GEORGE RIPLEY.

"George Riplay, a Canon of Bridlington in "the time of Henry the feventh, who in old English verfe wrote feveral chymical mifte"ries pretending to lead to the attaining the philofopher's stone."

He was accomplished in many parts of erudition; and still maintains his reputation as a learned chemist of the lower ages. He was a great traveller, and studied both in France and Italy. At his return from abroad, pope Innocent the eighth abfolved him from the observance of the rules of his order, that he might profecute his ftudies with more convenience and freedom. But his convent not concurring with this very liberal indulgence, he turned Carmelite at St. Botolph's in Lincolnshire, and died an anachronite in that fraternity 1490. His chemical poems are nothing more than the doctrines of alchemy cloathed in plain language, and a very rugged verfification. The capital performance is the "Compound of Alchemie" written 1471. It is in the octave metre, and

dedicated

dedicated to Edw. IV.

RIPLEY has left a few

other compofitions on his favourite science, printed by Ashmole, who was an enthusiast in this abused fpecies of philofophy.*

To this period would have belonged the poems of Rowley, had they been genuine, but they are now univerfally allowed by all judicious critics to have been the forgery of Chatterton.

Philips names NICOLAS KENTON among the English poets of this reign; but as he is not mentioned by Warton, I prefume he wrote in latin. He was a native of Kenton, 10 miles from Ipfwich in Suffolk. He was a priest, and died at London 4 Sept. 1460.+

The fubfequent reigns of Edward the fifth, Richard the third, and Henry the feventh, abounded in obfcure verfifiers. About 1480 BENEDIC BURGH, a master of Arts, of Oxford, Archdeacon of Colchester, &c. translated Cato's Morals, into the royal stanza.‡

About 1481, JULIANA BARNES, more properly BERNERS, fifter of Richard Lord Berners, and prioress of the nunnery of Sopewell, wrote three English tracts on "Hawking, Hunting, and Armory, or Heraldry", which were foon afterwards printed in the neighhouring monaftery

*Warton, II. p. 138. Tanner's Bibl. 458. Warton, II. p. 165.

of

of St. Alban's. The fecond of these treatises is written in rhyme. Warton fufpects the whole to be a translation from the French and Latin.†

To this period belongs WILLIAM of NASSYNTON, a proctor, or advocate in the ecclefiaftical court at York, who tranflated into English rhymes, about 1480, a theological tract, entitled "A Treatise on the Trinity and Unity with a declaration of God's works, and of the paffion of Jefus Chrift," written by John of Waldenby, an Auguftine friar of Yorkshire.

HENRY BRADSHAW has rather larger pretenfions to poetical fame, altho' scarcely deferving the name of an original writer in any respect. He was a native of Chefter, educated at Gloucester college in Oxford, and at length a Benedictine monk of St. Werburgh's abbey in his native place. Before 1500, he wrote the "Life of St. Werburgh", a daughter of a King of the Mercians, in English verfe.§ This piece was firft printed by Pinfon in 1521. The verfification is infinitely inferior to Lydgate's worst manner. Bradshaw was buried in the cathedral church at Chester in 1513.

Amongst the many ftriking contrasts between the manners and characters of ancient and mo

*Warton, II. p. 171. † Ibid. p. 172. Ibid. p. 172, 173. § Ibid.

P. 176. Ibid. p. 180.

dern

dern life, we must not be surprised to find a mercer, a sheriff, and an alderman of London, defcending from his important occupations to write verses. This is ROBERT FABYAN, who yet is generally better known as an hiftorian, than a poet. He was esteemed, not only the most facetious, but the most learned of all the mercers, fheriffs, and aldermen of his time: and no layman of that age is faid to have been better fkilled in the Latin language. He flourished about 1494. In his Chronicle, or Concordance of Histories," from Brutus to 1485, it is his usual practice, at the divifion of the books to infert metrical prologues, and other pieces in verse. When he begins to verfify the hiftorian difappears only by the addition of rhyme, and ítanza.*

66

Another poet of this period is JOHN WATSON, a prieft, who wrote a theological tract entitled Speculum Chriftiani," which is a fort of paraphrafe on the decalogue, and the creed. But it is interspersed with a great number of wretched English rhymes.+

CAXTON, the celebrated printer, was likewife a poet; and befides the rhyming introductions. and epilogues, with which he frequently de

Warton, II. p. 191, 192. † Ibid. p. 193.

D

corates

corates his books, has left a poem of considerable length entitled "The Worke of Sapyence." It comprehends not only an allegorical fiction, concerning the two courts of the caftle of Sapience, in which there is no imagination, but a fyftem of natural philofophy, grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, aftronomy, theology, and other topics of the fashionable literature. Caxton appears to be the author, by the prologue; yet it is not improbable, he might on this occafion employ fome profeffed versifier, at least as an afsistant, to prepare a new book of original poetry for his press.

Among the anonymous pieces of Poetry belonging to this period, which are very numerous, the most confpicuous is "The Kalendar of Shepherds." It seems to have been tranflated into English about 1480, from a French book called " Kalendrier des Bergers." It was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1497. This piece was calculated for the purposes of a perpetual almanac; and feems to have been the univerfal magazine of every article of falutary, and useful knowledge. It is a medley of verse and profe; and contains, among many other curious particulars, the Saints of the whole year, the moveable feasts, the signs of the Zodiac, the properties of the twelve months, rules for blood-letting, a collection of proverbs, a fyftem