Richard Fox (chronicler)
Encyclopedia
Richard Fox was a lay clerk at the abbey of St Albans
, where he served as chamberlain to Abbott John Whethamstede
. He is notable for compiling, amongst other texts, an expanded version of the Brut chronicle, which is especially important for including contemporary accounts of the Parliament of Bury and of the death of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
.
Fox also claimed to have information regarding the identity of Peasant's Revolt leader Jack Straw
from a person who was close to the events in 1381; Straw was identified as a John Tyler of Dartford
, Kent, who sparked the revolt by killing a tax collector.
Little else is known about Fox, though his will of 1454 notes that he possessed several books including copies of the Confessio Amantis by John Gower
and works by John Lydgate
. Fox seems to have been an avid collector of books, though in this period it was still relatively rare to find a high degree of literacy outside the clergy. He also appears to have had a strong interest in the cult of St Alban.
Sections of the chronicle compiled by Fox, which is found in Woburn Abbey Ms. 181, were published in An English Chronicle of the Reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, edited by J. S. Davies (1856).
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral church at St Albans, England. At , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
, where he served as chamberlain to Abbott John Whethamstede
John Whethamstede
John Whethamstede , English abbot, was a son of Hugh Bostock, and was born at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, owing his name, the Latin form of which is Frumenlarius, to this circumstance....
. He is notable for compiling, amongst other texts, an expanded version of the Brut chronicle, which is especially important for including contemporary accounts of the Parliament of Bury and of the death of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
.
Jack Straw (rebel leader)
For other uses, see Jack Straw Jack Straw was one of the three leaders of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, a major event in the history of England.-Biography:Little is known of the Rising's leaders. It been suggested that Jack Straw may have been a preacher...
from a person who was close to the events in 1381; Straw was identified as a John Tyler of Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
, Kent, who sparked the revolt by killing a tax collector.
Little else is known about Fox, though his will of 1454 notes that he possessed several books including copies of the Confessio Amantis by 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 works by 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...
. Fox seems to have been an avid collector of books, though in this period it was still relatively rare to find a high degree of literacy outside the clergy. He also appears to have had a strong interest in the cult of St Alban.
Sections of the chronicle compiled by Fox, which is found in Woburn Abbey Ms. 181, were published in An English Chronicle of the Reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, edited by J. S. Davies (1856).