William Langland (ca. 1330-ca. 1386)

Piers Plowman: The Prologue

 

1 In a somer sesun, whon softe was the sonn e,

2 I schop me into a shroud, as I a scheep wer e;

3In habite as an hermite unholy of werk e s

4Wente I wyde in this world wondr e s to her e;

5 Bote in a May e s morwnynge on Malverne hull e s

6 Me bifel a ferly, of fairie, me-thought e.

 

7 I was wery, forwandr e d, and went e me to rest e

8 Undur a brod banke bi a bourn e sid e;

9 And as I lay and leon e de and lok e de on the watr e s,

10 I slumbr e de in a slepynge, hit swy e d so muri e.

11 Thenne gon I meeten a mervelous sweven,

12 That I was in a wilderness e, wuste I never wher e;

13And as I beheold into the est an heigh to the sonn e,

14 I sauh a tour on a toft, try e lyche i-maket;

15A deop dal e bineoth e, a dungun ther-inn e,

16With deop dich and derk and dredful of sight e.

17A feir feld full of folk fond I ther bitwen e,

18 Of all e maner of men, the mene and the rich e,

19Worchinge and wandringe as the world asketh.

 

20 Summ e putten hem to the plough, pleiden ful selden e,

21 In settynge and in sowyng e swonken ful hard e,

22 And wonnen that theos wasturs with glotonye distruen.

23 And summ e putten hem to pruid e, apparaylden hem ther-after,

24In cuntenaunce of clothing e comen disgisid.

25 To preyer e s and to penaunc e putten hem mony e,

26For love of ur Lord liv e den ful streit e,

27In hop e for to hav e hevene-rich e bliss e;

28 As ancr e s and hermyt e s that holdeth hem in heor e cell e s,

29 Coveyt e not in cuntré to cairen about e,

30 For non likerous lyflod e heor e licam to ples e.

31 And summ e chosen chaffar e to cheeven the bettr e,

32As hit semeth to ur e sight e that such e men thryveth;

33 And summ e, murthh e s to maken as munstrals cunn e,

34And get e gold with her e gle, giltles, I trow e.

35 Bote japers and jangelers, Judas children,

36Founden hem fantasy e s and fool e s hem maaden,

37And habbeth wit at heor e will e to worchen yif hem lust e.

38 That Poul precheth of hem, I dar not preoven heer e;

39 Qui loquitur turpiloquium he is Lucifer e s hyn e.

 

40 Bidders and beggers faste aboute eoden,

41 Til heor bagg e s and heore balies weren bretful i-crommet;

42 Feyneden hem for heor e food e, foughten att e al e;

43In glotony e, God wot, gon heo to bedd e,

44 And ryseth up with ribaudy e this roberd e s knav e s;

45 Sleep and sleughth e suweth hem ever e.

 

46 Pilgrimes and palmers plihten hem togeder e s

47 For to sech e Seint Jam e and seint e s at Room e;

48Wenten forth in heor e wey with mony wys e tal e s,

49And hedden lev e to lyen al heor e lyf aftir.

50 Ermyt e s on an hep with hokid e stav e s,

51 Wenten to Walsyngham and her e wenchis after;

52 Gret e lobr e s and long e that loth weor e to swynk e

53Clotheden hem in cop e s to beo knowen for bretheren;

54 And summ e schopen hem to hermyt e s heore es e to hav e.

 

55 I fond there frer e s, all the foure ordr e s,

56 Prechinge the pepl e for profyt of heor e womb e s,

57 Glosynge the Gospel as hem good liketh,

58 For covetyse of cop e s construeth hit ill e;

59 For monye of this maistr e s mowen clothen hem at lyking,

60 For moneye and heor e marchaundi e meeten togeder e;

61 Sethth e Charité hath be chapmon, and cheef to schriven lord e s,

62 Mony ferly e s han bifall e in a few e yer e s.

63 But Holychirche and heo hold e bet togeder e,

64 The most e mischeef on mold e is mountyng up fast e.

 

65 Ther prechede a pardoner, as he a prest wer e,

66And brought forth a bull e with bisschop e s sel e s,

67 And seid e that himself might e asoylen hem all e

68 Of falsnesse and fastinge and of vouw e s i-broken.

69 The lewed e men levide him wel and lik e de his spech e,

70And comen up knelyng e to kissen his bull e;

71 He bonch e de hem with his brevet and bler e d heore eiyen,

72 And raught e with his rag e mon ring e s and broch e s.

73 Thus ye yiveth our e gold glotonis to helpen!

74 And leveth hit to losels that lecherie haunten.

75 Weor e the bisschop i-blesset and worth bothe his er e s,

76His sel shulde not be sent to deceyv e the pepl e.

77It is not al bi the bisschop that the boy e precheth,

78Bote the parisch prest and the pardoner part e the selver

79 That the por e peple of the parisch schulde have yif that heo ne weor e,

80 Person e s and parisch prest e s playneth to heor e bisschops,

81 That heor e parisch hath ben por e sethth e the pestilenc e tym e,

82To have a lycence and lev e at Londun to dwell e,

83 To sing e ther for simony e, for selver is swet e.

 

84 Ther hovide an hundret in houv e s of selk e,

85 Serjauns hit semid e to serven att e barr e;

86Pleden for pens and pound e s the law e,

87 Not for love of ur Lord unloseth heor e lipp e s on e s,

88 Thou mightest beter meten the myst on Malvern e hull e s

89 Then geten a mom of heor e mouth til moneye weor e schew e d!

 

90 I saugh ther bisschops bold e and bachilers of divyn e

91 Bicoom e clerk e s of acount e the king for to serven.

92Erchedeken e s and denis, that dignité haven

93To prech e the pepl e and por e men to feed e,

94 Beon lopen to Londun, bi leve of heor e bisschop e s,

95 To ben clerk e s of the Kyng e s Bench e the cuntré to schend e

 

96 Barouns and burgeis and bond e -men also

97 I saugh in that semblé, as ye schul heren aftur,

98 Bakers, bochers, and breusters mony e,

99 Wollen e -websteris, and weveris of lynen,

100 Taillours, tanneris, and tokkeris both e,

101 Masons, minours, and mony other craft e s,

102 Dykers, and delvers, that don heor e ded e s ill e,

103 And driveth forth the long e day with "Deu vous sav e, Dam Emm e!";

104 Cook e s and heor e knav e s cryen "Hot e pi e s, hot e!

105 "Good e gees and grys! Go we dyn e, go we!"

106Taverners to hem told e the sam e tal e,

107 With wyn of Osey e and win of Gaskoyn e,

108 Of the Ryn and of the Rochel, the rost to defy e,

109 Al this I saugh slepynge and sev e sith e s mor e.

Notes

1 ] Full title, The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman. There are some 45 MSS. of the 14th and 15th centuries. There are three versions of the poem, the A-text (ca. 1362), the B-text (ca. 1377), and the C-text (ca. 1393). First printed 1550. The author is thought to have been William Langland, native of Shropshire and later resident in London as a clerk in minor orders. Some hold that he wrote only the prologue and first eight passus of the A-text and that the remainder, with the two later texts, is the work of other men. The poem consists of a series of allegorical visions which satirize the political and social abuses of the time.

2 ] I arrayed myself in a garment as if were a shepherd.

5 ] Malverne huller. Malvern Hills between Worcestershire and Herefordshire, near the supposed birth-place of the poet.

6 ] ferly. Marvel.
fairie. Enchantment.

7 ] forwandred. Worn out with wandering.

8 ] bourne. Burn's, brook's.

9 ] leonede. Leaned.

10 ] swyed so murie. Sounded so pleasantly.

11 ] meeten a sweven. Dream a dream.

12 ] wuste. Knew.

14 ] sauh. Saw.
tour. Tower.
toft. Open space. (The tower symbolizes Heaven, the dungeon Hell, and the field Earth.)
tryelyche. Choicely, skilfully.
i-maket. Made.

18 ] mene. Mean, common.

20 ] pleiden. Played.

21 ] settynge. Planting.
swonken. Toiled.

22 ] And won what these wasters destroy by their gluttony.

23-24 ] Some gave themselves up to pride (i.e., display) and dressed themselves accordingly, came disguised in the fashion of their clothing.

25 ] Putten hem monye. Many applied themselves.

28 ] ancres. Anchorites.
holdeth hem. Keep themselves.

29 ] cairen. Roam.

30 ] non likerous lyflode. Any luxurious food.
licam. Body.

31 ] chaffare. Trade.
cheeven. Succeed.

33 ] cunne. Know how.

35 ] Bote. But.

38 ] preoven. Adduce.

39 ] He who speaks slander is Lucifer's servant. (The Latin quotation is not from St. Paul and has not been identified.)

40 ] eoden. Went.

41 ] balies. Bellies.
bretful i-crommet. Crammed brim-full.

42 ] Feyneden hem. Practised deception.
atte. At the.

44 ] this roberdes knaves. These robber rascals.

45 ] steughth. Sloth.
suweth. Follow.

46 ] plihten hem. Pledged themselves.

47 ] seche. Seek.
Seint Jame. The shrine of St. James at Compostella in Spain.

50 ] Ermytes. Hermits.
on an hep. In a crowd.

51 ] Walsyngham. The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk.

52 ] lobres. Lubbers.
swynke. Labour.

54 ] schopen hem to hermytes. Shaped, made themselves into hermits.

55 ] foure ordres. The Carmelites (white friars), Augustines (Austin friars), Dominicans (black friars), and Franciscans or Minorites (gray friars).

56 ] wombes. Bellies.

57 ] Glosyng. Interpreting, with already the bad sense of explaining away or wresting.

58 ] On account of their covetousness of fine cloaks they mistranslate it.

59 ] mowen. May.

60 ] Money and their trade are closely related.

61 ] Since these charitable orders have become traders and are the principal confessors of noblemen.

62 ] ferlyes. See on 1. 6.

63 ] But. Unless.
heo. She, or they.
bet. Better (the adverbial form).

64 ] molde. Earth.

65 ] pardoner. A seller of indulgences. See Chaucer's Prologue, 669-714.

67 ] asoylen. Absolve.

68 ] vouwes i-broken. Broken vows.

69 ] lewede. Ignorant (O.E. Iœewed, lay, unlearned).
levide. Believed.

71 ] bonchede. Struck.
brevet. Letter (of indulgence).
blered heore eiyen. Bleared their eyes, deluded them.

72 ] raughte. Reached, i.e. got.
ragemon. A document with a long list of names; sometimes called rageman-rolle, hence modern rigmarole. Here the papal licence with the names and seals of many bishops attached. See Chaucer, Cant. Tales, C, 334-342.

73 ] yiveth. Give.
oure. Your.

74 ] losels. Rascals.
haunten. Practise.

75 ] eres. Ears.

79 ] yif that heo ne weore. If they did not exist, if it were not for them.

80 ] Persones. Parsons.
playneth. Complain.

81 ] seththe. Since.
pestilence. The Black Death of 1348-9; there was a second plague in 1361-2, shortly before this was written.

83 ] singe ther for simonye. To obtain appointments as chantry-priests to sing masses for the souls of the dead at better pay and with less labour than that entailed by their parish duties. Hence the accusation of simony (see Acts, viii.18).

84 ] hoved. Hovered, lingered about.
houves of selke. Silk coifs or hoods.

85 ] Serjauns. Sergeants, lawyers of high rank. See the description of one in Chaucer's Prologue, 309-330.

87 ] ones. Once.

88 ] meten. Measure.

89 ] mom. Mumble.

90 ] divyne. Divinity.

91 ] clerkes of acounte. Accountants.

94 ] Ben lopen. Have leapt, i.e. run.

95 ] schende. Injure.

96 ] burgeis. Burgesses.

97 ] semblé. Assembly.

98 ] bochers. Butchers.
breusters. Brewers.

99 ] Wollene-websteris. Weavers of wool.

100 ] tokkeris. Tuckers, finishers of cloth.

101 ] minours. Miners.

102 ] Dykers. Diggers of ditches.
don heore dedes ille. Do their work badly.

103 ] And spend the whole day long in singing popular songs. The song "God save you, Dame Emma" may have been the same as a ballad sung by a minstrel at Winchester in 1338, telling of the trial of Emma, wife of King Canute, for adultery, and with a refrain as above sung by the audience.

104 ] knaves. Boys, servants.

105 ] gryse: pigs.

107 ] Oseye: Alsace.

108 ] Ryn: Rhine.
defye: defy, i.e., withstand, digest.

109 ] seve sithes more. Seven times more than this.

Online text copyright © 2005, Ian Lancashire for the Department of English, University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.

Original text: unspecified ("A-text").
First publication date: 1370
RPO poem editor: N. J. Endicott
RP edition: 2RP.1.6; RPO 1996-2000.
Recent editing: 2:2002/4/18

Composition date: 1362
Form note: alliterative