HON 2110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Piers Plowman, William Langland, Popular Piety
3 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
Allegorical narrative poem written in middle english that does not rhyme. Written in vernacular and written as social commentary. The cat symbolizes the king, who cannot and should not be killed because kings are sacred. And if one king dies a new one will take his place. The rats and mice symbolize the common people, and the stories details how the people should deal with their king. Wycliffe- a parish priest who finds problems in the church. Seeks reform 150 years before the reformation, making him bold in a time of heavy criticism shortly after the plague. Church was supposed to pray for good for the people, not destruction. They clearly could not keep god happy. Their prayers were not working because they were combating the plague. Good clergy die first while caring for the sick, while the bad clergy run or isolate themselves and survive. Starts a movement, and his followers are called lollards.
