John Lydgate's Fall of Princes
E944474
John Lydgate's *Fall of Princes* is a lengthy 15th-century Middle English poem that recounts the tragic downfalls of famous historical and legendary figures as moral exempla of the instability of worldly fortune.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Middle English poem
ⓘ
didactic poem ⓘ mirror for princes ⓘ |
| alternateTitle |
The Fall of Princes
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Fall of Princes and Princesses NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | John Lydgate NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn | Laurent de Premierfait's French translation of Boccaccio's De casibus virorum illustrium ⓘ |
| century | 15th century ⓘ |
| circulation | widely circulated in manuscript in 15th century England ⓘ |
| commissionedBy | Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains |
accounts of biblical figures
ⓘ
accounts of classical figures ⓘ accounts of medieval rulers ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | England ⓘ |
| criticalReception | considered one of Lydgate's major works ⓘ |
| dateWritten |
c. 1430s
ⓘ
c. 1431–1439 ⓘ |
| didacticPurpose |
to illustrate the workings of Fortune
ⓘ
to warn rulers against pride and vice ⓘ |
| function | mirror of princes handbook ⓘ |
| genre |
historical and legendary narrative
ⓘ
moral exemplum literature ⓘ |
| influence | later Tudor moral and historical writing ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Giovanni Boccaccio NERFINISHED ⓘ Laurent de Premierfait NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| intendedAudience | nobility and princes ⓘ |
| language | Middle English ⓘ |
| length | over 36,000 lines ⓘ |
| literaryForm | poem ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | late medieval English literature ⓘ |
| literaryTradition |
de casibus tragedy tradition
ⓘ
medieval moral and didactic literature ⓘ |
| meter | iambic pentameter ⓘ |
| moralStance | didactic and admonitory ⓘ |
| narrativeFrame | narrator instructed by Boccaccio ⓘ |
| preservation | survives in multiple medieval manuscripts ⓘ |
| setting | various historical and legendary courts ⓘ |
| sourceWork | Giovanni Boccaccio's De casibus virorum illustrium NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| structure | organized into books ⓘ |
| subject | falls of famous princes and great persons ⓘ |
| theme |
divine providence and judgment
ⓘ
instability of worldly fortune ⓘ moral instruction through exempla ⓘ mutability of earthly power ⓘ vanity of worldly glory ⓘ |
| verseForm | rhymed couplets ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.