John Clavell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Clavell
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A portrait of John Clavell from 1628 by William Marshall
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| Born | 1601 Wootton Glanville, England
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| Died | 1643 |
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| Years active | c. 1621–1643 |
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John Clavell (1601–1643) was a person who had many different jobs! He was a writer, a lawyer, and even a doctor.
He is famous for his poem A Recantation of an Ill Led Life and his play The Soddered Citizen. John Clavell's life had two main parts. First, he lived in England and had some adventures. Later, he became a lawyer and doctor in England and Ireland.
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John Clavell's Early Life and Family
John Clavell was the youngest of six children. He was born in Wootton Glanville and grew up in Sherborne, England. He spent 18 years of his life there. His family, the Clavells, had been around since the 11th century!
John Clavell's parents were Frances and John Clavell Senior. His father often had money problems. He borrowed money from his son-in-law but never paid it back. John Clavell Senior played an important role in helping his son later in life.
Clavell's mother, Frances, married three times. She lived longer than all of her children. Unlike her husband, she did not help John when he was in jail. Frances also did not approve of John's first wife, Joyce. Because of this, John wrote to his mother in his poem. He asked her and his sister Elizabeth to accept Joyce as a good wife.
John Clavell's uncle was Sir William Clavell (1568–1643). He was a knight banneret, which was a special type of knight. Sir William was involved in business. He was also John Clavell's connection to Ireland, where John lived for a time.
John Clavell's Education
John Clavell went to Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1619 to 1621. In 1621, he left the college without finishing his degree. During this time, Clavell was involved in a theft. He was sent to jail for a short time. However, he was pardoned in April 1621 and released. It is thought that his uncle Sir William helped him get this pardon. This event might be why Clavell left Oxford without a degree.
John Clavell's Adult Years
After leaving university in 1621, Clavell lived in London for the next five years. He faced some difficult times during this period. In 1625, he married his first wife, Joyce. People believed she did not come from a wealthy family. In a later version of his poem, Clavell asked his mother and sister to accept Joyce.
In 1625, Clavell was sent to prison. In 1627, he was caught again and faced a serious punishment. However, he received a pardon from the King and Queen in 1627.
Eventually, Clavell traveled to Ireland. Some think he went there in 1631, but the exact date is not certain. On April 14, 1635, Clavell married an heiress in Dublin. Clavell worked as a doctor in Ireland. Records of his medical cures from 1636 show he was in Ireland around that time.
By 1638, Clavell was back in England. This is known because of a lawsuit about money owed to his brother-in-law.
The exact date of John Clavell's death is not known for sure. One document says he died in 1642, while another says 1643.
John Clavell's Works
About A Recantation of an Ill Led Life
A Recantation of an Ill Led Life is a long poem that tells John Clavell's life story. In this poem, Clavell apologizes for his past actions. He writes about his time as a highwayman and gives warnings to travelers. He also thanks everyone who helped him get a pardon from his serious punishment.
The first version of the poem was published in 1628.
The second version was also published in 1628. It was a bit different because it included a message to his mother and sister. In this message, he asked them to accept his first wife, Joyce. The third version was written in 1634. It included everything except the message to his mother and sister. All three versions were published during Clavell's lifetime.
In his poem, Clavell shared details about how highwaymen operated. He described the disguises they used:
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- "But first pluck off your vizards, hoods, disguise,
- Masks, muzzles, mufflers, patches from your eyes,
- Those beards, those heads of hair, and that great wen,
- Which is not natural, that I may ken
- Your faces as they are....
About The Soddered Citizen
The Soddered Citizen is a funny play. It is thought to have been written between 1629 and 1634. The play was performed by a famous acting group called the King's Men in 1630.
This play was lost for 300 years! People only knew its title. Then, in 1932, a copy of the play was found. It was later published in 1936.
Before 1932, people thought another writer had written the play. However, John Clavell's signature was found on the play's copy. Also, events in his life match parts of the play's introduction. Some people believe John Clavell could not have written it. They think it was written before 1630, which was before Clavell traveled to Ireland.
John Clavell and Shakespeare's Falstaff Some people think that John Clavell was inspired by Shakespeare's character Sir John Falstaff. Falstaff appears in Shakespeare's play Henry IV. Both Henry IV and Clavell's poem mention Gad's Hill. This was a place where a robbery happened in Henry IV. Clavell claimed his first robbery was at Gad's Hill. However, there is no proof that Clavell was actually there.
