John Gower, Squire of Kent, the Peasants’ Revolt, and the Visio Anglie

Tough the status of John Gower as a squire of Kent is acknowledged, it has been generally assumed that the poet sold the manor of Aldington by Turnham, his chief holding in Kent, in 1373, moving to Southwark shortly aferwards. Tis grant, however, was not a sale, but an enfeofment to uses, through which Gower retained a benefcial interest. Gower’s occupation of the property in 1381 is attested by his action to enforce a contract for the rebuilding of his house there. Te evidence that he was living at Aldington, close to Maidstone, an epicenter of the Peasants’ Revolt, provides a new perspective on his representation of the rising in Vox Clamantis, Book 1 (Visio Anglie). A recognition that the grantees in 1373, including Lord Cobham, were Gower’s trusted friends provides a clearer view of his social circle and helps to explain his views of Richard II.