Henry Medwall
Fulgens and Lucrece
by Henry Medwall
born September 1461, Southwark, London, Eng.
died after 1501
author
remembered for his Fulgens and Lucrece,
the first known secular play in English.
Medwall was educated at Eton College and the
University of Cambridge and participated in
dramatic performances there. After 1485 he
worked as a lawyer and administrator in London,
eventually entering the employ of Cardinal John
Morton, archbishop of Canterbury. In 1492–1501
he held a sinecure, the rectory of Balynghem in
the English marches of Calais, France. His
career ended with Morton’s death in 1500, and
nothing is known of him after 1501.
Medwall’s dramatic works were written for the
entertainment of Morton and his guests. A
morality play, Nature, a good example of the
allegorical type of early drama, displays
Medwall’s talent for realistic dialogue and his
skill as a versifier. Fulgens and Lucrece is a
debate on the origins of true nobility,
enlivened by the interruptions of household
servants.
