Product Description
Piers Plowman is one of the most significant works of medieval literature. Astonishing in its cultural and theological scope, William Langland's iconoclastic masterpiece is at once a historical relic and a deeply spiritual vision, probing not only the social and religious aristocracy but also the day-to-day realities of a largely voiceless proletariat class.

E. Talbot Donaldson's translation of the text has been selected for this Norton Critical Edition because of its skillful emulation of the original poem's distinct alliterative verse. Selections of the authoritative Middle English text are also included for comparative analysis.

"Sources and Backgrounds" includes a large collection of contemporary religious and historical documents pertaining to the poem, including selections from the Douai Bible, accounts of the plague, and legal statutes.

"Criticism" includes twenty interpretive essays by leading medievalists, among them E. Talbot Donaldson, George Kane, Jill Mann, Derek Pearsall, C. David Benson, and Elizabeth D. Kirk.

A Glossary and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The best edition for those who are new to Langland
Piers Plowman by William Langland. Edited by Elizabeth Robertson and Stephen H. A. Shepherd. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006. Paperback, 644 pages. ISBN 0393975592

The Norton Critical Edition of Piers Plowman is, without doubt, one of the best editions of the poem that have ever appeared for readers who are new to Langland.

It's great value lies in the fact that, besides giving the complete Middle English text of the B-version of this wonderful poem, it also provides, on facing pages, the excellent Modern English translation of E. Talbot Donaldson. In this way, the poem is made available even to readers who may know little or no Middle English.

Langland's English can be difficult and his allusions obscure, but most difficulties and obscurities are here easily resolved either by glancing across at the translation on the facing page or down at the useful footnotes which have been placed where they should be at the bottom of each page.

Langland wrote his poem - and it was in his time an enormously popular poem - not for scholars or students (in which case it would have been written entirely in Latin) but for ordinary people like you and me. And the present edition has, with its Middle English text plus Modern English translation, provided us with everything the general reader really needs.

But besides the actual texts of the poem, the publishers have generously provided almost 300 pages of supplementary material that the more studious will find useful: Sources and Backgrounds, Critical Essays, Selected Bibliography, etc.

The book is well-printed (though the typeface might have been a tad larger) on a good quality paper (and not on the near-newsprint that publishers such as Penguin have no shame in inflicting on their readers today). The binding is a flexible thermoplastic that should hold up to use. And the paper cover (which might have been a bit sturdier) features a beautiful color facsimile of a page from a medieval manuscript of the poem. This illustration of Lady Mede (money power) being borne about will come to have a very deep meaning as you move into the poem.

All in all, then, the Norton Critical Edition of Piers Plowman is an edition I have no hesitation in recommending. Readers who are new to the poem and who acquire this amazingly full and reasonably-priced edition are in for a very special treat.

William Langland's voice is a unique voice, a powerful yet compassionate voice that brings the whole of Medieval England in all it's color and bustle and excitement and joys and sorrows alive before our eyes.

Although the poem was written over six hundred years ago, new readers will find that many of Langland's concerns are still very much our own; the trappings or outer forms of society may have changed since the fourteenth century, but human nature itself certainly hasn't changed and life's sorrows are still very much with us. But so, happily, are its joys!

I think you will find that Piers Plowman provides us with a full and rich measure of both.

Good for non-medievalists
I'm a Piers Plowman scholar, and in my proselytizing for Langland, this is the book I give to all my friends and family for Christmas, birthdays, etc. (lucky them). I don't think any of them have attempted to read it yet, but when they do, they will find the facing-page translation to be accessible, the Middle English to be a fun puzzle, the introduction and accompanying essays to be quite helpful.

For advanced English majors who have read Chaucer in Middle English and want the next step up--or for grad students reading PP for a class or comprehensive exams--the best edition is A.V.C. Schmidt's from the Everyman's Library.

And for quotation in articles, the Athlone editions of the A, B, and C texts are required. ... Read more

Product Description

William Langland's Piers Plowman is one of the major poetic monuments of medieval England and of world literature. Probably composed between 1372 and 1389, the poem survives in three distinct versions. It is known to modern readers largely through the middle of the three, the so-called B-text. Now, George Economou's verse translation of the poet's third version makes available for the first time in modern English the final revision of a work that many have regarded as the greatest Christian poem in our language.

Langland's remarkable powers of invention and his passionate involvement with the spiritual, social, and political crises of his time lay claim to our attention, and demand serious comparison with Dante's Divine Comedy. Economou's translation preserves the intensity of the poet's verse and the narrative energy of his alliterative long line, the immediacy of the original's story of the quest for salvation, and the individuality of its language and wordplay.

Customer Reviews (2)

A great translation of a great vision
The poem of 'Piers the Ploughman' is often considered to be anonymously composed, as the name William Langland was less an authorial designation as it was an inscription on the back of a manuscript - it would be as if I would be assigned the authorship of the O.E.D. because, in some future time, the only remaining copy was missing the title pages, but still had the hard-cover with my 'ex libris' impression on it. Be that as it may, Langland is considered at least as likely an author as any other, and becomes a sort of stand-in, an 'everyman' for his time period. A few details of this Langland are known - he was a wanderer, a constant reviser (the poem goes through several revisions that scholars have designated as texts A, B, and C (and some argue for Z). This is not a spiritual autobiography, as J.F. Goodridge states in his introduction to another edition, but there are no doubt autobiographical elements in the text. That the lead character is named 'Will' helps in this identification.

This poem stands alongside Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' as one of the great products of Middle English; this also has the character of being a different sort of Middle English than Chaucer's more courtly, continental influenced variety. Thus, it gives breadth to the history of the English language. Goodridge ranks Langland as a great English poet on a par with Spenser, Milton, Wordsworth and Yeats, as representative of his age both in topics as well as language facility.

This epic poem deals with themes familiar for the time - like Dante and Milton, Langland deals with the grand ideas of the meaning of life and the destiny of humankind. However, unlike Dante and Milton, Will and Piers the Ploughman do not go through a mystical, otherworldly adventure or journey, but rather stays rooted to the earth. These are dream sequences, but these too need not be otherworldly - they are things that can happen to every person. The ideas of the seven deadly sins, the virtues, the church, and the images of heaven and hell are very much rooted to regular society images of the same. The discussion of the allegorical characters, aptly named Do-Well, Do-Better, and Do-Best, does much for the moral teaching of this poem, which would have been of primary concern to the author.

Langland's text is often more Old English than Chaucerian in ways. It is far more alliterative, a strong component taken from Old English. Also, it is less metrical in rhythm than Chaucer - there is a pause in each line akin to older English poetry, but the metre is less secure.

There are over 50 non-related texts of the poem that have survived the Middle Ages, that vary from minor to major changes throughout. Reconciling these is rather like attempting to reconcile the gospels of the Bible, and then adding to that task the discovery of other non-canonical gospels. It leads to rich discussion, but less agreement.

George Economou, who has translated ancient and medieval poetry from many different langauges, has taken as his base text the lesser-used C text for this translation.Economou includes a good introductory essay, a selected bibliography, and a good verse translation that preserves many elements of the original, such as alliteration.

This is one of the classics of English literature, perhaps the least known among them.

an excellent translation
Though a difficult work, Piers Plowman is definitely worth reading for anyone studying English literature.This allegorical dream-vision follows the narrator, Will, on his journey though the world and into the depths ofthe human consciousness.Always vivid and imaginative, sometimes evenhumorous, this poem is a fascinating glimpse into mid fourteenth centuryEngland.Economou's translation of the lesser-read C text is oftenpoetically quite beautiful and always easy for a modern reader tounderstand. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Beautiful, Scholarly Edition
This edition of the C-text is handsomely presented and appears to have good notes. It appears to be the only commonly available edition of the C in Middle English (and interspersed Latin), and while I have some reservations about the rather large format, this is not a book that most of us will be taking to the beach for some light reading, anyway.
Editorial questions aside, I highly recommend the Plowman to anyone interested in good poetry and the medieval mindset. Langland was an alliterative genius, and this poetic form, so natural for the English language, allows for amazing depth of expression, not to mention being a refreshing change from rhyming metrical composition and from the stiff blandness of most modern so-called verse. The poem also opens a window on a whole way of thought that is rarely seen today, one grounded in religion and hierarchy. One prize example of this is the mind-expanding re-telling of the old cat-and-bell fable in the prologue, which the author transforms into an argument for obedience to even a flawed authority as better than popular rule.
Before you start in on this rewarding adventure in reading, I would offer a couple warnings:
1) This is not an easy read. Even with the notes, Middle English takes some getting used to, and Langland is a bit more difficult than Chaucer. He also includes a massive battery of historical, religious and philosophical references. Don't expect to understand all of them on the first try.
2) Accurate knowledge of Catholicism is extremely helpful. Langland was definitely Catholic(despite some intellectual blunders on his part), and this heavily influences his characters' thoughts and actions. Catholics who forgot their catechism lessons and non-Catholics will be very confused without prior study.
And now, why don't you get away from your computer screen and buckle down to some difficult but all the more enjoyable literature? Life is short, and you've got a lot of reading to do.

Accessible edition of an intriguing poem

This new edition has an extended introduction, expanded notes, new line-end annotations for "difficult" words, and retains a useful glossary. Pearsall's edition has just the right aids to enable the non-expert to gain access to this deeply strange work, without spoiling the fun by draining it of its challenge and magic with scholarly analysis. Economou's translation of the C text is recommended as a companion for newcomers. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This edition is the first complete edition of the C-text of "Piers Plowman" since that of Skeat (1886). It has been prepared with recognition of the complexity of the work, and also of its significance as a record of social and religious conflict and crises in a turbulent age. ... Read more

Product Description
This definitive and long-awaited edition of the C Version of Piers Plowman now joins the California editions of the A and B Versions to complete the set of Piers Plowman texts prepared under the general editorship of George Kane. Piers Plowman is the single most important Middle English poem, with the exception of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The forty-eight extant manuscripts of the poem are classified in three main versions: A, the earliest, written about 1362; B, a longer revision, written about 1378; and C, the most finished and public form, written about 1394. The basis of this edition is the text in Huntingon Library MS 143, corrected and restored from the evidence of all known manuscripts of the C tradition to that of the first fair copy of the poet's revision materials. The correction and restoration are described in an extensive introduction, and there is a full apparatus of variant readings. Two appendices cover excluded lines and passages and the Ilchester Prologue. ... Read more

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This collection of newly written essays provides a fresh examination of some of the issues central to the study of this poem, including an exploration of its relevance to contemporary literary theory and to 14th century culture and ideology. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR’d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Part of a series on authors of the Middle Ages, this work deals with William Langland, who wrote "Piers Plowman" in the latter half of the 14th century. What is known of his life and context is re-examined here in the light of modern scholarship, along with textual evidence and data. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1894.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Professor Du Boulay's book is both a highly readable introduction to Langland's work and an original contribution to the history of religious thought. It rejects the view that Langland was primarily a political radical or a prophet of doom and sees him as both a great imaginative poet and a preacher of Christian charity. Writing in an age of intellectual subtlety and shifting social frontiers, Langland expressed deep anxieties yet offered to his fellow-Christians a way of interior repentance and practical love, guided by the enigmatic figure of Piers. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more