John Audelay facts for kids
John Audelay (also known as Awdelay; died around 1426) was an English priest and poet. He lived a long time ago, around the 1400s, and was from Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire. He is one of the few poets from that period whose name we still remember. Some of the first Christmas carols ever recorded in English were found among his writings.
About John Audelay
Most of what we know about John Audelay comes from a special old book called MS Douce 302, kept at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This book contains all 62 of his poems that we still have today.
The way English is written in this old book suggests Audelay might have come from Audley, a village in Staffordshire. However, the earliest record we have of him shows him in London in 1417. At that time, he was part of the household of Richard, 7th Baron Strange of Knockin.
Audelay was a chaplain, or priest, for Lord Strange. Lord Strange had to do a public penance because of a serious incident at St Dunstan-in-the-East church. Audelay was with him during this penance and had also been present at the incident. Some people think that Audelay's poems, which often talk about saying sorry and making up for mistakes, might have been influenced by this event. As Lord Strange's chaplain, Audelay likely felt a strong responsibility.
By 1426, Audelay was living in retirement as a priest at Haughmond Abbey. This date is noted in the old book. In many lines throughout the book, Audelay mentions that he was very old, unwell, deaf, and blind at that time.
The book ends with some rough verses, possibly written by the person who copied the book after Audelay had passed away. These lines say: "No one should take this book away, Or cut out any page, I tell you why; For it is a very bad thing to do, sirs, I tell you, He will be cursed for this deed; If you want a copy, Ask permission and you will get one, To pray especially for him, Who made it [the book] to save your souls, John the blind Audelay; He was the first priest [chaplain] to Lord Strange Of this chantry [a special chapel] here in this place Who made this book by God's grace, Deaf, sick, blind, as he lay, May God have mercy on his soul."
This suggests that Audelay might have asked for his poems to be collected at the end of his life, or perhaps he even dictated them to someone else.
John Audelay's Poems
Many of Audelay's poems in the old book are devotional carols, which are religious songs. One of his carols, There is a flower, has even been set to music by modern composers like John Rutter and Stanley Vann. Audelay is considered an important person in the history of English carols.
Sometimes, he wrote about more everyday topics. For example, he wrote a lively poem praising King Henry VI. In another piece called Cantalena de puericia, he wrote about how innocent childhood is, wishing he could be a child again. He wrote: "And if God would grant me my prayer, I wish I were a child again. For pride in the heart, he hates it completely; He doesn't care for honor or respect; Nor is he angry with anyone; All his joy is in kindness."
Many of Audelay's poems focus on the idea of saying sorry for mistakes. He seemed to really like Saint Winifred, a saint whose shrine was at Shrewsbury Abbey. Saint Winifred was believed to be able to free prisoners and cure blindness. This might have been important to Audelay, given his own feelings about Lord Strange's incident and his own blindness.
Audelay also seemed very worried about priests being wrongly accused of Lollardy, which was a type of heresy (beliefs against the church). This was happening after Archbishop Thomas Arundel made new rules. Audelay wrote a satirical dialogue (a funny, critical conversation) called Marcol and Salamon against some parts of the church leadership. He even included ideas from a famous satirical poem called Piers Plowman.
The two most impressive poems in the book are Pater Noster and The Three Dead Kings. These are long poems written in a special old style of poetry called alliterative verse that also rhymes. Some experts today think these poems might not be by Audelay because they show a very high level of skill. However, others believe they were most likely his own work.
Images for kids
-
The ruins of Haughmond Abbey, where John Audelay lived later in life.
