William Langland’s

the Vision of

Piers Plowman

Who was William Langland?

Born c. 1332, died c. 1387We only know about him from the poem and from a Latin note (c. 1400) in a manuscript of the C text. This says that he was the (illegitimate?) son of Stacy (or Eyustace) de Rokayle of Shipton-under-Wychwood, (an Oxfordshire Gentleman) who held land of the Dispensers (an aristocratic family).

It is believed that he was educated in the priory of Great Malvern (Worcestershire) until his father’s death curtailed1 his education. Aspects of the poem suggest that he studied at Oxford University; - to do this he would have taken ‘minor orders2’.

He knew Latin and French. He certainly shows a familiarity with the Malvern Hills.

Later he lived in a cottage3 in Cornhill (London).- He was poor most of his life. - He was tall and thin.

We deduce that he was a clerk in minor orders2, married (to Kit) with a daughter (Colette). The minor orders have been described as “a clerical proletariat… socially and economically, this class must have been poles apart from the ‘sublime and literate persons’”- He was that “dangerous animal” a highly-educated poor person with no

way of improving his position within the existing social structures.

Unlike4 his contemporaries Chaucer and Gower, Langland writes from the personal experience of poverty (C.9.70-79) and respects rather than patronizes the honest peasant.- He even suggests more than once that poverty in itself should count as a

penance for sin and so help the pauper into heaven.

He was constantly preoccupied with writing verses - some people thought he was mad.

1 to curtail – cut short 2 i.e. he was trained to do part – but by no means all – of a priest’s duties; an itinerant spiritual ‘odd-jobs-

man’3 cottage – very small house 4 unlike – in contrast to

The Social Context

It is possible to interpret the 14th Century as a dress rehearsal5 for the Renaissance.

In Italy artistically there was a mini-Renaissance above all with the Pisano sculptors and Giotto. - Italy also offers a literary mini-Renaissance in the form of Dante,

Petrarch and Boccaccio.

The only thing in English that can be compared to The Divine Comedy (c. 1321) as a visionary critique of the world is Piers Plowman, - though Langland’s poetry is certainly not comparable with Dante’s.

In England not only is there the flowering6 of Middle English verse – the Ricardian Renaissance – (Chaucer, Gower, Langland and the Gawain-poet) but also a dress rehearsal for the Reformation in the form of the Lollards.

5 dress rehearsal – (literally) final trial performance 6 flowering – flourishing, optimal moment

Lollardy

The Lollards – followers of John Wyclif (c.1320-84): denied transubstantiation, (Langland showed no interest in this

question) demanded a reduction in the materialism and power of the Catholic

Church (cf. Anima says that temporal possessions have poisoned7 the Church [B.15.561])

denied8 the value of pilgrimages and prayers for the dead (and thus indulgences)

rejected confession hated images and believed that the Bible should be translated into the vernacular so that

it would be accessible to everyone. More importantly in this context, they believed that the priesthood9

should be poor as the only way of being pure.

The Lollards (under Sir John Oldcastle – source for Shakespeare’s Falstaff) were defeated militarily by Henry V in 1414. - After that they went underground but continued to exist until the 16 th

Century when they were absorbed into the Reform Movement.

Wyclif’s teachings influenced the much more successful Hussites in Bohemia in 15th Century and so were indirectly linked to10 Luther.

7 to poison – (in this case) corrupt 8 to deny – not accept, reject 9 priesthood – clergy 10 to be linked to – be connected to

Was Langland a Lollard?

There is no evidence that Langland was a Lollard, although he was a contemporary of Wyclif. - It is clear that there was a lot to criticize in the contemporary Church.

This was partly made possible by the fact that the French-controlled Papacy (in Avignon) supported France during the early years of the Hundred Years War.

Both Langland and the Lollards saw that corruption was rooted in11

excessive Church wealth.Both wanted to weed out12 all but the most worthy from the holy orders. Both believed in Biblicism – wanting the individual to read the Word of God without priestly mediation. Both criticized the Papal practice of waging war. This led both Langland and Wyclif to be anti-sacerdotal and vaguely anti-sacramental.

In the second Vision Piers tears up a “pardon” and rejects it as a substitute for “doing well”. - The scene graphically illustrates Langland’s hatred of all that de-

spiritualizes religion. - Sale of indulgences rather than free confession was particularly13

resented in 14th-century England.

Langland is especially vitriolic against the friars but these sentiments are mirrored in Chaucer.

In Langland’s case, there are two reasons for this:Friars offered the absolution of sin in exchange for alms (money or food). It was much easier to confess to a friar, who was just passing through, than to suffer the healing shame of confessing to the local priest, who was much more likely to impose a penitence. Friars therefore despiritualized religion.Moreover, friars represented direct competition since14 they offered many of the services that Langland offered.

11 to be rooted in – originate from 12 to weed out – eliminate 13 particularly – (false friend) especially 14 since – (in this case) given that

Anti-Mendicant Sentiment

Hatred of friars can be traced back to bishop Richard Fitzralph (d. 1360), ex-Chancellor of Oxford University - who preached against their (communal) wealth in the 1350s.

Finally, friars answered directly to the Pope. - They were not part of the local Church structure, so – according to

Fitzralph – they undermined the unity of the Church and national Church authority.

Chaucer is also pretty damning about friars.

Is it “Liberation Theology”?

Langland’s ploughman-priest was taken up15 by the Lollard and used in late 14th-century tracts.

Notice that the Lollards were accused of fomenting the Peasants’ Revolt by their preaching.

Langland criticizes people not social structures. - He cannot conceive of any economic system other than feudalism.

Passus VII of the B Text contains a quarrel between a contemptuous priest and Piers Plowman. - This was removed from the C Text. If we assume that the C Text was

written as a reaction to the Peasants’ Revolt then it seems that Langland was shocked that his work could be used by violent revolutionary forces.

The rebels committed a number of atrocities including the murder of Churchmen. The rebel leader, John Ball – who was (erroneously) said to have been a pupil of Wycliffe’s for two years – wrote, “stand together in God’s name, and ask Piers Ploughman to go to his work… And do well and better, and avoid sin…”

The poem’s starting point is that part of orthodoxy which says that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” - but God will punish16 the rich (it’s not a job for the poor).

15 to take up (take-took-taken) adopt 16 to punish – discipline, castigate

The Disintegration of Feudalism

In the classic feudal model:the peasants worked for allthe clergy prayed for allthe knights fought for (and ruled) all

This was a relationship of faith-keeping [= cumplir con la palabra dada] (= the fundamental mediaeval meaning of ‘truth’).There was low emphasis on monetary relations.

The lord gave use of his land and the peasant gave agricultural labour and other services (such as the messenger service described in C.13.33-64) in return.

Faith-keeping depended on the honesty and justice of both parties - ‘honesty’ and ‘justice’ were further meaning of mediaeval ‘truth’.

The whole relationship was thrown into chaos when the Black Death17

made human capital much scarcer than land and the development of a money economy. - the resulting system is sometimes called ‘bastard feudalism’

Lords began to rent their demesnes (= lands) to peasants rather than18

cultivate them themselves.

17 Black Death – bubonic plague 18 rather than – instead of, as opposed to

Social Criticism

Langland was clearly anti-rich.

Lady Meed (= fee, payment, financial reward) represents “worldly treasure” “the profit motive” (= ánimo de lucro) “the desire for material advancement”; Alice Perrers, Edward III’s extravagant mistress.she personifies the false treasure that people seek19 on earth.

Lady Meed contrasts with Lady Holy Church, Lady Repentance and Lady Truth.

Langland always associates riches and fine clothes with degeneration.

Interestingly, it is Lady Meed (also translated as “Lady Fee”) who is the cause of all social disorder.

This is exactly the opposite of what happens in Bernard de Mandeville’s The Fable of the Bees (1714). - In this Early Modern work a hive built on self-interest is destroyed by the

appearance of Virtue. - There is a huge20 gulf between mediaeval and modern thought.

One of Langland’s big themes is hypocrisy: - he criticizes the learned21 for the discrepancy between what they know

and what they do. - He abhors the clergy for preaching one thing and doing another.

This sets the insidious example of hypocrisy, which can infect the congregation.

Langland’s main22 point is this: Society has too eagerly embraced material goods23 and become enamoured of power, necessitating a return to the path of Truth.

Conscience and Kynde Wytt should guide society- Truth must win over Death- Fair government is important

19 to seek (seek-sought-sought) try to obtain20 huge – enormous 21 the learned – erudite people 22 main – principal, primary 23 goods – products

Worldview

The dream world and our actual world are not as distinct as we might think, - in large part24 due to25 Lady Mede’s alluring26 ways.

If we are asleep to what God offers mortals, we are living in a dream.

The substantial world is that which we cannot see, but which will outlast27

the transient stage upon which we act out our lives.- a key tenet of platonic and neo-platonic thought so crucial to the literary

system stemming from the Middle Ages.

Reality is objective and ineluctable (= inescapable), penetrating and overshadowing28 life as we know it in the world.

24 in large part – primarily, mainly 25 due to – because of 26 alluring – seductive, mysteriously attractive 27 to outlast – last longer than, outlive, survive after 28 to overshadow – eclipse

Contemporary Relevance

Between 1357 and 1380 England was rapidly losing her position overseas29.- During this period the king was either a dotard [= viejo chocho

consentido] (Edward III) or a child (Richard II).

During this period the retinues of the great lords – which were remarkably like Lady Meed’s – included local and even central legal and administrative officials, who could protect the lords themselves and their servants from the rigours of justice.

Some nobles even cooperated with criminal bands, - Langland himself mentions the Folville Gang in B.19.247).- this was not as bad as the situation in the 1450s (see Le Morte d’Arthur

Notes) but tended to happen whenever there was not a rigorous monarch.

Even the court of the king’s council tended to turn a blind eye to the aristocracy’s crimes, its members being of the same class and participating in similar activities.

In the Visio the king’s Parliament is also inclined to support Meed when she intervenes directly in the case of her protégé Wrong.

In the Visio Langland shows that aristocratic self-interest has dominated military policycorrupted the loyalty of royal counsellors, andundermined the administration of justice throughout the realm.

Langland represents this social crisis as a conflict of Meed vs. Conscience.

The ‘Hundred Years War’ was popular while England was victorious (1337-60) but became unpopular as the French began to win (1360-1377)

However, Langland was against the war, successful or not.- He believed its aim30 was to satisfy Meed, in defiance of Conscience.

29 overseas – abroad 30 aim – objective

Misgovernment

In the 14th Century Parliament was dominated by the great landowners. When the king allowed himself to be guided by a court circle of personal friends, political crisis ensued.- In 1327 and 1399 this led to31 the deposition and murder of the king.

Edward III was dominated by - William of Wyckham in the 1360s (until the Lords ousted32 him in

1371)- Alice Ferrers (after the Queen’s death in 1369) until his death in 1377.

Lady Meed seems to echo Alice, but this would place the A Text in the early 1370s.

Notice that like a modern-day mullah, Langland saw Church and society as coterminous (= one and the same) – both depending for their health on the condition of individuals.- for the individual intellectual and moral ‘truth’ were inseparable.

31 to lead to (lead-led-led) – result in 32 to oust – eject

Historical Development

The A Text (2,567 lines; c. 137033) represents only about a third of the final version. However it introduces the vision of Lady Meed and ends with a brief development of Do-Well, Do-Bet, Do-Best.

It was probably originally intended as a simple dream-poem, similar to the mid-14th Century Winner and Waster: - a vision of England, in which problems of economic morality would be

enacted by personified abstractions beneath34 the unchallenged authority of a king.

This interaction between personified abstractions introduces one of the most important concepts in mediaeval literature: psychomachia (a.k.a. psychomachy)- this means ‘soul-fighting’ and strictly refers to the conflict between vices

and virtues for the human soul. - It is the exteriorization of the mental conflict within the individual’s head. - Prudentius’s poem Psychomachia (400CE35) introduced the Manicheistic

conflict. - It is central to mediaeval Morality Plays and continues in Buffy the

Vampireslayer and The Simpsons.

The B Text (7,277 lines; 1377-7936) takes the poem to its full length – this is often the preferred version for study.

33 it mentions a hurricane that occurred in 136234 beneath – under, below 35 CE – Common Era, AD (= Anno Domini)36 it mentions the Great Schism of 1378

The C Text

The C version (written 1385-6; published post 1390) tends to have longer lines and many adverbs are added to fill out the text. It may incorporate changes to distance Langland from the Peasants’ Revolt.

For example, there is more unequivocal condemnation of vagrants37 and of those who spurn38 the traditional terms of ‘leel’39 service – both groups had been seen as the cause of the 1381 Revolt. It also alters the B text in those points where the B text could be read as placing ‘poor preachers’ (i.e. proselytizing Lollards) above the traditional instructive authority of the Church, or as suggesting that laymen had apostolic authority.

The C Text damages the shape of the poem at some points so that it no longer divides into coherent visions, describing falling asleep → vision → awaking.

37 vagrant – vagabond, masterless man 38 to spurn – reject 39 i.e. ‘loyal’

Structure & Development

The structure of Piers Plowman is organic.

The poem is complex and there are over 140 characters. It includes 10 visions, two of which are visions-within-visions!

It is a long series of dreams (10 in the B Text) linked40 by short waking41

interludes.

Visio (from Visio Willilmi de Petrus Plowman) – intro of the dreamer (Will) who dreams of Piers Plowman. There is an attempt at social reform but it fails because of selfishness42 and disobedience.

Vision 1Prologue – dreamer dreams of the fair field full of folkPassus I – Lady Holy Church expounds worldly valuesPassus II-IV – trial of Lady Meed

Vision 2Passus V – confession of the Seven Deadly Sins; Passus VI – Pilgrimage to Truth; Passus VII – Pier Plowman’s Pardon

40 to link – connect 41 waking – lucid 42 selfishness – egotism

The Vita

The second part of the poem (known as the Vita (from Vita de Dowel, Dobet et Dobest) or the Life of Dowel, Dobet and Dobest) explores the reasons for the failure in the Visio – principally through interviews with personified abstract concepts. - The dreamer moves from being a passive observer to being centre-stage. Do-Well (= search for truth) – patient acceptance of the conditions of daily

life, living truly in the sight of God and in accordance with the precepts of the Church.

Vision 3. In Passus VIII-XII Will consults Thought, Wit, Study, Clergy, Scripture, Ymagynatyf (= Imagination) and Reason.

Do-Bet – takes things one step further and practises the supreme virtue of Charity. Normally – but not always – for those who choose the religious life.

Visions 4 and 5. Passus XIII-XVIII attempt to43 show Dowel in action. Haukyn the Active Man. Piers reappears transfigured as Christ.

Do-Best – active spiritual dedication in poverty. Life dedicated to remoulding44 the world towards true Christian values. Combination of the active life (Do-Well) and the contemplative life (Do-Bet). Highest destiny open to man on earth but also offers the greatest risks of corruption.

Vision 6. Passus XVIII describes The Passion of Christ and the Harrowing of Hell.

Visions 7 and 8. Passus XIX-XX continue the liturgical cycle begun in Lent in Passus XVI and show attempts to put into action the lessons gained from observing Christ. The attempts to perfect the Church are still frustrated by evildoers. The Coming of the Antichrist. Conscience sets out in search of Piers.

43 to attempt to – try to 44 to remould – reform

The first climax comes when Christ takes on45 the nature of Piers Plowman, the closest a human being can get to the divine. - This is The Imitation of Christ.

The Dreamers sees the establishment of the Church and how it declined to its present (14th-century) state of decay.

The second climax comes at the end of the poem; the Church is assailed46

by the forces of the Antichrist (easily recognizable as friars). - The dreamer is desperately old.

The conclusion seems to be to “do well” is the sine qua non and for the rest you just47 have to trust in God.

Theology

Two central questions of Christian theology are addressed:- defining the just48 society in this world and - finding salvation in the next.

If all who can do so labour in their vocation, everyone would live comfortably. Love is the key to the just society. - It is also the source of salvation.

Langland constantly stresses the importance of good deeds. - One of his repeated targets of satire is the granting of pardons that

eliminate the need for action. - Such indulgences troubled many Catholics and would help spark49 the

Protestant Reformation.

Good works and God’s grace emerge as the twin pillars on which salvation rests.

45 to take on (take-took-taken) – adopt 46 to assail – attack 47 just – (in this case) simply 48 just (adj.) – fair, righteous, incorruptible 49 to spark – ignite

The Poem: Structure & Style

What is Allegory?

It is a work of art in which meaning is represented symbolically. In effect, it is an extended metaphor.

A story that can be read on two levels; - as a surface narrative and- at a deeper level, as a moralistic, didactic and/or satirical comment.

Piers Plowman can be seen as a sort of 14th-century Animal Farm.

Piers Plowman’s allegorical representation of sins, etc. can be seen as a link between the allegory of early mediaeval sermons and that of Morality Plays.

Piers Plowman is a ‘Comedy of Humours’ in which single properties assume a life more powerful than that of ordinary individuals and gather into themselves a large number of observations and experiences.

Names

The names and the characters of Piers Plowman work towards an idea that ‘hard work can be Mankind’s salvation’ – a concept so cruelly, cynically and offensively distorted in Auschwitz’s ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (= work will set you free).- Piers’ wife is called Worch-when-tyme-is (= Work when it’s called for)- His daughter is called Do-rihte-so-or-thy-dame-shal-the-bete (= Do right

or your lady [= in this context, mother] with beat you)- His son is called Soffre-thy-souereynes-have-her-wille-deme-hum-nay-

yf-thow-doest-thow-shalt-hit-dere-abygge (= Allow your lords their will, judge them not for if you do, you shall pay for it dearly)

They are accompanied by a host50 of alliterative characters such as Bart the Butcher51, Clement the Cobbler52, Davy the Ditcher53, Hick the Horse-dealer54, Robert the Robber, Robin the Roper55, Rose the Retailer56, Tim the Tinker57, Wat the Warrener58

The Dreamer is called ‘Will’- Langland like Shakespeare seemed to enjoy punning on59 his name:

‘will’ implies “moral will60”, “will61 to act well” but also “wilfulness”62

- However, Langland does not take the same pleasure in the bawdy63

puns64 on ‘will’.

Other examples of punning on his name include:Land of longing. (B. 11. 8).I have lived in land... my name is long will. (B. 15. 152)

Such punning was common in late-mediaeval vernacular literature.

Notice that ‘Kynde Wytt’ means ‘innate intelligence’.

50 host – (in this case) long list 51 butcher – sb. who sells meat 52 cobbler – sb. who repairs (= mends, fixes) shoes 53 ditcher – sb. who digs (= excavates) and repairs ditches (= channels for rainwater)54 horse-dealer – sb. who buys and sells horses 55 roper – sb. who makes rope (= cord) 56 retailer – sb. who sells products in small quantities to the end-user 57 tinker – itinerant who sells metal kitchenware 58 warrener /’worənər/ – (archaic) rabbit-keeper, game keeper59 to pun on – make homophonic wordplay with 60 will (n.) – (in this case) determination, tenacity 61 will (n.) – (in this case) readiness, preparedness 62 wilfulness – obstinacy 63 bawdy – indecent, obscene 64 pun – piece of homophonic wordplay

Dream Poems

Dream-visions have ancient precedents and, as a Christian dream-vision, Piers Plowman can be seen as part of a lineage that includes the A-S alliterative Dream of the Rood65 (8th Century, A.D.66)

It is important to realize67 that Piers Plowman, as a visionary dream poem, has a whimsical68 structure determined by the visions.From a modern point of view it is rather69 chaotic continually interrupting itself.- For instance70, Piers, the central character of the visionary dreams,

appears sporadically and unexpectedly.

Contemporary dream theory was based on the Roman author Macrobius. Dreams came in three types:

the somnium (= enigmatic dream) which conceals the true meaning of the information given behind strange forms.the oraculum in which the dreamer is told what to do by an authority figure.the visio (= prophetic vision)

Piers Plowman contains all three types.

Seen in this way, Langland captures the incoherent flow of a dream rather well.

Most poems at the time were expected to be based on old stories. Dream-visions were the exception and this is one reason why they were so common – they gave the author the freedom to construct his/her own story.

Other examples are:Chaucer’s Book of the Duchess and House of FameThe Gawain-Poet’s PearlJulian of Norwich’s Showings

65 rood – (archaic) crucifix 66 A.D. – anno domini (after Christ)67 to realize – (false friend) be conscious 68 whimsical – capricious 69 rather – somewhat, surprisingly 70 for instance – for example

Why a Ploughman?

Symbol of productive labour. Must be a strong man to plough straight furrows. Makes visible progress by the minute. There is no turning back or looking back. He always looks straight ahead at a distant point.

Piers’s role in the first part of the poem (the Visio) can be compared to that of Moses leading his people. Notice that Chaucer also uses a ploughman as his representation of the simple, honest, upright workingman.

However, Piers also represents “All living labourers that live by their hands” (B.7.62).- however, he is also Piers (= Peter) the rock on which Christ built his

Church- Piers Plowman’s plough is pulled by four oxen71 called Matthew, Mark,

Luke and John.

Like Dante’s Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost, - Piers Plowman is about the meaning of the individual’s life on earth in

relation to his/her ultimate72 destiny.

However, Langland’s cycle of visions begins and ends in 14th-century England. In this he is closer to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). - This is a quest for truth.

Unlike73 Bunyan (or Milton) Langland has a range of humour - from sardonic to playful to wry74.

71 ox (plural ‘oxen’) – castrated bull72 ultimate – (false friend) final, definitive 73 unlike – in contrast to 74 wry – ironic

Influence

The poem’s audience was much wider75 than that of other alliterative works.

Over 50 manuscripts have survived and we know from their ownership that the poem appealed across the country to a wide variety of people.

The book’s title frequently appears in bequestsThe name ‘Piers Plowman’ is often used in other writings for a type-figure who gives voice to social complaint and ecclesiastical criticism.Piers Plowman has had a lasting influence on English idioms. It has given us: “at one’s wits’ end”, “ragamuffin”, “to bell the cat”, “beetle browed” and “dead as a doornail”.

It is clear that Piers Plowman was widely circulated in the 15th and 16th

Centuries.

Piers Plowman is the first piece of literature in this course76 that has been known continuously from its conception to the present. - Copies of Piers Plowman were available to Spenser and Milton.

75 wider – (in this case) more extensive 76 chronologically speaking; Le Mort d’Arthur was written almost 100 years later

Style

Alliterative using the unrhymed long line but in no sense courtly. (The nearest thing is a vision of Christ as a jousting knight!).

In Piers Plowman there are usually two alliterative syllables in the first half-line echoed by one in the second (usually the first) – aa/ax.

In the original version the alliteration falls again and again on the descriptive epithets (epítetos) and many of these were probably borrowed from sermons. This creates a special affect that has been positively reappraised in modern times with the advent of free verse. Langland’s metre is, in fact, the natural setting of living language. The words that Langland use are intense but in no way ‘poetic’ (in the sense of refined decorative terms).

For some commentators this is not great poetry; the goal is didactic not artistic. - The poet is interested in content rather than77 form/style.

Criticism

Gerard Manley Hopkins dismissed Piers Plowman as “not worth reading”.

C. S. Lewis described it as “confused and monotonous, and hardly makes his poetry into a poem”.

However, modernists like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound thought highly of the poetry and its direct language.- Langland uses a type of ‘free verse’ that avoids elaborate poetic diction –

just as78 the Modernists would.

77 rather than – as opposed to, instead of 78 just as – in the same way that

Language

The language is not especially provincial and an educated London reader could have followed the language and style without difficulty. - Comments in subsequent years refer to the fact that the language was old-

fashioned rather than dialect.

The poem builds on the tradition of preaching - turning abstract concepts into concrete examples using everyday

language.

Most of Langland’s personifications were probably easily recognizably ‘types’ already found in sermons. - Like all good sermons Piers Ploughman is often highly topical and it is

his references to current events that allow us to work out the approximate dates of each version.

- He uses a variety of registers to keep his audience’s attention.

This is not a simple presentation of pious truths. The dreamer questions everything:

What is ‘dowel’? How is it done? Is it possible? Is it worth the effort?

At one point the dreamer is replaced by ‘recklessness’79 - a temporary abandonment to worldly pleasures and easy answers.

‘Dowel’ is constantly redefined in the changing circumstances of the different conversations that the dreamer has with personified abstract concepts. - In this way the dreamer learns slowly and cumulatively.

79 recklessness – impulsiveness, irresponsibility

Piers Plowman & the Anglo-Saxon Tradition

Piers Plowman is both a development from and a departure from the earlier Anglo-Saxon tradition. It has often been described in terms of its “grim Nordic temperament” - but the Anglo-Saxon tradition does not display the humour of Langland.

However, by a last superb and characteristic touch, the poet having witnessed the consummation of his dream, the dreamer wakes to the world to realize80 that the endless struggle must continue until the temporal process is wound up and the divine purpose finally fulfilled.

Here, Piers Plowman is faithful to the Saxon origins of its inspiration. But it also looks forward to the end of The Fairie Queene (16th Century)

Like the pagan Beowulf many centuries earlier, the Christian hero, if not defeated, is given no rest in this life from the conflict with evil.

80 to realize – (false friend) become conscious

Humour, Puns & Irony

The poem also contains humour. Gluttony, on his way to confess himself is diverted by the delights of a pub (Gluttony’s drinking partners are priests and prostitutes!) and takes two days to sleep them off.

Sloth begins his confession by falling asleep. - Langland was very fond of punning.

Langland uses self-mockery to associate the dreamer – and ourselves – with the action, so that we are directly involved and made to feel the difference between knowledge and full participation.

Langland can be ironic. In Passus XII he has Will (ultimately81 himself) being reprimanded by Imagination for writing poetry instead of82 performing religious duties. He gives two excuses:

first, he enjoys writing poetry and even the saints recommend recreation as well as serious pursuits;secondly, if he knew what it meant to do well he would gladly83 give up84 poetry. As it is, he uses his poetry to discover the Truth.

It is very un-mediaeval for an individual to express this necessity of a creative process for his personal quest for understanding.

Bibliography

A Guide to Piers Plowman by Anna Baldwin [Palgrave, 2007]A Companion to Piers Plowman by John A. Alford [Univ. of California Press, 1988]Chaucer to Shakespeare, 1337-1580 by SunHee Kim Gertz [Transition, 2001]Companion to British Poetry before 1600 by Michelle M. Sauer (Facts on File, 2008)Medieval Literature by Carole Maddern [York Notes Companions, 2010]Medieval Literature Part One: Chaucer and the Alliterative Tradition edited by Boris Ford [the New Pelican Guide to English Literature, 1983]

Internet- Piers Plowman (Spark Notes)- Piers Plowman (GradeSaver)

81 ultimately – (false friend) in the final analysis 82 instead of – rather than, as opposed to 83 gladly – happily 84 to give up (give-gave-given) – abandon, renounce

1340-1400: Turbulent Times

1309-1377 The Papacy was captive of France in Avignon.1327 Edward II deposed and murdered by his wife and her lover.c. 1330 Birth of Chaucerc. 1332 Birth of Langland1337 The Hundred Years War begins1341 Petrarch crowned poet in Rome1346 Battle of Crécy.1348 The Black Death ravages England. Between a third and a half of the

population dies from it. Social breakdown. Papal schism and Church corruption led to the Church losing prestige.

1351 Boccaccio’s The Decameronc. 1352 Langland takes Minor Orders1356 Battle of Poitiers1358 The “Jacquerie” – French peasants’ revolt.1360 Treaty of Bretigny: Edward III was granted nearly half of France and a

ransom for the French king of 3 million écus.1361 Second major occurrence of the Plaguec. 1362 Langland moves to London with his wife Kitte and his daughter Kalote. The

Z Text of Piers Plowman (?)c. 1370 A Text of Piers Plowman1372 Castilian navy (French allies) destroys the English fleet off La Rochelle.c. 1374 English only controlled Bordeaux, Calais and a few strongholds in

Normandy and Brittany. c. 1375 Sir Gawain & The Green Knight1376 Pestilence1377 B Text of Piers Plowman1377 Edward III dies (65). The French captured the Isle of Wight.1378-1417 The Great Schism. Two competing Popes.1381 The Peasants’ Revolt – the most significant popular rebellion in English

history. Caused by: restrictions on the free movement of labour following the Black Death, failure at war, corruption and the Poll Tax.

1382 Wyclif translates the Bible1383 Peace with France (largely85 due to86 the failure of the Poll Tax).c. 1385 C Text written (?)1386-89 Richard II deprived on power1387 The Canterbury Tales. Death of Langland (?)c. 1392 C Text of Piers Plowman published (?)1399 Richard II deposed and murdered. A gay, childless king his reign was

dominated by factional fighting between noble factions. c. 1400 Death of Chaucer.

85 largely – mainly, mostly, primarily 86 due to – because of