Piers Plowman and fourteenth century ecclesiology

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Charles Daniel Crews (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Walter H. Beale

Abstract: Near the opening of Piers Plowman the Dreamer encounters Lady Holy Church, whose response to the question: "How may I save my soul?" truly sets the action of the poem in motion. Likewise at the poem's end it is the siege and betrayal of "Unity," the Church, which necessitates the final pilgrimage of Conscience in search of Piers. Throughout the tortuous middle sections of the work, the Church, or its representatives, constantly interact with the Dreamer for the furtherance or hindrance of his quest. All this suggests that the author's view of the Church, his ecclesiology, occupies a crucial position within the world, and that a careful study of this element of his thought and its background may provide essential information for grappling with questions of the poem's structure and meaning.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 1978
Subjects
Langland, William, $d 1330?-1400? $t Piers Plowman
Langland, William, $d 1330?-1400? $x Religion
English poetry $y Middle English, 1100-1500 $x History and criticism
Religious thought $y Middle Ages, 600-1500

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