List of Poets Laureate

The title “laureate” was given by the Cambridge and Oxford universities to various poets in the l5th century. When dramatist John Dryden was given a stipend in 1668 to write court poetry to celebrate British state occasions, it heralded the modern status of the title. Customary, poets laureate were given an honorarium of a barrel of wine and held the title until death, the exception being Dryden who was sacked. In 1999, Andrew Motion accepted £5,000 rather than wine and agreed to be appointed for 10 years.