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commonly called St. Saviour's Church, in Southwark. It is entirely of stone, and confifts of a canopy of three arches with bouquet [crocketed] pediments, parted by finials, and at the back of each pediment three niches, of which there are also seven in front of the altar tomb." Berthelette, in the introduction to his edition of the Confeffio Amantis, published in 1532, gives the following defcription of the representations of Charity, Mercy, and Pity, now nearly obliterated, which were painted against the wall within the three upper arches. "Befide on the wall where he lieth, there be peinted three virgins, with crownes on their heades, one of the whiche is written Charitie, and she holdeth this diuife in hir hande :

"En toy qui eft filz de dieu le pere

Sauve foit qui gift fouz cest piere.

"The fecond is written Mercie, which holdeth in hir hande this diuife:

"O bon Jefu fait ta mercie

Al alme, dont le corpe gift icy.

"The thyrde of them is written Pitee, whiche holdeth in hir hande this diuife followynge:

"Pour ta Pite Jefu regarde

Et met ceft alme en fauve garde."

On the top of the altar tomb is the effigy of the poet; his head reclining on three volumes, representing his three great works and inscribed with their respective titles. The hair falls in large curls on his fhoulders, and is crowned with a chaplet of four rofes, originally, as Leland* tells us, intermixed with ivy, "in token, fays Berthelette, that a little weftward of the north transept, until 1830, when it was removed into the fouth transept.

* Commentarii, p. 415.

Habet ibidem ftatuam duplici infignem nota, nempe aureo torque et hederacea corona rofis interferta, illud militis, hoc poetæ ornamentum.

he in his life daies, flourished fresshely in literature and science." It is infcribed, ihi merci. A long robe, closely buttoned down the front, extends from the neck to the feet, which are entirely covered. A collar of SS., from which is fufpended a small swan, chained, the badge of Henry IV, hangs from his neck; his feet rest upon a lion, and above, within a panel of the fide of the canopy, a shield is fufpended, charged with his arms, Argent on a chevron, Azure, three leopards' heads, Or; creft, on a cap of maintenance, a talbot feiant [paffant]. Under the figure of Mercy are thefe lines:

Armigeri fcutum nihil a modo fert tibi tutum ;
Reddidit immolutum morti generale tributum;
Spiritus exutum regaudeat effe folutum

Eft ubi virtutum regnum fine labe statutum.

On the ledge of the tomb was an infcription, now entirely gone:

Hic jacet J. Gower, arm.

Angl. poeta celeberrimus ac

Huic facro edificio benefac. infignis.

Vixit temporibus Ed. 111. et R. 11.

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Adjoining the monument there hung originally a table granting 1500 days' pardon, " ab ecclefia rite conceffos, for all those who devoutly prayed for his foul."*

It is affirmed by Leland,† that Gower was one of the principal benefactors of the Priory of St. Mary Overy's, which had been burnt down in 1212, and that he contributed confiderable fums towards rebuilding it in the reign of Richard II. His monument has been repaired three times; first in 1615, next in 1764, and lastly in 1830 by earl Gower, marquis of Stafford, the prefent duke of Sutherland.

* Caxton's Edition of the Confeffio Amantis, 1483, fol. 211. + Commentarii, p. 416, & Collectanea, 1, p. 106.

II. HIS WRITINGS AND CHARACTER.

A YOUNG and healthy literature is generally the offspring of some remarkable epoch in the history of the nation to which it belongs; for men's minds are fertilized and invigorated by the actions of great political events, and an impulse is given to their imagination and language, which more tranquil times would probably never have evoked. This obfervation efpecially applies to England in the fourteenth century, when the long reign of Edward III. had been marked by circumstances the most varied and extraordinary in its history. The eyes of all Europe were fixed for a time on a struggle between two empires for the crown of one of them. Great wars with France had been crowned with unparalleled fuccefs to the arms of the king and his brave fon; but at last a fudden check reversed the fplendid picture. The once glorious king, borne down by premature old age and decay of intellect, faw nearly all his conquests snatched from him, and the security of his island empire menaced by the enemy, while his people, who for many years had borne the burden of the war with cheerful patriotism, for which they had obtained conceffions of inestimable political rights, began to clamour against the king's ill fuccefs, and to demand a direct share in the administration of public affairs. The vicious and corrupt state of the church had brought on the first serious attempt at a reformation; and a bold and honeft priest had risen to preach the Gospel in the vernacular tongue "free and truly." The whole order of things as they then existed seemed on the point of collapfing, when Edward, by this time become a wretched dotard, died in the arms

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of a concubine, and his grandfon, a mere boy, fucceeded to the throne. Ere Richard had reigned four years, the Commons, who had long viewed with indignation the poffeffion of wealth and the exclusive enjoyment of political privileges by the higher orders of fociety, and who had imbibed very erroneous ideas of property, government, and religion, revolted, and for a moment threatened the country with a general conflagration. Their rifing struck terror into the hearts of the more peaceable part of the community. Nor were the disasters confequent on this event unaccompanied by others of equal gravity. Crown and country being both exhaufted, no fresh fucceffes against the French were obtained, and a spirit of discontent began rapidly to pervade all claffes. This young and headstrong prince made two dangerous attempts to wrest from the people what they claimed as their ancient and hard earned rights, and for a fhort time fucceeded in ruling them with true defpotism; but the century closed with his depofition, the acceffion of a skilful ufurper and a univerfal reaction in church and state.

Nevertheless not only did civil and religious liberty take fo firm a root as to enable it to withstand the most violent political tempefts of fucceeding ages, but the first bloffoms of English literature, forerunners of repeated brilliant difplays of genius, began to expand during this period, and it is as one of the earliest labourers in this hitherto uncultivated field, that John Gower will ever be honourably mentioned.

At the beginning of the fourteenth century, there existed in England no national language; the court, nobility, parliament, and even the courts of law spoke French, the church generally made ufe of Latin, and public acts were written in either language, while the defcendants of the Anglo-Saxon race employed a dialect of direct Saxon

derivation, but modified and softened by time, and occafionally mixed up with words of Romance origin. These three tongues, from all of which the English language was rapidly forming itself, remained in public use throughout the century. In 1362 Parliament was first opened by a fpeech in English, and the courts of law fubfequently adopted the fame language; Chaucer had already begun to write, and Gower, whofe earlier works had been compofed in French and Latin, now used his mother-tongue. There is no better illuftration of this fingular tranfition to the English language than a fhort enumeration and description of Gower's writings.

The head of the figure sculptured on his tomb reclines on three volumes representing his three great works, written in as many languages: the Speculum Meditantis, the Vox Clamantis, and the Confeffio Amantis. Several MSS. and Caxton's edition of the English poem contain the following short characteristic sketch of each of them drawn up probably by the poet himself, but differing, like his two editions of the Confeffio Amantis, according to his pofition in relation to the political events of the day. Quia unufquifque prout Quia unufquifque prout a Deo accepit aliis impartire a Deo accepit aliis impartiri tenetur, Johannes Gower tenetur, Johannes Gower fuper hiis que Deus fibi in- fuper hiis que Deus fibi tellectualiter donavit, villi- fenfualiter donavit, villicacacionis fue racionem dum cionis fue racionem dum tempus inftat fecundum ali- tempus inftat fecundum aliquid alleviare cupiens, inter quod alleviare cupiens, inter labores et ocia ad aliorum labores et ocia ad aliorum noticiam tres libros doctrine noticiam tres libros doctrine caufa forma fubfequenti caufa forma fubfequenti propterea compofuit. propterea compofuit.

Primus liber Gallico fer

Primus liber Gallico fer

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