William Langland
Author of Piers Plowman
About the Author
William Langland is the name generally attributed to the author of Piers Plowman, a classic Middle English poem. Written in an unrhymed, alliterative style that was traditional at the time, the poem is composed of a series of dream visions in which the dreamer grapples with issues such as the show more nature of Christ's love and the relationship between people and God. Piers Plowman is considered to be one of the greatest religious poems in the English language, and Langland ranks among the best of the Middle English authors, along with Geoffrey Chaucer and the anonymous author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Langland is believed to have lived from about 1331 to 1400. Based on the poem, which is thought to be partly autobiographical, Langland probably spent his early years in the Malvern and later lived in London. Some scholars believe that Langland was a poor cleric in one of the minor religious orders; others suggest that he was a monk. Whichever is true, it is evident from his work that he was well-educated, a gifted poet, and very knowledgeable about both the political and the ecclesiastical controversies of his time. It is not certain whether any more of Langland's work has survived. Piers the Plowman's Creed and Richard Redeless, two shorter poems that were previously attributed to Langland, are now believed to have been written by others. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Detail of William dreaming, from an illuminated initial in Corpus Christi MS 201 f.1r.
Series
Works by William Langland
Piers Plowman: The Prologue and Passus I-VII of the B text as Found in Bodleian Manuscript (Clarendon Mediaeval &… (1972) 47 copies
The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman: In Three Parallel Texts, Together with Richard the Redeless 2 Vols. (1979) 36 copies, 1 review
Piers Plowman: The Three Versions. Volume III: The C Version (Langland, William. Piers the Plowman (Three Versions)) (1997) 10 copies
Piers Plowman: The B Version - Will's Visions of Piers Plowman, Do-Well, Do-Better and Do-Best: An Edition in the… (2002) 9 copies
The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, together with Vita de Dowel, Dobet et Dobest 6 copies
The vision of William concerning Piers Plowman,: Together with Vita de Dowel, Dobet, et Dobest, (Early English Text… (1963) 6 copies
The Piers Plowman electronic archive. Vol. 1 [CD-ROM] : Cambridge, Trinity College MS B.15.17 (W) (2000) 2 copies
The vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman .... general preface, notes and indexes / by W. W. Skeat 1 copy, 1 review
The vision and creed of Piers Ploughman edited from a contemporary manuscript ... / by Thomas Wright = Piers Plowman.… 1 copy, 1 review
The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Ploughman together with Vita De Dowel, Dobet et Dobest , Secundum Wit et… (1964) 1 copy
The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman . Volume II: Preface Notes & Glossary (1969) 1 copy
Piers Plowman : a Parallel-text Edition of the A, B, C and Z versions, Volume II, Part 2: Commentary, Bibliography and… (2011) 1 copy
Associated Works
The Canterbury Tales [Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.] (2005) — Contributor — 638 copies, 5 reviews
World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time (1998) — Contributor — 458 copies, 1 review
Oogst der tijden : keur uit de werken van schrijvers en dichters aller volken en eeuwen (1940) — Contributor — 10 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Langland, William
- Birthdate
- 1330 c.
- Date of death
- 1387 c.
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- England, UK
- Places of residence
- Malvern Hills, England, UK
- Occupations
- poet
Members
Discussions
Folio Archives 382: Vision of Piers the Plowman, The by William Langland - 2014 in Folio Society Devotees (July 15)
Piers the Plowman in Folio Society Devotees (February 2023)
Piers Plowman in Combiners! (May 2013)
Reviews
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 42
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 2,674
- Popularity
- #9,604
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 17
- ISBNs
- 93
- Languages
- 6
- Favorited
- 6