The Works of Tudor Period Poet John Skelton Brilliantly Read Aloud in the Original Middle English

The Skelton Project is a wonderful endeavor dedicated to keeping the memory of John Skelton, beloved tutor of King Henry VIII and de-facto Poet Laureate, alive by providing video recitations of his poems in the original Middle English of the Tudor Period.

The Skelton Project is a body of reference on Skelton studies and provides information on the sociocultural, historical, and contextual background of John Skelton’s English works. The Skelton Project started as a self-organised module within the Research Master Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies at the University of Groningen. Since graduating, the project stayed together and is still actively promoting John Skelton. The Skelton Project is more than happy to give lectures on John Skelton or the project itself, both in English and in Dutch.

One such recitation is a brilliant rendition Skelton’s classic poem “Speke Parott”.

My name is Parrot, a byrd of Paradyse,
By Nature devised of a wonderowus kynde,
Deyntely dyeted with dyvers dylycate spyce,
Tyl Euphrates, that flode, dryveth me into Inde;
Where men of that countrey by fortune me fynde,
And send me to greate ladyes of estate;
Then Parot must have an almon or a date…

The holiday-themed “Lawde and Prayse” in Middle English

via encurious