The Monk Who Wrote 145,000 Lines of Verse for England's Royal Courts

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: John Lydgate was a Benedictine monk whose literary output was nothing short of industrial. While he served the church, he spent his life crafting massive epics and moral allegories for the English monarchy, securing patronage from three kings and leaving behind a staggering legacy of over 145,000 lines of poetry.

Born around 1370 in Suffolk, Lydgate entered the monastic life at Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1382. Despite his religious vows, he became a central figure in the literary world of his time. He was a devoted admirer of Geoffrey Chaucer and even maintained a friendship with Chaucer’s son, Thomas. This connection helped him navigate the royal courts, where he successfully courted favor with Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI.

Lydgate’s writing was defined by its sheer scale and ambition. His Troy Book, a massive epic of over 30,000 lines, was commissioned by the future Henry V. Later, he produced the Fall of Princes, a monumental work spanning 36,365 lines. His style often expanded upon Chaucerian models, moving from shorter saints' legends to expansive chivalric epics. He was not merely a poet but a scholar who studied at Oxford between 1406 and 1408, bringing a scholastic depth to early works like Isopes Fabules.

Despite his fame during his lifetime, his reputation has fluctuated wildly. In later centuries, critics like Joseph Ritson dismissed him as a 'drivelling monk,' and some modern historians have labeled his work 'banal.' Yet, his influence on the English language remains undeniable. He is credited with the first full usage of the proverb 'Needs must'—a phrase later immortalized by Shakespeare—and his moral fables helped shape the literary landscape of the fifteenth century.

Lydgate’s final years were spent back at the abbey where he began his journey. Though he was once erroneously credited with works like London Lickpenny, his genuine contributions to medieval literature remain vast. A 2014 discovery of his signature and a coded message on a wall at St Mary's Church in his birthplace serves as a final, enigmatic reminder of a man who spent his life balancing the silence of the monastery with the noise of the royal court.

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