T h e N o r t o n Anthology

o»r Poetry

FIFTH EDITION

Margaret Ferguson
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

Mary Jo Salter
M O U N T HOLYOKE C O L L E G E

Jon Stallworthy
OXFORD UNIVERSITY

W • W • NORTON & COMPANY • New York • London

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Norton anthology of poetry / [edited by] Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, Jon
Stallworthy.—5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-393-97920-2 (pbk.)
1. English poetry. 2. American poetry. I. Ferguson, Margaret, W., 1948— II. Salter,
Mary Jo. III. Stallworthy, Jon.
PR1174.N6 2004b
821.008—dc22 2004058100

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
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 71

WILLIAM LANGLAND
ca. 1330-ca. 1400

Piers Plowman 1
In a somer seson, whan softe was the sonne, 0 sun
I shoop me into shroudes as I a sheep were, 2
In habite as an heremite unholy of werkes, 3
Wente wide in this world wondres to here. 0 hear
Ac 0 on a May morwenynge 4 on Malverne Hilles but; and
Me bifel a ferly, of Fairye me thoghte. 5
I was wery [of] wandred and wente me to reste
Under a brood bank by a bournes 0 syde; stream's
And as I lay and lenede and loked on the watres,
I slombred into a slepyng, it sweyed so murye.° merry
Thanne gan [me] to meten° a merveillous swevene 0 — dream I dream
That I was in a wildernesse, wiste 0 I nevere where. knew
As I biheeld into the eest an heigh to the sonne, 6
I seigh a tour° on a toft0 trieliche ymaked, 7 tower I knoll
A deep dale 0 bynethe, a dongeon 0 therinne, valley I dungeon
With depe diches and derke and dredfulle of sighte.
A fair feeld ful of folk fond 8 I ther bitwene—
Of alle manere 0 of men, the meene 0 and the riche, kinds I lowly
Werchynge 0 and wandrynge as the world asketh. 0 working I requires
Somme putten hem° to the plough, pleiden 0 ful themselves I flaying
selde, 0 seldom
In settynge 0 and sowynge swonken 0 ful harde, planting / toiled
And wonnen that thise wastours with glotonye destroyeth 9
And somme putten hem° to pride, apparailed hem themselves
therafter,

1. Probably composed between 1360 and 1387, 2. I.e., I dressed in garments as if I were either a
The Vision of Piers Plowman is a long religious, sheep or a shepherd.
social, and political allegory. It is written in allit- 3. Perhaps meaning one without holy works to his
erative verse in a west-midlands dialect, which dif- credit, but not necessarily one of sinful works. In
fers in many ways from that used by Chaucer in habite . . . heremite: thus the simple clothes resem-
the nearly contemporaneous Canterbury Tales. ble those of a hermit.
Piers survives in several distinct versions, which 4. Traveling forth on a May morning often initi-
scholars refer to as the A-, B-, C-, and Z-texts. The ated a dream vision in medieval poetry. As the set-
A-text (about twenty-four hundred lines) breaks off ting of the vision, the "Malverne Hills," in the West
inconclusively; the B-text, which we follow here, is Midlands, are generally thought to have been the
about four thousand lines longer. The C-text is site of Langland's early home (if such a person
poetically and doctrinally more conservative. existed; see biographical sketch, p. 2107).
Recently, scholars have focused on the Z-text as 5. I.e., a marvel ("ferly") that seemed to be from
possibly being an earlier text than the other three. fairyland.
That a large number of manuscripts (and two 6. I.e., looked toward the east on high, toward the
sixteenth-century printed editions) survive sug- sun. Both the east and the sun symbolize Christ.
gests that the poem was quite popular during the 7. This phrase has several possible meanings,
early modern period. including "well or wonderfully made" and "made
The poem takes the form of a dream vision, a like a tree," i.e., like the cross.
popular genre during the Middle Ages in which the 8. Found. The fair field of folk is commonly inter-
author presents a story as the dream of the main preted as a representation of the world, situated
character. The selection here from the poem's pro- between heaven (the tower) and hell (the dungeon
logue introduces the dreamer's vision of the Field in the valley).
of Folk, which represents fourteenth-century 9. I.e., and won that which wasters destroyed with
English society and its failures to live in accor- gluttony. An opposition between winners and wast-
dance with Christian principles. ers was a common idea during the period.
72 / WILLIAM LANGLAND

In contenaunce of clothynge comen disgised. 1

In preieres 0 and penaunce putten hem manye, prayers
Al for love of Oure Lord lyveden 0 ful streyte 0 living I strictly
In hope to have heveneriche 0 blisse— heavenly
As ancres and heremites that holden hem in hire selles,
Coveiten noght in contree to cairen aboute
For no likerous liflode hire likame to plese. 2
And somme chosen chaffare; 0 they cheveden 0 the trade I succeeded
bettre—
As it semeth to oure sight that swiche men thryveth;
And somme murthes 0 to make as mynstralles entertainments
konne, 0 know how
And geten gold with hire 0 glee°—synnelees, 0 I their I singing I guiltless
leeve.° believe
Ac japeres 0 and jangeleres, Judas children, 3 jesters
Feynen hem fantasies, and fooles hem maketh,
And han wit at wille to werken if they sholde. 4
That Poul 5 precheth of hem I wol nat preve° it here: prove
Qui loquitur turpiloquium is Luciferes hyne. 6
Bidderes 0 and beggeres faste aboute yede° beggars /-went
[Til] hire bely and hire bagge [were] bredful ycrammed; 7
Faiteden 0 for hire foode, foughten at the ale.° begged falsely / alehouse
In glotonye, God woot, 0 go thei to bedde, knows
And risen with ribaudie, 0 tho Roberdes knaves; 8 obscenities
Sleep and sory0 sleuthe 0 seweth hem evere. 0 wretched I sloth I follow
Pilgrymes and palmeres plighten hem togidere
To seken Seint Jame and seintes in Rome; 9
Wenten forth in hire wey° with many wise tales, 0 way I speeches
And hadden leve 0 to lyen° al hire lif after. leave I tell lies
I seigh° somme that seiden 0 thei hadde ysought seintes: saw I said
To ech a tale that thei tolde hire tonge was tempred 0 to lye tuned
Moore than to seye sooth, 0 it semed bi hire speche. truth
Heremytes on an heep° with hoked° staves crowd I crooked
Wenten to Walsyngham 1 —and hire wenches after:
Grete lobies and longe that lothe were to swynke

1. I.e., and dressed themselves accordingly, dis- resemblance to his words in Ephesians 5.4 and
guised in an outward show of finery. Colossians 3.8.
2. I.e., like anchorites and hermits who keep to 7. I.e., until their bellies and their bags were
their cells, instead of coveting to wander ("cairen") crammed to the brimful; a bag was carried by beg-
about the land ("contree") to indulge their bodies gars for receiving the food bestowed on them as
("likame") with a luxurious way of life ("likerous alms.
liflode"). An anchorite (male) or anchoress 8. A term for robbers; "roberdes" men were lawless
(female) vowed to live a reclusive, religious life in vagabonds, notorious for their crimes during the
a cell. period when Piers Plowman was written.
3. A proverbial term for sinners. 9. I.e., pilgrims and palmers pledged themselves
4. I.e., they devise fantasies and make fools of to visit famous shrines of the day. Palmers were
themselves even though they possess intelligence pilgrims who had gone to the Holy Land and car-
if they should choose to work. ried a palm leaf or a badge in token of their journey.
5. Perhaps an allusion to St. Paul's words in 2 The shrine of St. James, or Santiago, was a famous
Thessalonians 3.10: "For even when we were with place of pilgrimage in Spain, and one of the four
you, this we commanded you, that if any would not pilgrimages assigned as penance for particularly
work, neither should he eat." grave sins. Rome was known for its many shrines.
6. "He who utters foul speech" (Latin) is the 1. The Walsingham shrine was the most famous
Devil's servant; the quotation is not from St. Paul shrine in England dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
(nor does Langland say it is), but it bears some
 P I E R S PLOWMAN / 73

Clothed hem in copes to ben knowen from othere,

And shopen hem heremytes hire ese to have. 2
I fond there freres, alle the foure ordres, 3
Prechynge the peple for profit of [the] womb[e]:° belly
Glosed the gospel as hem good liked; 4
For coveitise of copes construwed it as thei wolde.
Manye of this maistres freres mowe clothen hem at likyng5
For hire moneie° and marchaundise marchen togideres. money
For sith charite hath ben chapman and chief to shryve lordes
Manye ferlies 0 han fallen in a fewe yeres. wondrous events
But Holy Chirche and hii holde bettre togidres
The mooste meschief on molde is mountynge up faste. 7
Ther preched a pardoner as he a preest were: 8
Broughte forth a bulle with bisshopes seles,
And seide that hymself myghte assoillen 0 hem alle absolve
Of falshede 0 of fastynge, of avowes 0 ybroken. deceit I vows
Lewed 0 men leved hym wel and liked hise wordes, unlearned
Comen up knelynge to kissen hise bulles.
He bonched hem with his brevet and blered hire eighen,
And raughte with his rageman rynges and broches. 9
Thus [ye] gyven [youre] gold glotons to helpe,
And leneth it losels that leccherie haunten! 1
Were the bisshop yblessed and worth bothe his eris,
His seel 2 sholde noght be sent to deceyve the peple.
Ac it is noght by the bisshop that the boy precheth 3 —
For the parisshe preest and the pardoner parten° the silver divide
That the povere 0 [peple] of the parissche sholde have if they poor
ne were.
Persons 0 and parisshe preestes pleyned 0 hem to rectors I complained
the bisshop
That hire parisshes weren povere sith the pestilence 0 tyme, plague
To have a licence and leve 0 at London to dwelle, permission

2. Lubbers ("Iobies") or tall ("longe") idle louts, ishment by the Church for the sin, but not for-
who are loath to work ("swynke"), disguised them- giveness from the guilt of the sin. While the
selves as hermits to have their comfort. Copes: the payment was supposed to be a voluntary contri-
special dress of friars or monks. bution to the works of the Church, the system was
3. The four orders of friars: the Carmelites; open to the kind of abuse shown in this pardoner.
Augustinians; Dominicans, or Jacobins; and Fran- A papal bull was a formal statement of "indul-
ciscans. gence," and the seals of bishops in whose diocese
4. Complaints were frequently made in medieval the pardoner was (ostensibly) licensed to preach
literature that friars interpreted ("glosed") the were affixed to it.
Scriptures to serve their own purposes. 9. I.e., he struck ("bonched") them with his doc-
5. I.e., many of these masters can ("mowe") dress ument ("brevet"), and bleared their eyes, and thus
themselves as they like. got ("raughte") rings and brooches with his bull
6. I.e., since Charity (or those who claim to work ("rageman": a long parchment with ragged edges),
for it) has become a merchant and first ("chief") to in payment for pardon.
hear the confessions ("shryve") of noblemen; allud- 1. I.e., thus you give your gold to help gluttons,
ing to money received by friars for hearing confes- and hand it ("leneth") to wretches ("losels") who
sions. indulge in lechery.
7. I.e., unless Holy Church and they ("hii": i.e., 2. Seal of authorization. Worth bothe his eris: i.e.,
the friars) hold together better, then great misfor- worthy to have his ears, being alert and vigilant.
tune ("meschief") on Earth ("molde") is coming. 3. I.e., it is not with the bishop's permission that
8. I.e., as if he were a priest. A pardoner was the rogue preaches. Thus, the pardoner has illicitly
empowered by the pope to supply an indulgence obtained the bishop's seal; moreover, he has bribed
for a sin, in return for some payment toward the the parish priest and divides the money with him.
Church. An indulgence granted remission of pun-
74 / WILLIAM LANGLAND

And syngen ther for symonie 4 for silver is swete.

Bisshopes and bachelers, bothe maistres and doctours—
That han cure under Crist, and crownynge in tokene
And signe that thei sholden shryven hire parisshens,
Prechen and praye for hem, and the povere fede—
Liggen in Londoun in Lenten and ellis. 5
Somme serven the King and his silver tellen, 0 keep account of
In the Cheker and in the Chauncelrie chalangen hise dettes
Of wardes and of wardemotes, weyves and streyves. 6
And somme serven as servaunts lordes and ladies,
And in stede° of stywardes sitten and demen. 0 position /judge
Hire messe° and hire matyns 0 and many of Masses / morning prayers
hire houres 0 divine offices
Arn doone undevoutliche; 0 drede is at the laste undevoutly
Lest Crist in his Consistorie acorse 7 ful manye!
I parcewed 0 of the power that Peter hadde to kepe— comprehended
To bynden and to unbynden, as the Book telleth 8 —
How he it lefte with love as Oure Lorde highte 0 commanded
Amonges foure vertues, 9 most vertuous of alle vertues,
That cardinals ben called and closynge yates 1
There Crist is in kyngdom, to close and to shette, 0 shut
And to opene it to hem and hevene blisse shewe.
Ac of the Cardinals at court that kaughte of that name
And power presumed in hem a Pope to make
To han the power that Peter hadde, impugnen I nelle 2 -
For in love and lettrure 0 the eleccion 3 bilongeth; learning
Forthi° I kan and kan naught of court speke moore. therefore

4. I.e., and sing Masses for payment; simony: the 8. In Matthew 16.15, Christ tells Peter: "And I
practice of buying or selling ecclesiastical prefer- will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
ment. After the plague caused depopulation and a heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
loss of tithes and income, many priests went to shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou
London to make money by saying Masses for the shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
souls of rich dead persons. 9. The four cardinal virtues: prudence, temper-
5. I.e., those who have responsibility under Christ, ance, fortitude, and justice.
and clerical tonsure (or "crownynge": the part of a 1. Closing gates. A rough translation of Latin car-
monk's or priest's head that has been shaved) as a dinalis, which is derived from cardo, or hinge; thus
symbol of their responsibility to hear the confes- the power of the four cardinal virtues is made into
sions of their parishioners, instead reside ("Lig- the power of the hinges on the gates to heaven,
gen") in London during Lent (the busiest time of where Christ rules. The word "cardinals" also plays
the Christian year) and at other times ("ellis"). on a double meaning, referring to the cardinals of
6. In the courts, those serving the king claim the papal consistory.
dues arising to him from guardianship cases 2. I.e., but of the cardinals (or church officials)
("wardes"), meetings held in each ward ("warde- who grabbed ("kaughte") that name, and presumed
motes"), lost property ("weyves") and stray animals to claim they have the power St. Peter had to name
("streyves"). The Exchequer ("Cheker") was the a pope, I will not find fault with them. Perhaps an
commission to receive revenue and the audit of allusion to the French cardinals who elected an
accounts; the Chancery ("Chauncelrie") heard antipope in 1378 (Clement VII, a Frenchman),
petitions addressed to the king. thus creating the Great Schism.
7. Condemn. A consistory court was held by a 3. Election of popes; also, a reference to salva-
bishop or his official to consider any case in which tion.
an ecclesiastic was involved.