active approximately 1462 of Cobsam Adam

Adam of Cobsam is a little-known medieval English author, usually identified only by the note that he was active around 1462. Modern catalogues and library records connect him with a single surviving work, The Wright's Chaste Wife, a comic Middle English verse tale.

That poem is what gives him his place in literary history. It tells a fast-moving story of loyalty, deception, and clever revenge, and it has continued to be edited, reprinted, and read as part of the rich tradition of late medieval popular literature.

Very little else about his life can be confirmed from the sources available here. For many readers, that mystery is part of the appeal: the author remains mostly in the background, while the tale itself still feels bold, funny, and surprisingly energetic.