CHAPTER X

THE REVIVAL OF ENGLISH SCHOLARSHIP

Gloucester and the English Scholars--Abbot Wheathampsted his literary friend--John Capgrave's _Commentary on Genesis_--Nicholas Upton and Thomas Beckington--The English Poets--John Lydgate's numerous poems and his tribute to Gloucester's learning--John Russell, George Ashley, and Thomas de Norton--The English version of the _De Re Rustica_ of Palladius--Gloucester's patronage of the University of Oxford--Correspondence with the University--Gifts of books to Oxford--Arrangements for their safe keeping--Gloucester's literary tastes: the books he collected--His literary position and understanding--Influence of Gloucester's life on English scholarship, 383-425

APPENDICES

PAGE

A. BOOKS ONCE BELONGING TO GLOUCESTER STILL EXTANT, 426-438

B. THE TOMB OF HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, 439-441

C. GLOUCESTER'S WILL, 442-443

D. GLOUCESTER'S RESIDENCES, 444-446

E. PORTRAITS OF GLOUCESTER, 446-450

F. A LEGEND OF GLOUCESTER'S DEATH, 450-452

G. GLOUCESTER'S ARMS, BADGES, AND SEALS, 452-455

SOURCES AND AUTHORITIES

I. PRINTED BOOKS, 456-471

II. MANUSCRIPT AUTHORITIES, 471-475

INDEX, 477-491

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of the Duke of Gloucester. From Bibliothèque de la Ville d'Arras MS., 266, _Frontispiece_ [See pp. 446-447.] PAGE Cup bearing the Arms of the Duke of Gloucester and his wife Eleanor in enamel, now in the possession of Christ's College, Cambridge. From a photograph kindly lent by Mr. E. Alfred Jones, 90

The Duke of Gloucester and his wife Eleanor being received into the Fraternity of St. Albans. Cotton MS., Nero, D. vii., 206 [See p. 447.]

The Siege of Calais (1436). From the _History of the Life and Acts of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Illustrated by Drawings by John Ross of Warwick_. Cotton MS., Julius, E. iv., Art. 6, 250

A page from the Duke of Gloucester's Psalter. Royal MS., 2, B. i., 322 [See pp. 432-433, 447-448.]

The Duke of Gloucester's Autograph and a Label from one of his Books. Harleian MS., 1705, and Harleian MS., 33, 360 [See p. 430 and pp. 429-430.]

Capgrave presenting his _Commentary on Genesis_ to Gloucester. Oriel College MS., xxxii., 386 [See pp. 428, 447.]

Drawing of the Old Divinity Schools, Oxford, dating from 1566. MS. Bodley, 13, 408

A page from the Duke of Gloucester's copy of 'Le Songe du Vergier,' once part of the Library of Charles V.. of France. Royal MS., 19, C. iv., 416 [See p. 432.]

Several photographs for the above Illustrations have been kindly lent by Mrs. Maude C. Knight, Richmond, Surrey.

ERRATA

P. 27, l. 10, for 'Abbéville' read 'Abbeville.'

P. 45, note 6, for 'Stowe' read 'Stow.'

P. 75, l. 5, for 'Ponte' read 'Pont.'

P. 92, l. 23, for 'Dowager-Duchess' read 'Dowager-Countess.'

P. 314, l. 13, for 'Northampton' read 'Northumberland.'

P. 366, l. 2, for 'Festus Pompeius' read 'Pomponius Festus.'

P. 378, l. 22, for 'Villari' read 'Villani.'

INTRODUCTION

It was Polydore Vergil who first drew attention to the fatality of the Gloucester title. It was borne by luckless King John, Thomas of Woodstock earned a violent death, Thomas le Despenser was beheaded, while in days later than those treated of in this volume, King Richard III. found that the hand of fate was against him. Humphrey Plantagenet of the House of Lancaster was no exception to this rule. His life was violent, his death suspicious, and even after this his misfortunes did not desert him; for though the tradition of the 'Good Duke' lingers in some quarters even to the present day, his importance is not recognised by the historian. His selfishness and his lack of statesmanship have made him a byword in fifteenth-century history, and his true title to fame has been forgotten amidst the struggles which prepared the way for the Wars of the Roses.

'It is rather remarkable,' wrote Bishop Creighton in 1895, 'that more attention has not been paid to the progress of Humanism in England, and especially to the literary fame of the Duke of Gloucester.' It is certainly strange that this Duke should have found as his literary executors only two men, both Germans, and they even have not devoted more than a passing attention to his fame. Whilst there is no little interest to be found in the story of his public career, the main importance of his life is centred in his position as a literary patron. He was unique in the history of his country and age, in taking an interest in the classical authors of Greece and Rome, who had lain buried beneath the accumulated dust of the Middle Ages, and to him we can trace the renaissance of Greek studies in England, and the revival of Litteræ Humaniores in the University of Oxford. The fifteenth century, with all its foibles and all its baseness, has been disregarded by many who prefer an age of heroism or an age of material progress. Yet the picturesque is not lacking in Duke Humphrey's career, and his influence is felt even at the present day. In his life we can trace the spirit of his age, though many of the characters which flit across the stage are indefinite, and bear few striking qualities.

This is particularly true of Gloucester himself. Few personal touches are to be found in the historical writers of the period, and his character is often elusive, his actions often uncertain. The present volume aims at tracing the salient events of his career in relation to the history of his times, and at showing his relationship to fifteenth-century literary aspirations, both in Italy and in England. A hero no biographer can make him in spite of his many virtues, but at least he should be relieved of the universal blame cast upon him. In his life he was typical of his age, in his death the outward failure of his career was clearly evident; but as the first English patron of those scholars who were to revolutionise the mental attitude of the world, he deserves recognition and remembrance, if not reverence.

HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER