The Earliest Record of John Lydgate at Hatfield Regis

Abstract

This essay introduces four new life records for John Lydgate, dating from 1425 and 1427. All four are legal records from the Court of Common Pleas produced during his tenure as prior of Hatfield Regis. The most important of these, discussed here in detail, is the first item, a plea ordering Lydgate to enclose fields belonging to his priory. This document, dating from January or February 1425, is the earliest record identifying Lydgate as prior of Hatfield Regis, and it may suggest that he was already in France at this time.

Dom John Broadhook alias John Lydgate, 1424

“…In a note published in this journal in 2019, I drew attention to a new liferecord for John Lydgate. 1 The document, which dates to late January or early February 1425, is of significance because it offers the earliest surviving record of Lydgate's tenure as prior of Hatfield Regis. However, the record only refers to him as "John, prior of Hatfield Regis. "…”