Ulpian Fulwell (1545/6 – before 1586) was an

English Renaissance theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...

playwright,

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

and poet. Later as a

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

parish priest, he appears to have neglected his duties.

Church, stage and satire

Born one of the two sons of a linen

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

Wells, Somerset Wells () is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare, south-west of Bath and south of Bristol. Although the population recorde ...

, Thomas Fulwell (died 1563), and his wife Christabel (née James, died 1584), he was ordained priest in 1566. In 1572 he married Eleanor Warde, who died in 1577. In 1578 he was remarried to Marie Whorwood, by whom he had six children. Only in 1578 did he manage to matriculate at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902. History In 1320, ...

, where he apparently graduated, as he was termed a master of arts in 1584. Fulwell became Rector of

Naunton Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about 6 miles to the east. Community The population of Naunton in 2000 was 371, whic ...

, near

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was found ...

, Gloucestershire, in 1570, but appears to have been lax. It was noted at an episcopal visitation in 1572 that the church was in decay. Four years later he was fined because his clerk was found to be illiterate and local parents had ceased to send their children to

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

classes. All of Fulwell's own six children were baptised in Naunton, one of whom died in 1585. Fulwell himself was probably dead by 1586, when another man, Joseph Hanxman, was recorded as Rector of Naunton. Fulwell's neglect of his parish and education may have been due to the attention he paid to his literary work. His first, ''Like Will to Like, Quod the Devil to the Collier'' (after 1566, first printed 1568), was one of several

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

s reliant on proverbs that appeared at that time. This play has been analysed in a study as exploring the themes of morality and vices in relation to the devil. It has also been credited with influencing a later play, ''

Grim the Collier of Croydon ''Grim the Collier of Croyden; or, The Devil and his Dame: with the Devil and Saint Dunston'' is a seventeenth-century play of uncertain authorship, first published in 1662. The play's title character is an established figure of the popular cultu ...

'', acted by

Pembroke's Men The Earl of Pembroke's Men was an Elizabethan era playing company, or troupe of actors, in English Renaissance theatre. They functioned under the patronage of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Early and equivocal mentions of a Pembroke's compan ...

at Henslowe's Rose Theatre on 28 October 1600. The Fulwell play was revived in 1968 and 1988 by the

Poculi Ludique Societas PLS, or Poculi Ludique Societas, the Medieval & Renaissance Players of Toronto, sponsors productions of early plays, from the beginnings of medieval drama (see mystery play) to as late as the middle of the seventeenth century. The group had its ori ...

of Toronto, Canada. In 1575 Fulwell published a pro- Tudor piece of writing, ''The Flower of Fame'' dedicated to

William Cecil, Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

. This was followed in 1576 by ''Ars adulandi, or, The Art of Flattery'', a group of eight satires dedicated to Mildred, Lady Burghley. The criticisms were stringent enough for him to be ordered by the courts to make a recantation on 7 July 1576 before

Gilbert Berkeley Gilbert Berkeley (1501–1581) was an English churchman, a Marian exile during the reign of Bloody Mary, and then Bishop of Bath and Wells. Life He took the degree of B.D. at Oxford about 1539, according to Anthony à Wood. He was rector of Attl ...

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

. A revised edition appeared in 1579.

Works

*''Like Will to Like'' (published 1568) *''The Flower of Fame'' (1575), a chronicle of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, with appendices in verse *''Ars adulandi, or, The Art of Flattery'' (1576), humorous dialogues

External sources

*Buchanan, R. (editor and introduction): ''Ars adulandi, or, the art of flattery by Ulpian Fulwel ic a critical edition with a biography of the author'' (Salzburg, Austria: University of Salzburg, 1984) *''The Dramatic Writings of Ulpian Fulwell'' (London: Early English Drama Society, 1906). Private publication for subscribers

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, John M. Kelly Library, with link to full text of ''Like Will to Like''
Retrieved 22 November 2017.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulwell, Ulpian 16th-century English poets Year of birth uncertain 1540s births 1580s deaths English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets