William Langland's poem stands at the centre of the study of ideological conflict, social change and religious ideas in the later fourteenth century. It is a poem that vividly encapsulates the great issues and debates of the day and acts as a commentary on cataclysmic events such as the Peasants' Revolt (1381), the condemnation of Wyclif's ideas (1382) and the rise of Lollardy. It is also one of the greatest poems of the English Middle Ages, worth reading beside Dante and Chaucer.The poem has provoked a sophisticated and wide-ranging critical literature. It needs to be read in an edition by an expert conceived with the student-reader in mind. Of the A, B and C versions of the text of Piers Plowman, only a student-geared edition of the B-text exists and that edition is now becoming dated. The C-text, which supersedes B in terms of Langland's poetic career, is also a more complete and carefully structured poem. It needs to be available in an equally readerly edition; this is such
an edition. For his new edition of the C-text of Piers Plowman, Derek Pearsall has completely revised the text, added side glosses for the benefit of student readers of the poem (though without sacrificing the glossary), and revised and updated the explanatory notes. The Introduction has also been expanded, revised and reshaped to take account of this. Since the new edition involves a significant reworking of the previous edition and justifies library copy replacement, a hardback library edition will be available for a limited period.

Derek Pearsall is Professor Emeritus of Harvard University and a pre-eminent scholar of Langland and Chaucer; he has published widely on both authors.

Categories

• Medieval
• Poetry
• European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

Product Details

ISBN: 9780859897846
ISBN-10: 0859897842
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Publication Date: July 11th, 2008
Pages: 438
Language: English
Series: Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies Lup

“For the first time it is possible to see the C-text purged of scribal ineptitudes and arguably as Langland''s maturest work ... The effect, at times, is that of the bright colours of a Renaissance painting emerging from under the dirt, varnish and academic pieties of generations.” –English


“...Pearsall gives a great deal of aid with the social and political context of Piers, ranging from straightforward explanation of personal allusions or glosses on the detail of fourteenth-century ecclesiastical organization to fruitful comment on the largest questions about Langland''s society.” –English Language Notes


“...a fine edition which will make the C Version more accessible and comprehensible, and, I hope, more widely read.” –Review of English Studies


"This volume has now been fully revised and reformatted, much to the benefit of all readers. . . . Those who do not own the previous edition--and many who do--will welcome this new edition."