William Langland Knihy

The magnificent heritage of English poetry before Chaucer is often neglected because of difficulties with unfamiliar dialect. These translations reveal what we are missing if we ignore it. Piers Plowman belongs to the tradition of medieval allegory, but without any of the stuffiness that label suggests. It paints a vivid picture of everyday life in the 14th century with a vigour and detail which anticipates The Canterbury Tales. However, the jewel in the crown of Middle English verse is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, here presented in the classic version by JRR Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings (currently being filmed). A wonderfully told story which combines suspense, fantasy, exquisite domestic detail and sensuality.

The book offers a contemporary English translation of the 14th-century Middle English poem "Piers Plowman," focusing on the A version, recognized as the shortest and most authentic. It includes comprehensive annotations to enhance understanding and is accompanied by an introduction that provides essential historical and literary context, enriching the reader's experience of this classic work.

Written by a fourteenth-century cleric, this spiritual allegory explores man in relation to his ultimate destiny against the background of teeming, colorful medieval life.

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 "Sources and Backgrounds" includes a large collection of contemporary religious and historical documents pertaining to the poem, including selections from the Douai Bible, accounts of the plague, and legal statutes.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

This book presents the classic work of William Langland, The Vision of Piers the Plowman, in a modern English translation by Walter W. Skeat. The Vision of Piers the Plowman is one of the most important works of medieval English literature, blending religious allegory and social satire with vignettes of everyday life. Skeat's translation makes this seminal work accessible to modern readers.

This book presents three parallel editions of William Langland's poem Piers Plowman, a landmark in medieval English literature. Edited by Walter W. Skeat, a leading scholar of Middle English, it provides valuable insights into the language, style, and themes of the poem, as well as its historical and cultural context.

The Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman is a 14th-century Middle English allegory about the quest for a true Christian life. The Vernon Text is one of the three surviving versions of the poem, and contains vivid imagery and thoughtful reflections on the nature of social and religious life in medieval England. This edition features modern English translations alongside the original text, and provides valuable insights into the social, political, and religious landscape of the time. It is a must-read for scholars and literature enthusiasts alike.