Thomas Speght facts for kids

Thomas Speght (died 1621) was an English schoolmaster and a very important editor of the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer. He helped make Chaucer's works more widely known and understood in his time.

About Thomas Speght

Thomas Speght came from a family in Yorkshire, England. He went to Peterhouse, Cambridge University in 1566, where he studied and earned his first degree in 1570, and a master's degree in 1573. A kind lady named Lady Mildred Cecil helped him pay for his studies with a scholarship.

After university, Speght moved to London and became a schoolmaster, which means he was a teacher. People thought he was an excellent teacher. An old inscription about his son, Lawrence, even called Speght a "paragon," which means he was a perfect example of a schoolmaster.

Speght's Work with Chaucer

Thomas Speght is best known for editing the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, a very famous English poet from the Middle Ages. Speght published two important editions of Chaucer's works.

First Chaucer Book (1598)

In 1598, Speght published his first big book of Chaucer's writings. He got help from John Stow, who was a historian. Speght's book included:

• A picture of Chaucer and information about his family.
• A story about Chaucer's life.
• Summaries for each part of Chaucer's works.
• Explanations for old and difficult words (a glossary).
• Notes about other writers Chaucer mentioned.
• Help understanding tricky parts.
• Two books that had never been printed before, called His Dreame and The Floure and the Leafe. (Later, people realized these two books were probably not written by Chaucer himself.)

This book was dedicated to a powerful person named Sir Robert Cecil.

Second Chaucer Book (1602)

After Speght's first book came out, another scholar named Francis Thynne (whose father had also edited Chaucer) wrote a long letter with suggestions and corrections for Speght's work. When Speght decided to print a new version of his Chaucer book in 1602, he used Thynne's help. He also got more notes from John Stow.

The second book had even more new things:

• More details added to Chaucer's life story.
• The whole collection was improved using older copies of Chaucer's writings.
• Important sayings and proverbs were highlighted.
• Meanings of old words were explained better.
• Latin and French words that Chaucer didn't translate were now translated.
• Two more works were added: The Treatise called Jacke Vpland and Chaucer's A.B.C. (Jacke Vpland is not by Chaucer, but Chaucer's A.B.C. is a real work by him.)

This second book was also dedicated to Sir Robert Cecil. Later, in 1687, another edition of Chaucer's works came out that included a poem by John Lydgate called Siege of Thebes.

Other Writings by Speght

Besides his work on Chaucer, Thomas Speght also wrote some Latin poems that praised other writers. These poems appeared in books like Abraham Fleming's Panoplie of Epistles (1576) and John Baret's Alvearie (1580).

Speght's Family Life

Thomas Speght was married to a woman named Anne, and they had a large family with at least 11 children: three sons and eight daughters. They lived in London, near a place called Cripplegate, in a house that was also where Speght taught school. This house and school were checked out in 1612 because they belonged to a group called the Clothworkers' Company.

One of Speght's sons, Laurence, traveled with an important ambassador named Sir Paul Pindar to a faraway place called Constantinople. Laurence later became a surveyor for customs, which means he helped check goods coming into the country. He was buried in Clopton, Northamptonshire. Another interesting family connection is that Humfrey Dyson, who was a famous book collector, married one of Speght's daughters.

There was also a poet named Rachel Speght, who was the daughter of a religious leader named James Speght. It's possible she was related to Thomas Speght. Thomas Speght's will (his last wishes) mentioned a brother named James, who might have been this same religious leader.