John Gower, Vox Clamantis

Rebecca Menmuir (Queen Mary, University of London)

Ed. by Sebastian Sobecki, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Natalie Hanna, University of Liverpool
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1379 - c. 1381

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Introduction

The Vox Clamantis [The Voice of One Crying] (hereafter the Vox) by John Gower (d. 1408) is one of the poet’s three major works, alongside the Mirour de l’Omme and Confessio Amantis. This entry includes information on both the Vox and Gower’s Cronica tripertita [A Chronicle in Three Parts] (hereafter Cronica), which is often included as an addendum to the Vox in critical editions. Composed c. 1380–82, the Vox is a long poem, with over 10,000 lines denouncing the sins of fourteenth-century England. Seven books act as estates satire (a late-medieval genre which …

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3398 words

Citation: Menmuir, Rebecca. "Vox Clamantis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 February 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8659, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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