Thomas Tusser (c. 15243 May 1580) was an English poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem ''Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry'', an expanded version of his original title, ''A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie'', first published in 1557. For Tusser the garden was the domain of the housewife, and the 1562 text expands on this theme. Scholars also consider it a text of interest for its defence of
enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
s. It was among the best-selling poetry books of the
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
age.
Early life
Tusser was born in
Rivenhall, Essex, about 1524, the son of William and Isabella Tusser. At a very early age he became a
chorister in St Nicholas' Collegiate Chapel in
Wallingford Castle,
Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, north of Reading, south of Oxford and north west of Henley-on-Thames. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it ...
. He appears to have been pressed for service in the
King's Chapel, the choristers of which were usually afterwards placed by the King in one of the Royal Foundations at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
or
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
but Tusser entered the choir of
St. Paul's Cathedral, and from there went to
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
. He has left a quaint account of his privations at Wallingford, and of the severities of
Nicholas Udall at Eton.
He was elected to
King's College, Cambridge
King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
in 1543, a date which sets the earliest limit of his birth-year, as he would have been ineligible at nineteen. From King's College he moved to
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...
. On leaving Cambridge, he went to court in the service of
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesart, as a musician. After ten years of life at court, he married and settled as a farmer at Cattawade,
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, near the
River Stour.
Literary career
There he wrote ''A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie'', a long poem in rhyming couplets recording the country year. This work was first printed in London in 1557 by the publisher
Richard Tottel, and was frequently reprinted. Tottel published an enlarged edition ''Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie'' in 1573. Tusser includes a homely mix of instructions and observations about farming and country customs which offer insight into life in
Tudor England, and his work records many terms and
proverb
A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...
s in print for the first time. In this work, he also famously presents ten characteristics the perfect cheese must have:
Not like Gehazi, i.e., dead white, like a leper
Not like Lot's wife, all salt
Not like Argus, full of eyes
Not like Tom Piper, "hoven and puffed"
Not like Crispin
Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of Shoemaking, cobblers, curriers, Tanning (leather), tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 Octob ...
, leathery
Not like Lazarus, poor
Not like Esau
Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...
, hairy
Not like Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
, full of whey or maudlin
Not like the Gentile
''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...
s, full of maggots
Not like a Bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
, made of burnt milk
He never remained long in one place. For the sake of his wife's health he removed to
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
.
After her death he married again and farmed for some time at
West Dereham in Norfolk. He then became a singing man in
Norwich Cathedral, where he found a good patron in the Dean,
John Salisbury.
Samples
''Five Hundred Points'' contains these rhyming couplets:
''Swéete April showers,''
''Doo spring Maie flowers.''
as well as
''At Christmas play and make good cheere,''
''for Christmas comes but once a yeere.''
and
''A foole and his monie be soone at debate,''
''which after with sorrow repents him too late.''
The latter is an early version of the
proverb
A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...
''A fool and his money are soon parted.''
Later life
After another experiment in farming at
Fairstead, Essex, he moved once again to London, whence he was driven by the plague of 1572–1573 to find refuge at Trinity Hall, being matriculated as a servant of the college in 1573. At the time of his death he was in possession of a small estate at
Chesterton, near Cambridge, and his will proves that he was not, as has sometimes been stated, in poverty of any kind, but had in some measure the thrift he preached.
Thomas Fuller says he "traded at large in oxen, sheep, dairies, grain of all kinds, to no profit"; that he "spread his bread with all sorts of butter, yet none would stick thereon."
Death
Tusser died on 3 May 1580 at the age of about 55. An erroneous inscription at
Manningtree, Essex, asserts that he was 65 years old.
According to
John Stow's ''
Survey of London'', Cheape Ward, Thomas Tusser was buried in the now lost church of
St Mildred in the Poultry. The inscription on his tomb there was as follows:
"Here Thomas Tusser, clad in earth, doth lie,
That sometime made the pointes of Husbandrie;
By him then learne thou maiest; here learne we must,
When all is done, we sleepe, and turne to dust:
And yet, through Christ, to Heaven we hope to goe;
Who reades his bookes, shall find his faith was so."
Stow's editor
[Thoms 1876, p. 99, n.] adds the following epigram on Tusser from a volume called ''The More the Merrier'' (1608), by 'H. P.':
''Ad Tusserum''
"Tusser, they tell me, when thou wert alive,
Thou, teaching thrift, thyselfe couldst never thrive.
So, like the whetstone, many men are wont
To sharpen others, when themselves are blunt."
Notes
References
*
*
*
*W. J. Thoms (Ed.), ''Survey of London written in the year 1598 by John Stow. A new edition'' (Chatto and Windus, London 1876) (Based on 1798 edition).
External links
*
*
Full text of ''A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie''Edition of ''Five Hundred Points''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tusser, Thomas
1520s births
1580 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
People educated at Eton College
People from Essex
Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
16th-century English poets
16th-century English male writers
16th-century English farmers
English male poets
People from Chesterton, Cambridge