The Temple of Glas

by John Lydgate, J. Allan Mitchell (Editor)

The Temple of Glas takes the form of an elusive and suspenseful-but for that reason all the more sensational-dream vision that demands close attention to detail and the dynamic way in which the meaning of events unfolds. Seducing readers with possibilities remains what the poem does best, and that special magnetism speaks not only to the provenance and textual history of Lydgate's text but also to its literary qualities.

Genres: Poetry, Medieval

108 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2009

About the author

John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was a monk and poet. He was admitted to the Benedictine monastery of Bury St. Edmunds at fifteen and became a monk there a year later. Having literary ambitions (he was an admirer of Geoffrey Chaucer and a friend to his son, Thomas) he sought and obtained patronage for his literary work at the courts of Henry IV of England, Henry V of England and Henry VI of England. Other patrons included the mayor and aldermen of London, the chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral, Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, however his main supporter from 1422 was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.

In 1423 John was made prior of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex but soon resigned the office to concentrate on his travels and writing. He was a prolific writer of poems, allegories, fables and romances, yet his most famous works were his longer and more moralistic Troy Book, Siege of Thebes and The Fall of Princes. The Troy Book was a translation of the Latin prose narrative by Guido delle Colonne, Historia destructionis Troiae.

Lydgate was also believed to have written London Lickpenny, a well-known satirical work; however, his authorship of this piece has been heavily discredited. He also translated the poems of Guillaume de Deguileville into English. In his later years he lived and probably died at the monastery of Bury St. Edmunds.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book on a banquet at the library and borrowed it. Whilst reading it, I envisioned a dramatic interpretation in an intimate theatre – however, the soliloquies are far, far too long – the narrator, the woman, the goddess, the narrator, the man, the goddess, the narrator and a chorus. Still, knowing French and English and a good deal of Danish makes reading Middle English a cinch.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Note: These comments regard the Early English Text Society edition (Extra Series no. 60), edited by J. Schick.

If you've read all of Chaucer and decided to move on to Lydgate, this is one of his better poems-- though many find it dull. If you want a more enticing read, start with his "Reson and Sensuallyte." (That one, like "Romaunt of the Rose" and similar Middle English poems, is frustratingly left unfinished.)

I enjoyed the initial description, infrequent curious details, and comparing it to Chaucer's "Hous of Fame." Taken as mediaeval poetry, it's not as audacious as William Dunbar or as sensual as "The Floure and the Leafe," and it left me puzzled about Lydgate's motivation. The abrupt ending is both provoking and slightly unsatisfying, but it will still delight the ME poetry collector.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm studying this as part of my degree and so far I'm really struggling to glean any meaning from it... it's just a narrative.