Bicorn

Overview

Lydgate’s poem directs the portrayal of two beasts, one fat and one lean. Bicorn identifies himself as a fat, round creature from Bicornis and says he is married to Chichevache. His exclusive food is husbands who will not contradict their wives. The asserted abundance of such husbands explains his prosperous body within the satire, rather than establishing a natural diet.

A group of men explains its fear that Bicorn will devour compliant husbands. Its speech praises marital domination as protection. These speakers’ claims are part of an antagonistic medieval comic construction; they are not practical guidance or verified statements about women and men. The ending traps husbands between the monster’s appetite and the danger of contradicting their wives.

Bicorn’s counterpart gives the pair their comic imbalance: Chichevache can find almost no women matching her demanded obedience. The printed text explicitly joins them as spouses but does not provide children or an extensive creature genealogy. Its portrayal directions supply roundness and fatness without specifying the exact head, limbs or horn count. The modern image consequently labels those details imagined.

Origins & earliest records

Selected Lydgate poem accessed in Henry Morley’s historical anthology; the text’s transmission is distinguished from an oral belief claim.

Records & interpretation

Complete Bicorn and Chichevache poem, including all portrayal directions, Bicorn’s speeches, men’s speeches and ending, inspected in cached Gutenberg transcription.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Bicorn and Chichevache, in Playful Poems

   John Lydgate; Henry Morley, anthology editor · fifteenth-century poem; anthology date not independently established

   Historical printed text; no claim that portrayal directions prove an actual performance.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Located primary narrative or institutional scholarly interpretationBicorn and Chichevache, in Playful PoemsResearch access: 2026-10-10

Image credits

Bicorn - AI-generated imagined folklore illustration.

AI-generated imagined illustration of Bicorn based on the selected textual witness; not historical or ethnographic evidence.