Thomas Tusser
Encyclopedia
Thomas Tusser was an English
poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. It contains the lines
That is an early version of the proverb
"A fool and his money are soon parted."
, Essex
, in around 1524, the son of William and Isabella Tusser. At a very early age he became a chorister in the St Nicholas' collegiate chapel at Wallingford Castle
, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. He appears to have been pressed for service in the King's Chapel
, the choristers of which were usually afterwards placed by the king in one of the royal foundations at Oxford
or Cambridge
. But Tusser entered the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, and from there went to Eton College
. He has left a quaint account of his privations at Wallingford, and of the severities of Nicholas Udall
at Eton.
He was elected to King's College, Cambridge
in 1543, a date which has fixed the earliest limit of his birth-year, as he would have been ineligible at nineteen. From King's College he moved to Trinity Hall, Cambridge
. On leaving Cambridge went to court in the service of William, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesart, as a musician
. After ten years of life at court, he married and settled as a farmer at Cattiwade, Suffolk
, near the River Stour
.
in 1557 by publisher Richard Tottel
, and was frequently reprinted. Tottel published an enlarged edition Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie in 1573. Tusser includes a homely mix of instructions and observations about farming and country customs which offer a fascinating insight into life in Tudor
England, and his work records many terms and proverb
s in print for the first time. In this work, he also famously presents ten characteristics the perfect cheese must have:
He never remained long in one place. For his wife's health he removed to Ipswich
. After her death he married again, and farmed for some time at West Dereham
. He then became a singing man in Norwich Cathedral
, where he found a good patron in the dean, John Salisbury
.
, whence he was driven by the plague of 1572–1573 to find refuge at Trinity Hall, being matriculated as a servant of the college in 1573. At the time of his death he was in possession of a small estate at Chesterton
, Cambridgeshire
, and his will proves that he was not, as has sometimes been stated, in poverty of any kind, but had in some measure the thrift he preached. Thomas Fuller
says he "traded at large in oxen, sheep, dairies, grain of all kinds, to no profit"; that he "spread his bread with all sorts of butter, yet none would stick thereon."
, Essex, asserts that he was sixty-five years old.
According to John Stow
's Survey of London
, Cheape Ward, Thomas Tusser was buried in the now lost church of St Mildred in the Poultry
. The inscription on his tomb there was as follows:
Stow's editor adds the following epigram on Tusser from a volume called The More the Merrier (1608), by 'H. P.':
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. It contains the lines
- A foole and his monie be soone at debate,
- which after with sorrow repents him too late.
That is an early version of the proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
"A fool and his money are soon parted."
Early life
Tusser was born in RivenhallRivenhall
Rivenhall is a village and a civil parish near Witham in the Braintree District in the English county of Essex. It is near the small settlement of Rivenhall End. For transport there is the busy A12 nearby and Witham railway station. It has an Anglo-Saxon church which has a Roman villa...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, in around 1524, the son of William and Isabella Tusser. At a very early age he became a chorister in the St Nicholas' collegiate chapel at Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. He appears to have been pressed for service in the King's Chapel
King's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
, the choristers of which were usually afterwards placed by the king in one of the royal foundations at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
or Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. But Tusser entered the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, and from there went to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. He has left a quaint account of his privations at Wallingford, and of the severities of Nicholas Udall
Nicholas Udall
Nicholas Udall was an English playwright, cleric, pederast and schoolmaster, the author of Ralph Roister Doister, generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English language.-Biography:...
at Eton.
He was elected to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1543, a date which has fixed the earliest limit of his birth-year, as he would have been ineligible at nineteen. From King's College he moved to Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
. On leaving Cambridge went to court in the service of William, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesart, as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. After ten years of life at court, he married and settled as a farmer at Cattiwade, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, near the River Stour
River Stour, Suffolk
The River Stour is a river in East Anglia, England. It is 76 km long and forms most of the county boundary between Suffolk to the north, and Essex to the south. It rises in eastern Cambridgeshire, passes to the east of Haverhill, through Cavendish, Sudbury and the Dedham Vale, and joins the...
.
Early career
There he wrote A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie a long poem in rhyming couplets recording the country year. This work was first printed in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1557 by publisher Richard Tottel
Richard Tottel
Richard Tottel was an English publisher and influential member of the legal community. He ran his business from a shop was located at Temple Bar on Fleet Street in London...
, and was frequently reprinted. Tottel published an enlarged edition Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie in 1573. Tusser includes a homely mix of instructions and observations about farming and country customs which offer a fascinating insight into life in Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
England, and his work records many terms and proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
s in print for the first time. In this work, he also famously presents ten characteristics the perfect cheese must have:
- Not like Gehazi
GehaziGehazi, Geichazi, or Giezi is a figure found in the Tanakh Books of Kings. He was Elisha's servant. He appears in connection with the history of the Shunammite and of Naaman the Syrian...
, i.e., dead white, like a leper- Not like Lot's wife
Lot's wifeLot's wife is a person mentioned in the Book of Genesis who was turned into a pillar of salt for failing to heed the orders of the angels of deliverance from the city of Sodom."Lot's wife" may further refer to:-Geography:...
, all salt- Not like Argus
Argus PanoptesIn Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes or Argos, guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor, was a primordial giant whose epithet "Panoptes", "all-seeing", led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred, eyes. The epithet Panoptes was applied to the Titan of the Sun, Helios, and...
, full of eyes- Not like Tom Piper, “hoven and puffed”
- Not like Crispin
CrispinSaints Crispin and Crispinian are the French Christian patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. Born to a noble Roman family in the 3rd century AD, Saints Crispin and Crispinian, twin brothers, fled persecution for their faith, ending up in Soissons, where they preached Christianity...
, leathery- Not like Lazarus
Lazarus and DivesThe Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a well known parable of Jesus which appears in one of the Four Gospels of the New Testament....
, poor- Not like Esau
EsauEsau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
, hairy- Not like Mary Magdalene
Mary MagdaleneMary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, full of whey or maudlin- Not like the Gentiles, full of maggots
- Not like a Bishop
BishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, made of burnt milk
He never remained long in one place. For his wife's health he removed to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
. After her death he married again, and farmed for some time at West Dereham
West Dereham
West Dereham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 440 in 176 households as of the 2001 census....
. He then became a singing man in Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral is a cathedral located in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Formerly a Catholic church, it has belonged to the Church of England since the English Reformation....
, where he found a good patron in the dean, John Salisbury
John Salisbury (bishop)
John Salisbury, O.S.B. was a Welsh clergyman who held high office in the pre- and post-Reformation church in England.He was the last Abbot of Titchfield; the abbey was dissolved in December 1537. Under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534, he was appointed and consecrated Bishop of...
.
Later life
After another experiment in farming at Fairstead, Essex, he moved once again to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, whence he was driven by the plague of 1572–1573 to find refuge at Trinity Hall, being matriculated as a servant of the college in 1573. At the time of his death he was in possession of a small estate at Chesterton
Chesterton, Cambridgeshire
Chesterton is a suburb in the northeast corner of Cambridge, England.It is also the name of two electoral wards in the city...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, and his will proves that he was not, as has sometimes been stated, in poverty of any kind, but had in some measure the thrift he preached. Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...
says he "traded at large in oxen, sheep, dairies, grain of all kinds, to no profit"; that he "spread his bread with all sorts of butter, yet none would stick thereon."
Death
Tusser died on 3 May 1580. An erroneous inscription at ManningtreeManningtree
Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It adjoins built-up areas of Lawford to the west and Mistley to the east and the three parishes together are sometimes referred to as "Manningtree".Manningtree is a claimant for the...
, Essex, asserts that he was sixty-five years old.
According to John Stow
John Stow
John Stow was an English historian and antiquarian.-Early life:The son of Thomas Stow, a tallow-chandler, he was born about 1525 in London, in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. His father's whole rent for his house and garden was only 6s. 6d. a year, and Stow in his youth fetched milk every...
's Survey of London
Survey of London
The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
, Cheape Ward, Thomas Tusser was buried in the now lost church of St Mildred in the Poultry
St Mildred, Poultry
St Mildred, Poultry was a parish church in the Cheap ward, of the City of London. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London and demolished in 1872.-History:...
. The inscription on his tomb there was as follows:
"Here Thomas Tusser, clad in earth, doth lie,
That sometime made the pointes of Husbandrie;
By him then learne thou maiest; here learne we must,
When all is done, we sleepe, and turne to dust:
And yet, through Christ, to Heaven we hope to goe;
Who reades his bookes, shall find his faith was so."
Stow's editor adds the following epigram on Tusser from a volume called The More the Merrier (1608), by 'H. P.':
Ad Tusserum
"Tusser, they tell me, when thou wert alive,
Thou, teaching thrift, thyselfe couldst never thrive.
So, like the whetstone, many men are wont
To sharpen others, when themselves are blunt."