Jack of the North facts for kids
Jack of The North is the name given to a short play or conversation from 1549. This text didn't have a title originally. It was written to support people who were against "enclosure" in Cambridgeshire, England. Enclosure was when common land, used by everyone, was fenced off and made private. This happened just one year before Kett's Rebellion, which was a big protest against similar issues.
Contents
What is 'Jack of The North'?
'Jack of The North' is a type of writing called a dialogue. This means it's a conversation between different characters. The text was found and printed in a book called Annals of Cambridge. This book was written by Charles Henry Cooper. He said the original source for the dialogue was from "Dr. Lamb's Cambridge Documents."
Why Was it Written?
The main reason 'Jack of The North' was written was to support people who were upset about enclosure. In the 1500s, many landowners started fencing off land that had traditionally been used by everyone in a village. This meant farmers and poor people lost their access to land for grazing animals or growing food. The dialogue shows characters discussing these problems and supporting actions against the enclosures.
Who Are the Characters?
There are many characters in the 'Jack of The North' dialogue. They include:
- Jack of the North (who the text is named after)
- Robbyn Clowte
- Tom of Trompington
- Buntynge on the Hyll
- Peter Potter
- Pyrse Plowman
- Symon Slater
- Harry Clowte
- Whyp Wylliam
- Hodge Hasteler
Famous Characters in the Dialogue
Some of these characters were already well-known from other poems. For example, the two Clowtes (Robbyn and Harry) and Pyrse Plowman were popular characters. They had appeared in poems by famous writers like John Skelton and William Langland. These characters were so popular that they even showed up later in the poems of Edmund Spenser.
