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1552/531578-15961599, Jan 13
an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse, and is often considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. Spenser published numerous relatively short poems in the last decade of the sixteenth century, almost all of which consider love or sorrow.
 Notes (1)
10 facts and conjectures about Edmund Spenser:
Oxford University Press
 Dictionary Citations (63) • View in Dictionary
Bace: A blow, a drubbing. In the 16th century. So O.E.D. Bace was also a variant of base, as the name of an old g...
Belaccoil: Friendly greeting. Also belaccoyle. Cp. bel-. Edmund Spenser, in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1596) her salewed with ...
Belgard: A kind look, a loving look. Italian bel guardo. Edmund Spenser uses the word in THE FAERIE QUEENE and in hi...
Cachexy: A depraved condition: of a person -- body or mind -- or of a state, as MACMILLAN'S MAGAZINE of November 188...
Clepe: To call; to call on, appeal to; to summon; to call to witness; to speak to; to name. A very common word wit...
Corbel: A raven. Via Old French corbel from Latin corvellum, diminutive of corvus, raven. The corbel's fee was part...
Daedal: Skilful, inventive. From Daedalus, the legendary inventor and architect, who built the Labyrinth for the Mi...
Daffadowndilly: A poetic-- and to some extent still a popular -- form of daffodil, which itself is a variant of affodill, w...
Daisy: The Bellis perennis, "a familiar and favorite flower," says the O.E.D. Old English daeyes eage, d...
Demean: Behavior; treatment (of others). Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1596) has: All the vile demeane and u...
Dess: A table; early variant of dais. Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1596) pictures Shamefastnesse, who ne ...
Dririmancy: Divination -- foretelling events, predicting the future --using dripping blood. Charles Reade in THE CLOIST...
Eche: Eche and eke are very common English words, Old English ecan, Old Teutonic form aukjan, related to Latin au...
Eric: A pecuniary payment, as compensation for murder or other violent crime, accepted in Ireland into the 17th c...
Fain: Glad, well-pleased. Also fagen, fein, fayen, feene, vein, vayn, fyene, feign and more. Full fain, glad and ...
Franion: A person of free or loose behavior; usually applied to a man; but Edmund Spenser (THE FAERIE QUEENE, 1596) ...
Frenne: Strange. More commonly, a stranger, a foreigner, an enemy. Used in the 16th century. Also fren; altered fro...
Galage: An early form (in Chaucer; in Edmund Spenser's THE SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR, 1579) of galosh. Also golosh, galog...
Gar: To do, to make; to cause, to make (someone) do (something) as What garres thee greete? (q.v..) in Edmund Sp...
Gent: Noble; having the qualities expected of those of high birth, gentle, courteous, (of ladies) graceful. From ...
Heydeguyes: A 16th and 1 7th century country dance, a variation of the hay. Perhaps the hay of Guy or Guise; there was ...
Hight: Called, named. Thus Philip Sidney (1580) : Even he, the King of glory hight. This form has survived, poetic...
Ignaro: An ignoramus. (Italian ignaro, ignorant.) Used in the 17th century as a common noun, probably from Edmund S...
Indign: Unworthy. Used from the 15th century; Latin in, not + dignus, worthy; whence also dignity. Indignation firs...
Javel: A rascal. Also jawvell, jevel, javilL Likewise havel, cavel, a worthless fellow; possibly from cavel, a sti...
Jouissance: (1) Possession (of something good) , enjoyment (of) ; pleasure, delight. French jouissance; jouir, to enjoy...
Leese: (1) The earlier form of lose, in all Its senses. A common Old English word, continuing through the 16th cen...
Levin: Lightning. Used from the 13th century, as noun and as verb, especially by poets: Gower, Chaucer, William Du...
Malengin: Evil machination; fraud; guile. Old French mal, evil + engin, device. Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (...
Martel: (1) A hammer. Also martews, marteaulx, marteaux. After the 15th century, the word was used especially of a ...
Miscreate: Ill-shaped, abortive, misformed. Also miscreated. Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1590) says: For noth...
Neuft: A variant of newt; an ewt; eft. Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1590) uses ewftes. What! exclaims Ben...
Nis: (I) In Scandinavian folklore, a friendly goblin, which frequents barns and farmhouses. Identified with the ...
Noll: The top of the head; the head,, usually in good-humoured scorn; the noddle. Also nowl, noul, knoll, nole. S...
Overcrow: To crow over, exult over; to triumph over, subdue. Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1590) wrote: Then g...
Overture: (1) An opening, orifice, hole. From the 13th to the 18th century; both literal and figurative. (2) An open,...
Pad: A toad. Generally pictured in the Middle Ages (as William Shakespeare phrases it in AS YOU LIKE IT) as ugly...
Quay: To subdue, daunt. Probably a variant of quail. Used by Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1590): Therewit...
Queme: To please, gratify; to act so as to please; to be acceptable; to be suitable; to appease. Used from the 8th...
Quooke: An old variant of quaked, past tense of to quake. Chaucer used quok, quoke; Edmund Spenser in MUTABILITY (1...
Rabblement: Also rablement; variant forms of rabble; used also (Edmund Spenser, THE FAERIE QUEENE; 1590) of the tumult ...
Rakeshame: A dissolute fellow. The word was common in the 17th century. Coming earlier and outlasting rakeshame was th...
Remora: A sucking-fish, little but believed to have the power to stop a ship. Edmund Spenser in his VISION OF THE W...
Sad: The early uses of this word were quite different from its present sense of sorrowful, which first appeared ...
Sam: Together. From the 14th century; earlier samen, samed, both from the 9th century. Common Teuton forms, when...
Sperse: A shortened form of disperse, perhaps influenced by Italian sperso; spergere, to scatter. Used in the 16th ...
Stound: This common early form is a gathering of several roots and many meanings. It appears also as stund, stond, ...
Tead: Torch. See tede. Latin taeda, pine-torch. Edmund Spenser in his EPITHALAMION (1595) said of his bride: Bid ...
Treague: A truce. A form, via Medieval Latin tragua, treuga, from Gothic triggwa; see treves. This bears no relation...
Underfong: To receive, to accept; to come to possess; to admit to one's presence or friendship. By extension, to have ...
Unnethes: A form of unneath, short for underneath. Used by Edmund Spenser in THE SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR (1579; JANUARY)....
Upbray: A variant of upbraid, used by Edmund Spenser in THE FAERIE QUEENE (1590); by Spenser, John Marston, and ot...
Weanel: An animal newly weaned. Also wennell, weynelle, weanneL Used since the 15th century; by Edmund Spenser in T...
Weet: A variant though popular form of wit, to know; the past tense forms were wot, wist Cp. wit. Edmund Spenser ...
Welk: To wilt, wither, fade; to diminish, shrink; to wane. Also, to welken. Gower, in CONFESSIO AMANTIS (1390) ha...
Wellaway: Alas! As an exclamation of sorrow, this dates back at least to Alfred (9th century) and was heard in many f...
Whilere: Some time ago; recently. Also whyleare; erewhile. Used by Chaucer (1386), Shakespeare (THE TEMPEST III ii 1...
Wimble: (1) A gimlet; an auger. From the 13th century. Gilbert White in THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE (1789) said...
Wontless: Unaccustomed. Edmund Spenser in his HYMN (1596) to Beauty, to that great goddesse, queene of beauty, Mother...
Wood: Insane, mad. Thence, vehemently excited, uncontrolled; ferocious, furious. Also wod, wode, wyd, void, wodd...
Y-: A prefix (Old English and German ge-, earlier gi-; Teutonic ga) . It had various uses, the most frequent of...
Yclad: See y-. Edmund Spenser has, in THE SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR (1579; APRIL), the charming line to "faire Elis...
Yerk: (1) To draw stitches tight; to bind tightly. Revived by Walter Scott in THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL (1805)...
 Mentions (3)
Thomas Drant
...his on prosody was known to Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. He was in the intellectual court circle known as...
Mathew Roydon
...day, including Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Thomas Lodge, and George Chapman. His friendship...
Mary Sidney
...39, she was listed with her brother Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare, as one of the notable authors...
 Quotes (3) • View in Quotations
A stern discipline pervades all nature, which is a little cruel that it may be very kind.
Sleep after toil, port after stormy seas, ease after war, death after life does greatly please.
What more felicity can fall to creature, than to enjoy delight with liberty.
 Contemporaries
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77
Edmund Spenser1552/531578
 
15961599, Jan 13

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