The English author John Gower (ca. 1330-1408) was one of the major court poets of the 14th century. His poems are not so vigorous as Chaucer's, but his criticism of his contemporaries is more direct.

Very little is known about John Gower's early life. He probably held a legal office of some kind, perhaps in Westminster. His first major work, probably begun about 1376, was in French. It is called Miroir de l'Omme, or Speculum meditantis. In it Gower describes the development of sin, the vices and virtues, and the remedy available to man, with a special appeal to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Some time about 1377 Gower retired to the priory of St. Mary Overy in Southwark. He soon began work on his long Latin poem Vox clamantis. Book I, written after 1381, contains a vivid description of the Peasants' Revolt, used to set the theme for a moral analysis...