LANGLAND, WILLIAM. - Medieval English poet, b. around 1332, d. around 1400, according to the conjectures of W. W. Skeat. Nothing precise is known of his life, apart from what can be gathered from the text of his work The vision of Piers the plowman, an allegorical poem in alliterative verse, a sober but powerful representation of the life of the Christian in search of truth.
The poem is also very important as a document of the social and religious life of the less well-off classes of the time. Piers, who in allegorical language points out to the people the way of truth, ends up identifying himself with Christ himself. The work, sober and at times gloomy, is a necessary complement to Chaucer's lively representations. In it the author shows himself very severe toward the clergy and inclined to interpret the Christian life as an imitation of the Gospel message in its entirety; but like Chaucer, although very different from him, he is immune to Lollardy, very rigorous and fully orthodox with regard to the Church. Three versions of the poem are extant, of which the second and the third are amplifications perhaps due to another author, texts in any case more convoluted, 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 of Chaucer's contemporaries.
Bibliography2 worksFor Piers the plowman, see the ed. edited by W. W. Skeat, Oxford 1886; A. H. Bright, New light on Piers plowman, with an introduction by R.
BIBL.: For Piers the plowman, see the ed. edited by W. W. Skeat, Oxford 1886; A. H. Bright, New light on Piers plowman, with an introduction by R. W. Chambers, ibid. 1928.
Guidi, Augusto. “Langland, william.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, coll. 892–893. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/langland-william.
MLA
Guidi, Augusto. “Langland, william.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, coll. 892–893. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/langland-william.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec7_langland_william,
author = {Guidi, Augusto},
title = {Langland, william},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VII},
pages = {892--893},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1951},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/langland-william}
}
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