LANGLAND, WILLIAM. - Medieval English poet, born about 1332, died about 1400, according to the conjectures of W. W. Skeat. Nothing precise is known of his life, apart from what may be gathered from the text of his work The vision of Piers the plowman, an allegorical poem in alliterative verse, a sober yet powerful representation of the life of the Christian in search of truth.
The poem is also of the utmost importance as a document of the social and religious life of the less affluent classes of the time. Piers, who in allegorical language indicates the way of truth to the people, ultimately comes to be identified with Christ himself. The work, sober and at times sombre, is a necessary complement to Chaucer’s vivid representations. Its author shows himself very severe toward the clergy and inclined to interpret Christian life as imitation of the Gospel message in its entirety; but
like Chaucer, though very different from him, he is free from Lollardy, very rigorous and fully orthodox in relation to the Church. Three versions of the poem are extant, of which the second and third are amplifications perhaps due to another author; in any case, they are more involved texts, whose authenticity is still doubtful. L.’s poem is a typical medieval vision, with personifications of vices and virtues. The author is considered the greatest among Chaucer’s contemporaries.