author
John Gower
d. 1408
A major voice of late medieval England, this poet wrote ambitious works in French, Latin, and English and stood alongside Geoffrey Chaucer in the literary world of the 14th century. Best known today for Confessio Amantis, he mixed moral reflection, storytelling, and courtly themes in a way that shaped English poetry for generations.
5 Audiobooks
Confessio Amantis; Or, Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins
by John Gower
About the author
Born around 1330 and dead in October 1408, John Gower was an English poet remembered as one of the most important literary figures of his age. He was a contemporary and friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, and medieval readers often ranked the two together.
Gower is especially known for three major long works, each written in a different language: the French Mirour de l'Omme (also known as Speculum Meditantis), the Latin Vox Clamantis, and the English Confessio Amantis. That range gives a good sense of his world: he wrote for a multilingual England and brought together moral teaching, politics, religion, and stories of love.
His reputation changed over the centuries, but Confessio Amantis kept his name alive as a rich collection of tales framed as a lover's confession. He was buried at what is now Southwark Cathedral in London, where his tomb can still be seen, and he remains a central figure for anyone curious about medieval English literature.