showing a love couple. ... Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ... King Arthur presides the Round Table. ... Chaucer redirects here. ... John Gower shooting the world, a sphere of earth, air, and water (from an edition of his works c. ... John Lydgate (1370?-1451?); Monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England. ... Alliteration is one of the stylistic devices (literary technique) in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same sound or with the same letter. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Vulgar Latin (in Latin, sermo vulgaris) is a blanket term covering the vernacular dialects of the Latin language spoken mostly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until those dialects, diverging still further, evolved into the early Romance languages — a distinction usually assigned to about the ninth century. ... Macaronic refers to text spoken or written using a mixture of languages. ... A bitter and injurious term of insult. ... Doggerel describes verse considered of little literary value. ...

By the end of the 16th century he was a "rude rayling rimer" (Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie), and at the hands of Pope and Warton he fared even worse. His own criticism is a just one: (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Puttenham may refer to: Puttenham in Hertfordshire, England Puttenham in Surrey, England George Puttenham This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... For other uses, see Alexander Pope (disambiguation). ... Thomas Warton, the Younger Thomas Warton (January 9, 1728 – May 21, 1790) was an English literary historian and critic, as well as a poet. ...

"For though my ryme be ragged,
Tattered and jagged,
Rudely rayne beaten,
Rusty and moughte eaten,
It hath in it some pyth."

Colyn Cloute represents the average country man who gives his opinions on the state of the church. There is no more scathing indictment of the sins of the clergy before the Reformation. He exposes their greed, their ignorance, the ostentation of the bishops and the common practice of simony, but takes care to explain that his accusations do not include all and that he writes in defence of, not against, the church. He repeatedly hits at Wolsey even in this general satire, but not directly. Speke, Parrot has only been preserved in a fragmentary form, and is exceedingly obscure. It was apparently composed at different times, but in the latter part of the composition he openly attacks Wolsey. In Why come ye not to Courte? there is no attempt at disguise. The wonder is not that the author had to seek sanctuary, but that he had any opportunity of doing so. He rails at Wolsey's ostentation, at his almost royal authority, his overbearing manner to suitors high and low, and taunts him with his mean extraction. This scathing invective was not allowed to be printed in the cardinal's lifetime, but it was no doubt widely circulated in manuscript and by repetition. The charge of coarseness regularly brought against Skelton is based chiefly on The Tunnynge of Elynoare Rummynge, a realistic description in the same metre of the drunken women who gathered at a well-known ale-house kept by Elynour Rummynge at Leatherhead, not far from the royal palace of Nonsuch. The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Look up simony in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Tunning of Elynour Rummyng is a long raucous poem written by English poet John Skelton. ... For other uses of this name, see Leatherhead (disambiguation). ... Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace that was built by Henry VIII in Surrey, on the location of Cuddington, near Epsom (the church and village of Cuddington were destroyed to create the plot for the palace). ...

"Skelton Laureate against the Scottes" is a fierce song of triumph celebrating the victory of Flodden. "Jemmy is ded And closed in led, That was theyr owne Kynge," says the poem; but there was an earlier version written before the news of James IV's death had reached London. This, which is the earliest singly printed ballad in the language, was entitled A Ballade of the Scottysshe Kynge, and was rescued in 1878 from the wooden covers of a copy of Huon de Bordeaux. "Howe the douty Duke of Albany, lyke a cowarde knight" deals with the campaign of 1523, and contains a panegyric of Henry VIII. To this is attached an envoi to Wolsey, but it must surely have been misplaced, for both the satires on the cardinal are of earlier date. The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field was fought in northern England on September 9, 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by Thomas Howard. ... James IV (March 17, 1473-September 9, 1513) was King of Scots from 1488 to his death. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th century French romance (chanson de geste). ... Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the youngers sons in the Scottish and later the British Royal Family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover. ... A Panegyric is a formal public speech delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally high studied and undiscriminating eulogy. ...

Skelton also wrote three plays, only one of which survives. Magnificence is one of the best examples of the morality play. It deals with the same topic as his satires, the evils of ambition; its moral, "how suddenly worldly wealth doth decay," being a favourite one with him. Thomas Warton in his History of English Poetry described another piece Nigramansir, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1504, and dealing with simony and the love of money in the church; but no copy is known to exist, and some suspicion has been cast on Warton's statement. Morality plays are a type of theatrical allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a godly life over one of evil. ... Thomas Warton, the Younger Thomas Warton (January 9, 1728 – May 21, 1790) was an English literary historian and critic, as well as a poet. ... Wynkyn de Worde, born in Alsace, was the successor to William Caxton in his English printing business, taking over and running Caxtons press after his death. ...

Illustration of the hold Skelton had on the public imagination is supplied from the stage. A play (1600) called Scogan and Shelton, by Richard Hathway and William Rankins, is mentioned by Henslowe. In Anthony Munday's Downfall of Robert, earl of Huntingdon, Skelton acts the part of Friar Tuck, and Ben Jonson in his masque, The Fortunate Isles, introduced Skogan and Skelton in like habits as they lived. Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ... Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?–August 10, 1633), was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. ... The friar took Robin on his back Illustration by Louis Rhead to Bold Robin Hood and His Outlaw Band: Their Famous Exploits in Sherwood Forest Friar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ...

Very few of Skelton's productions are dated, and their titles are here necessarily abbreviated. De Worde printed the Bowge of Court twice. Divers Batettys and dyties salacious devysed by Master Shelton Laureat, and Shelton Laureate agaynste a comely Coystroune have no date or printer's name, but are evidently from the press of Richard Pynson, who also printed Replycacion against certain yang scalers, dedicated to Wolsey. The Garlande or Chapelet of Laurell was printed by Richard Faukes (1523); Magnificence, A goodly interlude, probably by John Rastell about 1533, reprinted (1821) for the Roxburghe Club. Hereafter foloweth the Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe was printed by Richard Kele (1550?), Robert Toy, Antony Kitson (1560?), Abraham Veale (1570?), John Walley, John Wyght (1560?). Hereafter foloweth certaine bokes compyled by mayster Shelton ... including "Speke, Parrot," "Ware the Hawke," "Elynoure Rumpiynge" and others, was printed by Richard Lant (1550?), John King and Thomas March (1565?), by John Day (1560). Hereafter foloweth a title boke called Colyn Cloute and Hereafter ... why come ye nat to Courte? were printed by Richard Kele (1550?) and in numerous subsequent editions. Pithy, plesaunt and profitable workes of maister Shelton, Poete Laureate. Nowe collected and newly published was printed in 1568, and reprinted in 1736. A scarce reprint of Filnour Rummin by Samuel Rand appeared in 1624. Richard Pynson, one of the first printers of English books, was born in 1448 in Normandy and may have been a glover [1](Plomer, 1922/23, pp. ... John Rastell (or Rastall) (circa 1475 – 1536), was an English printer and author. ... The Roxburghe Club was formed in 1812 by leading bibliophiles when the library of the Duke of Roxburghe was auctioned. ... Woodcut of John Day included in the 1563 and subsequent editions of Actes and Monuments. ...

Five of Skelton's 'Tudor Portraits', including 'The Tunnying of Elynour Rummyng' were set to music by Vaughan Williams in or around 1935. Although he changed the text here and there to suit his music, the sentiments are well expressed. The other four poems are 'My pretty Bess','Epitaph of John Jayberd of Diss', 'Jane Scroop (her lament for Philip Sparrow)', and 'Jolly Rutterkin'. The music is rarely performed, although it is immensely funny, and captures the coarseness of Skelton in an inspired way.

See The Poetical Works of John Shelton; with Notes and some account of the author and his writings, by the Rev. Alexander Dyce (2 vols., 1843). A selection of his works was edited by WH Williams (London, 1902). See also Zur Charakteristik John Skeltons by Dr Arthur Koelbing (Stuttgart, 1904); F Brie, "Skelton Studien" in Englische Studien, vol. 38 (Heilbronn, 1877, etc.); A Rey, Skelton's Satirical Poems... (Berne, 1899); A Thummel, Studien über John Skelton (Leipzig-Reudnitz, 1905); G Saintsbury, Hist. of Eng. Prosody (vol. i, 1906); and A Kolbing in the Cambridge History of English Literature (vol. iii, 1909). Alexander Dyce (June 30, 1798 - May 15, 1869) was a Scottish dramatic editor and literary historian. ... George Edward Bateman Saintsbury (October 23, 1845 - 1933), was an English writer and critic. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External Links

• Skelton's Grave