Piers Plowman
An edition of the C-text

Edited by Derek Pearsall

Subjects: Medieval Studies

About the Book
Reviews
Author Biography

Simpson’s introductory study is based on the B-text, the most widely read and studied of the three versions of Piers Plowman. Aimed at undergraduates, it is the only truly introductory book on the text in existence. Its structure follows that of the poem’s eight visions and its introduction situates the poem in literary and political history. This fully revised edition takes account of scholarship over the last 15 years and includes a revised and updated bibliography.

“For the first time it is possible to see the C-text purged of scribal ineptitudes and arguably as Langland’s maturest work ... The effect, at times, is that of the bright colours of a Renaissance painting emerging from under the dirt, varnish and academic pieties of generations.”
(English)

Derek Pearsall has been Gurney Professor of English at Harvard University since 1985. Formerly he was Professor of English and Co-Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York.

Publication Details:

BIC Code:

2AB

Imprint:

University of Exeter Press