William Langland's "Piers Plowman": The C Version

by William Langland, George D. Economou (Translator)

William Langland's Piers Plowman is one of the major poetic monuments of medieval England and of world literature. Probably composed between 1372 and 1389, the poem survives in three distinct versions. It is known to modern readers largely through the middle of the three, the so-called B-text. Now, George Economou's verse translation of the poet's third version makes available for the first time in modern English the final revision of a work that many have regarded as the greatest Christian poem in our language.

Langland's remarkable powers of invention and his passionate involvement with the spiritual, social, and political crises of his time lay claim to our attention, and demand serious comparison with Dante's Divine Comedy. Economou's translation preserves the intensity of the poet's verse and the narrative energy of his alliterative long line, the immediacy of the original's story of the quest for salvation, and the individuality of its language and wordplay.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Medieval, Literature, Religion, Reference, Read For School

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1979

About the author

William Langland, (born c. 1330—died c. 1400), presumed author of one of the greatest examples of Middle English alliterative poetry, generally known as Piers Plowman, an allegorical work with a complex variety of religious themes.

One of the major achievements of Piers Plowman is that it translates the language and conceptions of the cloister into symbols and images that could be understood by the layman. In general, the language of the poem is simple and colloquial, but some of the author’s imagery is powerful and direct.

Little is known of Langland’s life: he is thought to have been born somewhere in the region of the Malvern Hills, in Worcestershire, and if he is to be identified with the “dreamer” of the poem, he may have been educated at the Benedictine school in Great Malvern. References in the poem suggest that he knew London and Westminster as well as Shropshire, and he may have been a cleric in minor orders in London.

Langland clearly had a deep knowledge of medieval theology and was fully committed to all the implications of Christian doctrine. He was interested in the asceticism of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and his comments on the defects of churchmen and the religious in his day are nonetheless concomitant with his orthodoxy.

(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...)

Reviews

[Sophie]

disclaimer: I did not read this entire thing BUT I have spent far too long studying it for school and meditating its allegories and dream visions to not add it here, so eat your heart out Langland!!!

[Thirza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful (but incredibly difficult) poem. Pearsall's edition has wonderful and very helpful glosses and explanatory notes, which helps a lot in getting somewhat of a grasp on this text. I did enjoy reading Piers Plowman, it has very interesting views on the world, politics and religion. A wonderful window into 14th century England.

You can find my summary of Piers Plowman here.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 or more

[Garrett Linderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in one of my Medieval english courses. think Langland is a genius writer and I enjoyed reading his allegories and relating them to the religious and social climate of the 16th Century. Personally, I enjoyed the allegorizations of the Seven Deadly Sins and learning about the implications of each sin. While this is undoubtedly a difficult book, my professor made it easier to understand and I appreciate the literature more because of it.

[Daniel Rosler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was a good translation. But I think without supplementing it with something like Pearsall's C-Text, it falls short.

[Miles Smith]

maybe the real pilgrimage was the field we ploughed all along....

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need him so bad

[Becky Presnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good translation and helpful accompaniment to Derek Pearsall’s edition.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Consaileth me, Kynde,' quod I, 'what craft be beste to lere?'
'Learne to loue,' quod Kynde, 'and leef all othere.'

[Brandon Coomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read classic

[sch]

Mar 2024. Continuing the medieval theme. Stopping after a few days and several chapters. Not for me, at least not now.

[Jamya Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I read this book for my Human and the Divine Lit class. Overall I enjoyed it. Unsurprisingly the old-timey English made me use a lot of brain power. Rereading the same few paragraphs became a routine. Will—the protagonist, made this fairly mundane story funny and entertaining. Lots of plowing. Lots of gluttony. Lots of arguing. The end

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this book forever. I just never took the time to do so. This is one of the books that I was thrilled to see on the list for Brit Lit and one of the reasons I took the class. Like many books, poems, and plays of the era it has a highly religious content. The best thing about Piers Plowman, is the fact that it gives you a view of what the average person of the Middle Ages was like. Most history books only mention the wealthy, the royalty, the aristocracy, the clergy or those who had some kind of trouble with the law. This story/verse gives you a glimpse into what those who lived day to day lives were like. It's an interesting read, and I'm glad it lived up to the anticipation I put into the reading of it.

[Chelsea K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The contextualizing annotations at the bottom were truly lifesaving, and I found the secondary source material catalogued in the front exceedingly helpful as far as locating the book in a cultural tradition and context. All editorial additions were amazing, but I can't in good faith give Piers Plowman itself above 3 stars. What a frightfully confusing and self-contradictory text. I have a complex love/hate relationship with it.

[Penelope Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Due to the 14th-century language, the length, and its not being my usual type of read, this has taken about a year to get through, but it was worth it. It shows so much of medieval Christian thinking, and that so many economic and moral problems are older than we think. I would highly recommend the edition: with hard words at the side of the page and abundant footnotes, you too can read and follow this contemporary of Chaucer untranslated.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something so compelling about the music of this poem and something wildly experimental--in many ways it's postmodern and surely in some of its content well ahead of its time--that I can't not like this edition of Piers Plowman. Still, the text is so inconsistent, I can't love it either. The edition, translated into the modern vernacular, is a romp.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man, it's stuff like this that made me throw in the towel on medieval studies...

[Dawn Hammill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous version of the C Text with excellent notes and glosses.

[Daniel Rosler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this one of the finest works of Literature that I've read, Pearsall's scholarship is on fire here. The lengthy footnotes, the commentary, the translation--I'm amazed by his work.