Tom a Lincoln is a romance by the English writer Richard Johnson, published in two parts in 1599 and 1607. The principal character, Tom, is a bastard son of King Arthur and a girl named Angellica. He is the father of two other important characters, the Black Knight and the Faerie Knight.
The style has been characterized as euphuistic romance.[1]
Part I begins with the story of Tom's birth: he is the product of an illicit affair between King Arthur and Angellica, the Lord Mayor of London (Earl of London)'s daughter.[1] To conceal their adultery, Arthur and Angellica secretly send their child to be raised by Antonio, a Lincolnshire shepherd. The shepherd raises Tom as his own, but Tom's innate nobility leads him to seek adventure as the "Red Rose Knight." He leads a life of crime before his adoptive father berates him and reveals that he was a foundling. Arthur, who realizes that Tom is his son, sends his knights Lancelot, Tristram, and Triamour to bring him to court. Tom is immediately made a Knight of the Round Table, but Arthur does not reveal his identity. Tom woos the court with his feats of martial valor, culminating with his success in England's war against Portugal. He then sets out with a company of knights on an adventure to find his parents. Tom's ship lands on an island called Fairy Land, inhabited entirely by women. Tom sleeps with the queen, Celia, but is compelled to return to his quest. He sets out, vowing to return. Back on the ship, Lancelot tells the tale of the great love between a young girl and prince Valentine of Greece. At length the ship comes to Prester John's kingdom, where Tom defends the king against a dragon before making off with his daughter Anglitora, who subsequently gives birth to the Black Knight. Tom attempts to return to Fairy Land, where Celia has given birth to his son, who will later be known as the Faerie Knight. They get within sight of the island, but a trick of the tides prevents the ship from landing. Thinking she is abandoned, Celia pins a note to her chest and drowns herself in the sea. Tom's crew recovers her body and sails back to England, where they bury her with full honors.
Part II largely undermines the action and motifs of Part I. A dying Arthur reveals his adultery with Angellica, and Tom's parentage is revealed. When Anglitora finds out he is illegitimate, she kills him. His spirit goes on to tell the Black Knight her deed, and he in turn kills her. Both the Black Knight and the Faerie Knight end up traveling together on many adventures.
^ abSmith, Christopher (CNS) (1986) "Johnson, Richard", in: Lacy, Norris J., et al., edd., The Arthurian Encyclopedia, Peter Bedrick Books, 1986, p. 304. New Edition (2013)
External linksedit
1655 edition on Google Books
Harper, Ryan (2008). "Introduction to Richard Johnson's Tom A Lincoln". The Camelot Project. University of Rochester. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
This article about a 16th century novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
lincoln, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2024, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tom a Lincoln news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message Tom a Lincoln is a romance by the English writer Richard Johnson published in two parts in 1599 and 1607 The principal character Tom is a bastard son of King Arthur and a girl named Angellica He is the father of two other important characters the Black Knight and the Faerie Knight The style has been characterized as euphuistic romance 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksPlot editPart I begins with the story of Tom s birth he is the product of an illicit affair between King Arthur and Angellica the Lord Mayor of London Earl of London s daughter 1 To conceal their adultery Arthur and Angellica secretly send their child to be raised by Antonio a Lincolnshire shepherd The shepherd raises Tom as his own but Tom s innate nobility leads him to seek adventure as the Red Rose Knight He leads a life of crime before his adoptive father berates him and reveals that he was a foundling Arthur who realizes that Tom is his son sends his knights Lancelot Tristram and Triamour to bring him to court Tom is immediately made a Knight of the Round Table but Arthur does not reveal his identity Tom woos the court with his feats of martial valor culminating with his success in England s war against Portugal He then sets out with a company of knights on an adventure to find his parents Tom s ship lands on an island called Fairy Land inhabited entirely by women Tom sleeps with the queen Celia but is compelled to return to his quest He sets out vowing to return Back on the ship Lancelot tells the tale of the great love between a young girl and prince Valentine of Greece At length the ship comes to Prester John s kingdom where Tom defends the king against a dragon before making off with his daughter Anglitora who subsequently gives birth to the Black Knight Tom attempts to return to Fairy Land where Celia has given birth to his son who will later be known as the Faerie Knight They get within sight of the island but a trick of the tides prevents the ship from landing Thinking she is abandoned Celia pins a note to her chest and drowns herself in the sea Tom s crew recovers her body and sails back to England where they bury her with full honors Part II largely undermines the action and motifs of Part I A dying Arthur reveals his adultery with Angellica and Tom s parentage is revealed When Anglitora finds out he is illegitimate she kills him His spirit goes on to tell the Black Knight her deed and he in turn kills her Both the Black Knight and the Faerie Knight end up traveling together on many adventures See also editTom ThumbReferences edit a b Smith Christopher CNS 1986 Johnson Richard in Lacy Norris J et al edd The Arthurian Encyclopedia Peter Bedrick Books 1986 p 304 New Edition 2013 External links edit1655 edition on Google Books Harper Ryan 2008 Introduction to Richard Johnson s Tom A Lincoln The Camelot Project University of Rochester Retrieved 30 January 2021 nbsp This article about a 16th century novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom a Lincoln amp oldid 1204140880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
