Friar Bungay
Preserved but no longer current.
A famous necro- mancer of the 15th century, whose story is much overlaid with legend. It is said that he "raised mists and valours which befriended Edward IV at the battle of Barnet" In the old prose romance. The Famous History of Friar Bacon, and in Greene's Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (acted 1591), he appears as the assistant to Roger Bacon (d. 1292).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Friar Bungay” mean?
A famous necro- mancer of the 15th century, whose story is much overlaid with legend. It is said that he "raised mists and valours which befriended Edward IV at the battle of Barnet" In the old prose romance. The Famous History of Friar Bacon, and in Greene's Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (acted 1591), he appears as the assistant to Roger Bacon (d. 1292).
Is “Friar Bungay” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.