• Lifetime: 1325 - 1408
• Born: John Gower was born c1325
• Family connections : He was the the son of a Kentish landowner
• Occupation and Career: English courtier and poet
• Died: John Gower died in October, 1408
• Accomplishments and Achievements or why John Gower was famous: a Medieval Poet and friend of Geoffrey Chaucer

John Gower
The story and biography of John Gower which contains interesting information, facts & the history about the life of this Medieval person of historical importance. John Gower lived from 1325 - 1408.

Short Biography of John Gower
John Gower was born into a wealthy family of some importance form Kent. The family were well known at Court, and in possession of more than one estate. John Gower was the friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, who gave him the title of "the moral Gower," which has clung to him ever since. His first principal work was Speculum Meditantis (the Mirror of one meditating) written in French on the subject of married life. It was long believed to have been lost. It was followed by Vox Clamantis (the Voice of one crying) written in Latin, giving an account of the Peasants Revolt of 1381, and attacking the misgovernment and social evils which had led to it. His third, and only English poem, was Confessio Amantis (Lover's Confession), a work of 30,000 lines, consisting of tales and meditations on love, written at the request of King Richard II. It is the earliest large collection of tales in the English tongue. In his old age John Gower became blind. He had, when about 70, retired to the Priory of St. Mary Overies, the chapel of which is now the Church of St. Saviour, Southwark, where he spent his last years and to which he was a liberal benefactor. John Gower represented the serious and cultivated man of his time, in which he was reckoned the equal of Chaucer.