Theology and practice in Piers Plowman

Abstract

The fourteenth-century English poem Piers Plowman, by William Langland, tells of a quest for and pilgrimage to Truth, or God. The poem is lengthy and diffuse, and evidences Langland’s keen interest in philosophy, theology, politics, social conditions and apocalyptic literature, to mention only some areas. Underlying all, however, is a concern with the practical living-out of abstruse doctrinal concepts in everyday life. This essay explores certain characters and concepts which embody the doctrine and practice of charity, in order to demonstrate the interweaving of theory and practice which characterizes Langland at his best.