Alliterative Revival
Encyclopedia
The Alliterative Revival is a term adopted by academics to refer to the resurgence of poetry using the alliterative verse
form - the traditional versification of Old English poetry - in Middle English
during the period c. 1350 - c. 1500. The last alliterative poem known before this period is Lawman
's Brut
, which dates from around 1190.
Opinion is divided as to whether the reappearance of such poems represents a conscious revival of an old artistic tradition, or merely signifies that despite the tradition continuing in some form between 1200 and 1350, no poems have survived in written form.
) in the middle, in which three of the stresses alliterate
, i.e. aa / ax. Amongst the features differentiating the Middle English alliterative style from its predecessor is that the lines are longer and looser in rhythm, and the medial pause is less strictly observed, or often absent entirely; hundreds of rhythmic variations seem to have been permitted. This can be illustrated by a few lines from Wynnere and Wastoure:
The fourth line, for example, has an extra alliterating stress at its head, while the third starts with a lighter extra stress containing a different alliterating pattern ("and now es no") to the rest of the line. Some poets, such as William Langland
, the conjectured author of Piers Plowman
, seem to have favoured looser rhythmic patterns than others.
s, usually of thirteen or fourteen lines, with the basic four-stress line also appeared during the Revival. Here the alliteration may often follow the pattern aa / aa, ax / aa, or even aa / bb. It is still uncertain as to whether this tradition developed from the unrhymed alliterative template or from rhymed verse forms on which the traditional alliterative stave was superimposed. The surviving stanzaic alliterative poems are generally of northern English provenance; some, such as The Three Dead Kings
, are of incredibly complex form.
In recent years medievalists have begun to challenge the idea that alliterative verse and its "revival" was an exclusively regional phenomenon, limited to the north and west of England. Although, as academic Ralph Hanna observes, the records of early alliterative poetry cluster overwhelmingly around the literary communities of Worcester
, in the west, and York
, in the north, alliterative poetry at least subsequently developed "as one competing form of a national, not regional, literature". In this interpretation, alliterative verse would have been part of the common literary culture of the time, albeit most appreciated in northern and western circles. Indeed, a few poems seem to have a definitely eastern (and in the case of The Blacksmiths, possibly urban) origin. The apparent flowering of the alliterative style in the period may have been due to social changes occurring in the wake of the Black Death
, which would have thrown vernacular literary styles into greater prominence.
Ultimately, changing literary fashions, along with its perhaps old-fashioned and provincial associations, led to the abandonment of the alliterative form. Its use persisted in Scotland
long after it had become a curiosity in an English literary culture totally dominated by the Chaucerian tradition: from 1450 until the following century, every major Scots court poet composed at least one alliterative poem.
The cultural milieu of the alliterative poets is often described as one more provincial and backward-looking than that of Chaucerian, courtly poetry of the time, with the poems being appreciated by an audience drawn from the landed gentry
of the shires rather than the urban sophisticates of the court. Most of the authors self-consciously associate their work with vernacular, informal language, and structure their work as if to be read aloud to a mixed group of listeners.
It has also been suggested that they could have had a more noble audience, perhaps as part of a conscious policy of regionalism encouraged by powerful northern and western magnates - the Mortimer Earls of March
, the Bohun Earls of Hereford
and the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick - as a political counterweight to the court. However, as Richard II of England
and John of Gaunt both had substantial support and connections in the north-west, it is also possible to argue that the alliterative poets of this period could easily have had courtly connections.
In comparison to some of the authors of syllabic rhymed verse during this period, such as Geoffrey Chaucer
, John Gower
, and John Lydgate
, almost nothing is known about the authors of alliterative poetry. The greatest of them, the Pearl poet
, author of Pearl
and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
, and that of Alliterative Morte Arthure
are both completely anonymous, though the former has been tentatively identified as a John Massey, member of a Cheshire
landowning family. Even William Langland
, the author of the hugely influential Piers Plowman
, has been identified largely through conjecture. The longest poem of the Revival, The Destruction of Troy, is ascribed to a John Clerk from Lancashire
, but little else is known about him. A notable exception to this lack of information is Scottish court poet William Dunbar
; Dunbar generally wrote in syllabic metres, but displays a masterful use of the alliterative line in one poem at the very end of the period.
One man known to have appreciated alliterative verse during the time it was still being composed was Robert Thornton
, a 15th century landowner from North Yorkshire
. Thornton's efforts in copying these poems, for the use of himself and his family, resulted in the preservation of several valuable works.
, which from internal evidence is usually dated to around 1352. The last, Scottish Ffielde, was composed in c. 1515. From in between these dates, a number of examples of verse have survived, of which some are listed below:
Some elements of the alliterative technique survived in Scotland until the late 16th century, appearing in The Flyting Betwixt Montgomerie and Polwart dated around 1580.
Alliterative verse
In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic...
form - the traditional versification of Old English poetry - in Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
during the period c. 1350 - c. 1500. The last alliterative poem known before this period is Lawman
Layamon
Layamon or Laghamon (ˈlaɣamon; in American English often modernised as ; ), occasionally written Lawman, was a poet of the early 13th century and author of the Brut, a notable English poem of the 12th century that was the first English language work to discuss the legends of Arthur and the...
's Brut
Brut (Layamon)
Layamon's Brut , also known as The Chronicle of Britain, is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon. The Brut is 16,095 lines long and narrates the history of Britain: it is the first historiography written in English since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle...
, which dates from around 1190.
Opinion is divided as to whether the reappearance of such poems represents a conscious revival of an old artistic tradition, or merely signifies that despite the tradition continuing in some form between 1200 and 1350, no poems have survived in written form.
The alliterative "long line"
The verse of the Alliterative Revival broadly adheres to the same pattern shown in Old English poetry; a four-stress line, with a rhythmic pause (or caesuraCaesura
thumb|100px|An example of a caesura in modern western music notation.In meter, a caesura is a complete pause in a line of poetry or in a musical composition. The plural form of caesura is caesuras or caesurae...
) in the middle, in which three of the stresses alliterate
Alliteration
In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
, i.e. aa / ax. Amongst the features differentiating the Middle English alliterative style from its predecessor is that the lines are longer and looser in rhythm, and the medial pause is less strictly observed, or often absent entirely; hundreds of rhythmic variations seem to have been permitted. This can be illustrated by a few lines from Wynnere and Wastoure:
- Whylome were lordes in londe that loved in thaire hertis
- To here makers of myrthes that matirs couthe fynde,
- And now es no frenchipe in fere bot fayntnesse of hert,
- Wyse wordes withinn that wroghte were never,
- Ne redde in no romance that ever renke herde.(19-23)
The fourth line, for example, has an extra alliterating stress at its head, while the third starts with a lighter extra stress containing a different alliterating pattern ("and now es no") to the rest of the line. Some poets, such as William Langland
William Langland
William Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman.- Life :The attribution of Piers to Langland rests principally on the evidence of a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin...
, the conjectured author of Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman or Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman is the title of a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in unrhymed alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus"...
, seem to have favoured looser rhythmic patterns than others.
Stanzaic poems
A second type of verse combining rhymed stanzaStanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s, usually of thirteen or fourteen lines, with the basic four-stress line also appeared during the Revival. Here the alliteration may often follow the pattern aa / aa, ax / aa, or even aa / bb. It is still uncertain as to whether this tradition developed from the unrhymed alliterative template or from rhymed verse forms on which the traditional alliterative stave was superimposed. The surviving stanzaic alliterative poems are generally of northern English provenance; some, such as The Three Dead Kings
The Three Dead Kings
The Three Dead Kings, also known by its Latin title De Tribus Regibus Mortuis or as The Three Living and the Three Dead, is a 15th-century Middle English poem. It is found in the manuscript MS. Douce 302, and its authorship is sometimes attributed to a Shropshire priest, John Audelay...
, are of incredibly complex form.
Development of the Revival
The dialects shown in the surviving poems often point towards a northern and western provenance, and the conventional interpretation of the Revival states that such verse first began to be produced in the south-west Midlands, perhaps towards the start of the 14th century, and spread gradually northwards and eastwards, eventually becoming limited to the far north and Scotland by the close of the 15th century. It was a largely self-contained movement, and its "contacts with the metropolitan, Chaucerian tradition were slight".In recent years medievalists have begun to challenge the idea that alliterative verse and its "revival" was an exclusively regional phenomenon, limited to the north and west of England. Although, as academic Ralph Hanna observes, the records of early alliterative poetry cluster overwhelmingly around the literary communities of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, in the west, and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, in the north, alliterative poetry at least subsequently developed "as one competing form of a national, not regional, literature". In this interpretation, alliterative verse would have been part of the common literary culture of the time, albeit most appreciated in northern and western circles. Indeed, a few poems seem to have a definitely eastern (and in the case of The Blacksmiths, possibly urban) origin. The apparent flowering of the alliterative style in the period may have been due to social changes occurring in the wake of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, which would have thrown vernacular literary styles into greater prominence.
Ultimately, changing literary fashions, along with its perhaps old-fashioned and provincial associations, led to the abandonment of the alliterative form. Its use persisted in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
long after it had become a curiosity in an English literary culture totally dominated by the Chaucerian tradition: from 1450 until the following century, every major Scots court poet composed at least one alliterative poem.
Audience and authors
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
of the shires rather than the urban sophisticates of the court. Most of the authors self-consciously associate their work with vernacular, informal language, and structure their work as if to be read aloud to a mixed group of listeners.
It has also been suggested that they could have had a more noble audience, perhaps as part of a conscious policy of regionalism encouraged by powerful northern and western magnates - the Mortimer Earls of March
Earl of March
The title The Earl of March has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derived from the "marches" or boundaries between England and either Wales or Scotland , and was held by several great feudal families which owned lands in those border...
, the Bohun Earls of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
and the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick - as a political counterweight to the court. However, as Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
and John of Gaunt both had substantial support and connections in the north-west, it is also possible to argue that the alliterative poets of this period could easily have had courtly connections.
In comparison to some of the authors of syllabic rhymed verse during this period, such as Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
, John Gower
John Gower
John Gower was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which...
, and John Lydgate
John Lydgate
John Lydgate of Bury was a monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England.Lydgate is at once a greater and a lesser poet than John Gower. He is a greater poet because of his greater range and force; he has a much more powerful machine at his command. The sheer bulk of Lydgate's poetic output is...
, almost nothing is known about the authors of alliterative poetry. The greatest of them, the Pearl poet
Pearl Poet
The "Pearl Poet", or the "Gawain Poet", is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness; some scholars suggest the author may also have...
, author of Pearl
Pearl (poem)
Pearl is a Middle English alliterative poem written in the late 14th century. Its unknown author, designated the "Pearl poet" or "Gawain poet", is generally assumed, on the basis of dialect and stylistic evidence, to be the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness or...
and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the poem, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his...
, and that of Alliterative Morte Arthure
Alliterative Morte Arthure
The Alliterative Morte Arthure is a 4346-line Middle English alliterative poem, retelling the latter part of the legend of King Arthur. It is preserved in a single copy, in the early fifteenth-century Lincoln Thornton Manuscript.-History:...
are both completely anonymous, though the former has been tentatively identified as a John Massey, member of a Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
landowning family. Even William Langland
William Langland
William Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman.- Life :The attribution of Piers to Langland rests principally on the evidence of a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin...
, the author of the hugely influential Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman
Piers Plowman or Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman is the title of a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in unrhymed alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus"...
, has been identified largely through conjecture. The longest poem of the Revival, The Destruction of Troy, is ascribed to a John Clerk from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, but little else is known about him. A notable exception to this lack of information is Scottish court poet William Dunbar
William Dunbar
William Dunbar was a Scottish poet. He was probably a native of East Lothian, as assumed from a satirical reference in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie , where, too, it is hinted that he was a member of the noble house of Dunbar....
; Dunbar generally wrote in syllabic metres, but displays a masterful use of the alliterative line in one poem at the very end of the period.
One man known to have appreciated alliterative verse during the time it was still being composed was Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (scribe)
Robert Thornton was a Yorkshire landowner, a member of the landed gentry. His efforts as an amateur scribe and manuscript compiler resulted in the preservation of many valuable works of Middle English literature, and have given him an important place in its history.-Biography:Thornton's name is...
, a 15th century landowner from North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
. Thornton's efforts in copying these poems, for the use of himself and his family, resulted in the preservation of several valuable works.
Chronology
The first alliterative poem after the Brut for which a date can be established is Wynnere and WastoureWynnere and Wastoure
Wynnere and Wastoure is a fragmentary Middle English poem written in alliterative verse sometime around the middle of the 14th century.-Manuscript:The poem occurs in a single manuscript, British Library Additional MS. 31042...
, which from internal evidence is usually dated to around 1352. The last, Scottish Ffielde, was composed in c. 1515. From in between these dates, a number of examples of verse have survived, of which some are listed below:
- c. 1352
- Wynnere and WastoureWynnere and WastoureWynnere and Wastoure is a fragmentary Middle English poem written in alliterative verse sometime around the middle of the 14th century.-Manuscript:The poem occurs in a single manuscript, British Library Additional MS. 31042...
, unrhymed allegorical debate (anonymous; dialect appears to point to a poet from north CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
)
- Wynnere and Wastoure
- c. 1360, perhaps revised until 1390s
- Piers PlowmanPiers PlowmanPiers Plowman or Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman is the title of a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in unrhymed alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus"...
, very long allegorical and satirical dream visionDream visionA dream vision is a literary device in which a dream is recounted for a specific purpose. While dreams occur frequently throughout the history of literature, the dream vision emerged as a poetic genre in its own right, and was particularly popular in the Middle Ages. This genre typically follows a...
(author conjecturally identified as William LanglandWilliam LanglandWilliam Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman.- Life :The attribution of Piers to Langland rests principally on the evidence of a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin...
, west or southwest Midland dialect)
- Piers Plowman
- c. 1365, though later 14th century also suggested
- The Alliterative Morte ArthureAlliterative Morte ArthureThe Alliterative Morte Arthure is a 4346-line Middle English alliterative poem, retelling the latter part of the legend of King Arthur. It is preserved in a single copy, in the early fifteenth-century Lincoln Thornton Manuscript.-History:...
, unrhymed Arthurian romance (anonymous; probable dialect of east Midlands)
- The Alliterative Morte Arthure
- c. 1370
- The Parlement of the Thre Ages, unrhymed allegorical poem (anonymous, Midland dialect; some commentators have argued it may be written by the author of Wynnere and Wastoure)
- c. 1380 (works attributed to the Pearl PoetPearl PoetThe "Pearl Poet", or the "Gawain Poet", is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness; some scholars suggest the author may also have...
)- PearlPearl (poem)Pearl is a Middle English alliterative poem written in the late 14th century. Its unknown author, designated the "Pearl poet" or "Gawain poet", is generally assumed, on the basis of dialect and stylistic evidence, to be the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness or...
, allegorical poem in rhymed stanza (anonymous; dialect of the Pearl PoetPearl PoetThe "Pearl Poet", or the "Gawain Poet", is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness; some scholars suggest the author may also have...
, sometimes identified as a John Massey, is of CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
/ StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
) - Sir Gawain and the Green KnightSir Gawain and the Green KnightSir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the poem, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his...
, Arthurian romance in unrhymed stanza with rhymed bob and wheelBob and wheelBob and wheel is the common name for a metrical device most famously used by the Pearl Poet in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The feature is found mainly in Middle English and Middle Scots poetry, where the bob and wheel occur typically at the end of a stanza. The "bob" is a very short line,...
(anonymous; generally considered to be the work of the Pearl Poet, above) - CleannessCleannessCleanness is a Middle English alliterative poem written in the late 14th century. Its unknown author, designated the Pearl poet or Gawain poet, also appears, on the basis of dialect and stylistic evidence, to be the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Patience, and may have...
, homiletic poem in unrhymed verse (anonymous; generally considered to be the work of the Pearl Poet, above) - PatiencePatience (poem)Patience is a Middle English alliterative poem written in the late 14th century. Its unknown author, designated the Pearl-Poet or Gawain-Poet, also appears, on the basis of dialect and stylistic evidence, to be the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Cleanness and may have...
, homiletic poem in unrhymed verse (anonymous; generally considered to be the work of the Pearl Poet, above)
- Pearl
- c. 1385
- The Destruction of Troy, historical narrative by John Clerk of Whalley, LancashireWhalley, LancashireWhalley is a large village in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large picturesque wooded hill over the river from the village....
- The Destruction of Troy, historical narrative by John Clerk of Whalley, Lancashire
- 1386
- St. ErkenwaldSt. Erkenwald (poem)St. Erkenwald is an alliterative poem of the fourteenth century, thought to have been composed in 1386. It has sometimes been attributed to the Pearl poet . It takes as its subject Erkenwald, the bishop of London between 675 and 693....
, saint's life / exemplumExemplumAn exemplum is a moral anecdote, brief or extended, real or fictitious, used to illustrate a point.-Exemplary literature:...
in unrhymed verse (anonymous; similar dialect to Pearl Poet has led to suggestion it may also be by this author)
- St. Erkenwald
- c. 1390
- The Siege of Jerusalem, historical narrative (anonymous, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
dialect; may borrow from Destruction of Troy) - The Pistel of Swete Susan, biblical story in thirteen-line stanza (anonymous, south YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
dialect; sometimes attributed to a "HuchounHuchounHuchoun or Huchown "of the Awle Ryale" is a poet conjectured to have been writing sometime in the 14th century. Some academics, following the Scottish antiquarian George Neilson , have identified him with a Scottish knight, Hugh of Eglington, and advanced his authorship of several significant...
", or "Hugh")
- The Siege of Jerusalem, historical narrative (anonymous, Lancashire
- c. 1400
- The Three Dead KingsThe Three Dead KingsThe Three Dead Kings, also known by its Latin title De Tribus Regibus Mortuis or as The Three Living and the Three Dead, is a 15th-century Middle English poem. It is found in the manuscript MS. Douce 302, and its authorship is sometimes attributed to a Shropshire priest, John Audelay...
, moral poem in thirteen-line stanza that has been called the most technically complex in the language (anonymous; sometimes attributed to John AudelayJohn AudelayJohn Audelay or Awdelay was a priest and poet from Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire; he is one of the few English poets of the period whose name is known to us. Some of the first Christmas carols recorded in English appear among his works....
) - Pater NosterPater NosterPater Noster is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity.Pater Noster or Paternoster may also refer to:* Paternoster, a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building* Paternoster, Western Cape, South Africa* Pierres...
, religious poem in rhymed alliterative stanza (anonymous; also possibly by Audelay)
- The Three Dead Kings
- c. 1420
- The Awntyrs off ArthureThe Awntyrs off ArthureThe Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne is an Arthurian romance of 702 lines written in Middle English alliterative verse. Despite its title, it centres on the deeds of Sir Gawain...
, Arthurian romance in thirteen-line stanza (anonymous; probably written by a native of CumberlandCumberlandCumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
)
- The Awntyrs off Arthure
- c. 1425
- The Blacksmiths, satirical complaint against the noise made by blacksmithBlacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
s (anonymous; East Anglian or even London dialect)
- The Blacksmiths, satirical complaint against the noise made by blacksmith
- c. 1450
- The Buke of the Howlat, ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
allegorical poem in rhymed stanza with irregular alliteration; written by Richard HollandRichard HollandRichard Holland or Richard de Holande , Scottish writer, author of the Buke of the Howlat, was secretary or chaplain to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray and rector of Halkirk, near Thurso....
- The Buke of the Howlat, Scottish
- c. 1500
- The Tretis of the Twa Mariit Wemen and the Wedo, satirical chanson d'aventureChanson d'aventureThe chanson d'aventure is a genre of medieval poetry originating in France, but which had a substantial influence on poetry in Middle English.-Structure:...
in unrhymed long line; written by Scottish poet William DunbarWilliam DunbarWilliam Dunbar was a Scottish poet. He was probably a native of East Lothian, as assumed from a satirical reference in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie , where, too, it is hinted that he was a member of the noble house of Dunbar....
- The Tretis of the Twa Mariit Wemen and the Wedo, satirical chanson d'aventure
- c. 1515
- Scottish Ffielde; anonymous poem about the Battle of Flodden, composed for the Stanley familyEarl of DerbyEarl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
.
- Scottish Ffielde; anonymous poem about the Battle of Flodden, composed for the Stanley family
Some elements of the alliterative technique survived in Scotland until the late 16th century, appearing in The Flyting Betwixt Montgomerie and Polwart dated around 1580.