The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2 — Reading Notes

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In Category - Historical Psychological Social Fiction

Authors: Langland, William, 1330?-1400?, Wright, Thomas, 1810-1877 [Editor] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2013 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Poetry Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 82,610

Reading time 360 min

Text sections 22

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #43661

In this second volume of Langland's allegorical poem, the active man Haukyn laments his soiled coat, Conscience prescribes contrition, and sharp critiques target flatterers and false minstrels, with Latin glosses and editorial notes illuminating medieval pilgrimage and social satire.

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And was shryven of the preest That gaf me for my synnes To penaunce pacience And povere men to fede, 8920 Al for coveitise of my cristendom In clennesse to kepen it. {274} And kouthe I nevere, by Crist! Kepen it clene an houre, That I ne soiled it with sighte Or som ydel speche, Or thorugh werk, or thorugh word, Or wille of myn herte, That I ne flobre it foule Fro morwe til even." 8930

"And I shal kenne thee," quod Conscience, "Of contricion to make That shal clawe thi cote Of alle kynnes filthe. _Cordis contritio, etc._ Do-wel shal wasshen and wryngen it Thorugh a wis confessour. _Oris confessio, etc._ Do-bet shal beten it and bouken it As bright as any scarlet, 8940 And engreyven it with good wille And Goddes grace to amende the, And sithen sende thee to satisfaccion For to sowen it after. _Satisfactio Do-best._

"Shal nevere cheeste by-molen it, Ne mothe after biten it, Ne fend ne fals man Defoulen it in thi lyve. Shal noon heraud ne harpour 8950 Have a fairer garnement Than Haukyn the actif man, And thow do by my techyng; Ne no mynstrall be moore worth Amonges povere and riche, Than Haukyns wif the wafrer, {275} With his _activa vita_."

"And I shal purveie thee paast," quod Pacience, "Though no plough erye, And flour to fede folk with 8960 As best be for the soule, Though nevere greyn growed, Ne grape upon vyne. To alle that lyveth and loketh Liflode wolde I fynde, And that y-nogh shal noon faille Of thyng that hem nedeth, We sholde noght be to bisy Abouten oure liflode," _Ne solliciti sitis, etc. Volucres coeli 8970 Deus pascit, etc. Patientes vincunt._

Thanne laughed Haukyn a litel, And lightly gan swerye, "Who so leveth yow, by oure Lord! I leve noght he be blessed."

"No," quod Pacience paciently; And out of his poke hente Vitailles of grete vertues For alle manere beestes, 8980 And seide, "Lo here liflode y-nogh! If oure bileve be trewe. For lent nevere was lif, But liflode were shapen, Wher-of or wher-fore Or wher-by to libbe.

"First the wilde worm Under weet erthe, Fissh to lyve in the flood, {276} And in the fir the criket, 8990 The corlew by kynde of the eyr Moost clennest flessh of briddes, And bestes by gras and by greyn And by grene rootes, In menynge that alle men Myghte the same Lyve thorugh leel bileve And love, as God witnesseth." _Quodcunque petieritis a patre in nomine meo, etc. Et alibi: 9000 Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore Dei._

But I lokede what liflode it was That Pacience so preisede; And thanne was it a pece of the pater-noster, _Fiat voluntas tua._

"Have, Haukyn," quod Pacience, "And et this whan the hungreth, Or whan thow clomsest for cold, 9010 Or clyngest for drye; Shul nevere gyves thee greve, Ne gret lordes wrathe, Prison ne peyne; For _patientes vincunt_. By so that thow be sobre Of sighte and of tonge, In etynge and in handlynge, And in alle thi fyve wittes, Darstow nevere care for corn, 9020 Ne lynnen cloth ne wollen, Ne for drynke, ne deeth drede, But deye as God liketh, {277} Or thorugh hunger or thorugh hete, At his wille be it. For if thow lyve after his loore, The shorter lif the bettre. _Si quis amat Christum, Mundum non diliget istum._

"For thorugh his breeth beestes woxen 9030 And a-brood yeden. _Dixit et facta sunt, etc._ _Ergo_ thorugh his breeth mowen Men and beestes lyven, As holy writ witnesseth, Whan men seye hir graces. _Aperis tu manum tuam, et imples omne animal benedictione._

"It is founden that fourty wynter Folk lyvede withouten tulying; 9040 And out of the flynt sprong the flood That folk and beestes dronken; And in Elyes tyme Hevene was y-closed, That no reyn ne roon; Thus rede men in bokes 9046 That many wyntres men lyveden, And no mete ne tulieden.

"Sevene slepe, as seith the book, Sevene hundred wynter, And lyveden withouten liflode, And at the laste thei woken. And if men lyvede as mesure wolde, Sholde nevere moore be defaute Amonges cristene creatures, If Cristes wordes ben trewe.

"Ac unkyndenesse _caristiam_ maketh 9056 {278} Amonges cristen peple; And over plentee maketh pryde Amonges poore and riche. Therfore mesure is muche worth, 9060 It may noght be to deere; For the meschief and the meschaunce Amonges men of Sodome, Weex thorugh plentee of payn, And of pure sleuthe. _Otiositas et abundantia panis peccatum turpissimum nutrivit._ For thei mesured noght hemself Of that thei ete and dronke, Thei diden dedly synne 9070 That the devel liked, So vengeaunce fil upon hem For hir vile synnes; Thei sonken into helle, The citees echone.

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Haukyn the active man opens Passus Decimus Quartus with a complaint about his single garment: it is soiled, seldom clean, and he sleeps in it nightly. His wife and children besmear it often, despite his efforts. He has washed it in Lent and out of Lent with the soap of sickness, yet cannot keep it clean an hour. This vivid, homely image of a stained coat becomes the central metaphor for moral imperfection, as Conscience promises that contrition will claw the coat clean, Do-wel wash it, Do-bet beat and buck it bright as scarlet, and Do-best send it to satisfaction.

The Soiled Coat as Moral Metaphor

Haukyn’s garment is not merely dirty; it is the physical emblem of a life entangled in worldly cares. He lists the sources of stain: sight, idle speech, work, word, and will of heart. The repeated phrase “I ne soiled it with sighte / Or som ydel speche” grounds the allegory in everyday failings. Conscience’s response introduces a tripartite scheme—Do-wel, Do-bet, Do-best—each performing a stage of purification: washing, beating, and sowing. The Latin tags Cordis contritio, Oris confessio, and Satisfactio anchor the process in sacramental theology. The promise that no herald or harper shall have a fairer garment than Haukyn’s, if he follows the teaching, ties moral reform to social honor.

Flatterers and False Minstrels at the Feast

A later passage delivers a biting critique of lords and ladies who feed “fool sages, flaterers and lyers” while refusing the poor. The text aligns flatterers with the devil’s procurators, who entice men to sin through tales. Clerks who know this should teach lords what David said: Non habitabit in medio domus meæ qui facit superbiam. The poet contrasts these false minstrels with true ones: the poor, a learned man who teaches Christ’s suffering, and a blind man or bedridden woman who cry “a largesse” before the Lord. These three kinds of minstrels bring comfort at death, while flatterers lead their hearers to Lucifer’s feast, accompanied by Turpiloquio, a lay of sorrow, and Lucifer’s fiddle.

Editorial Annotations and the Pilgrim’s Gear

Thomas Wright’s footnotes provide historical context for the pilgrim’s accoutrements: “Signes of Synay, and shelles of Galice … keyes of Rome.” He explains that these items indicated holy sites visited, and quotes a modern poet’s description of the Palmer’s scallop shell and Peter’s keys. A note on “Seint Thomas shryne” references Erasmus’s account of the shrine’s glory. Another gloss on “eten apples un-rosted” calls it a burlesque quotation of scripture, citing a parallel in Reliquiæ Antiquæ. These annotations bridge the medieval poem to a Victorian readership, illuminating the material culture of pilgrimage and the period’s scholarly humor.

Readers approaching this volume will find a poem that moves between intimate confession and broad social satire, often within the same passus. The Latin quotations are not ornamental but structural, marking stages of penance or biblical authority. Wright’s notes, though occasionally antiquarian, help decode the allegory’s contemporary references. Attending to the recurring imagery of garments, feasts, and minstrelsy will reveal the poem’s sustained argument about true and false service to God and community.

Reading how Haukyn frets over his stained coat, I found myself thinking of Wordsworth’s quiet reckoning with the ordinary and the overlooked. Both linger like a half-remembered walk—not loud, but present. There’s a warmth in The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 6 (of 8) — Themes and Context that felt like a hand resting on my shoulder, asking me to sit with the dust rather than brush it away.