Browning's The bishop orders his tomb at Saint Praxed's church, 76-79, 98-100

Abstract

In Robert Browning's poem "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" the dying bishop's main rival in his struggle for the power which he sought to attain as a befitting mode of life had been his predecessor, Gandolf. For this reason he tried to play down the latter's significance when Gandolf died. Although Gandolf had already chosen the best position in the church for his sarcophagus, he had to leave its execution to his successor who, driven by a desire to revenge himself, selected as material a "paltry onion-stone" and for the epitaph, in keeping with the poor quality of the stone, he drew on the late Latin of Ulpian.