Nicholas Brigham facts for kids
Nicholas Brigham (died 1558) was an English scholar and expert on old things. He was also a poet and a good speaker. He is best known for building a special tomb for the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer in Westminster Abbey in 1555. Brigham also worked for the government.
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About Nicholas Brigham's Life
Nicholas Brigham was likely born near Caversham, a place in England. He might have studied at Hart Hall, Oxford, a college at Oxford University.
Working for the Government
In 1545, Brigham started working for the government as a "teller" of the Exchequer. This meant he handled money for the king. By 1555, he was promoted to the most important teller. In 1558, Queen Mary I chose him to manage the money she borrowed from the City of London. He also collected taxes and other payments for the queen.
A Plan to Steal Money
In 1556, some people planned to steal money from the government. This money was kept safe by Brigham. One of the people involved knew Brigham well. The plan was to take the queen's money, but not Brigham's own money. They thought Brigham was "a very plain man," and they would have enough money without taking his.
Family and Death
Nicholas Brigham died in December 1558. He had one daughter named Rachael. She died young, at only four years old, in 1557. Rachael was buried near Chaucer's tomb in Westminster Abbey.
Brigham wrote some books, including De Venationibus Rerum Memorabilium and Memoirs by way of a Diary. He also wrote different poems. However, none of these writings can be found today.
Building Chaucer's Tomb
Perhaps the most famous thing Nicholas Brigham did was build a new tomb for Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer was a very famous English poet. Before Brigham's time, there was only a simple lead plate marking Chaucer's burial spot in Westminster Abbey.
In 1555, Brigham moved Chaucer's bones to a new, beautiful marble tomb. He built this tomb in the south part of Westminster Abbey. On the tomb, there was a picture of Chaucer. Brigham also added a new poem, called an epitaph, to the tomb.
The epitaph Brigham wrote for Chaucer's tomb says: Qui fuit Anglorum vates ter maximus olim
Galfridus Chaucer conditur hoc tumulo:
Annum si quæras Domini, si tempora vitæ,
Ecce notæ subsunt quæ tibi cuncta notant.
Octobris 1400.
Ærumnarum requies mors.
After this, it says:
N. Brigham hos fecit Musarum nomine sumptus.
And around the bottom of the tomb, it reads:
Si rogitas quis eram, forsan te fama docebit;
Quod si fama negat, mundi quia gloria transit,
Hæc monumenta lege.
