John Blakman

John Blacman, also known as John Blackman, was an English Carthusian monk and scholar born around 1407 or 1408 in the diocese of Bath and Wells. He studied at Merton College, Oxford, where he became a fellow, and later held important academic and clerical posts including precentor of Eton College and warden of King’s Hall, Cambridge.

He is best known as the author of a life of Henry VI, often referred to as Collectarium mansuetudinum et bonorum morum Regis Henrici VI. Rather than offering a dry chronicle, the book focuses on Henry’s character, devotion, and gentleness, which is why it remains valuable to historians interested in both the king and the religious culture around him.

Later in life, Blacman entered the Carthusian order. Although details of his final years are not completely clear, he is thought to have died in January 1485. His reputation today rests on that vivid portrait of Henry VI, a work that helped shape the king’s posthumous image for centuries.