Dan Michel of Northgate
Dan Michel of Northgate is known as the translator of "Ayenbite of Inwyt," a manuscript preserved at St. Austin's library in Canterbury. This work is a translation in the Kentish dialect of a French treatise originally authored by Laurentius Gallus, a Dominican friar, in 1279. The term "ayenbite" translates to "remorse," while "inwyt" means "conscience," reflecting the manuscript's thematic focus. In addition to the main text, it includes a translation of the Lord's Prayer and an abridged version of the homily "Sawles Warde."
Dan Michel's identity is largely defined by the detailed signature in the manuscript, stating he was a brother at St. Austin's cloister. The translation was completed on October 27, 1340, a date that holds significance as it coincides with the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude. While other English translations of the same source exist, Michel’s work is notable for its unique dialect, which has since become obsolete, making it an important linguistic artifact. The presence of a completion date in the manuscript is unusual for its time, hinting at a deeper significance or personal connection to the themes of conscience and remorse within a historical context.
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Dan Michel of Northgate
Writer
- Born: fl. 1340
- Birthplace: England
Biography
Dan Michel of Northgate is the signature attached to Ayenbite of Inwyt, a manuscript held in the library of St. Austin at the headquarters of the Anglican Church in Canterbury. The manuscript is a translation in Kentish dialect of a French treatise Le Somme des vices et des virtues, also known as Le Miroir du monde or Le Livre des commandements, which was first written in 1279 by Laurentius Gallus, a Dominican friar. The word ayenbite is roughly equivalent to “remorse,” and “inwyt” to “conscience.” The manuscript also contains a translation into the same dialect of the Lord’s Prayer and an abridged version of a well-known homily, Sawles Warde.
Nothing is known about Dan Michel apart from the information contained in his unusually extensive byline, which declares him (unsurprisingly) to be a brother of the cloister of St. Austin of Canterbury. The manuscript also states that he completed his translation on the eve of the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude—which is to say, October 27, 1340. It is unusual for manuscripts of that period to contain such detailed signatures, and Dan Michel is a slightly odd name for a local boy. However, Northgate, as its name implies, was the district within and without Canterbury’s northern gate, within easy walking distance of the cathedral, and there is no powerful reason for doubting the authenticity of the translator’s name.
There are five other English translations of the French original, all of them more faithful than Dan Michel’s, but the Ayenbite is a rare example of a dialect that subsequently faded into oblivion, and is thus of some interest as a specimen. It is not at all clear why the manuscript features a completion date—an exceedingly rare embellishment—but it may be worth noting that St. Jude is now best known as the patron saint of lost causes; the Kentish dialect must certainly be judged to have fallen into that category, even if conscientious remorse might not.