William Langland

Stephen Kelly (Queen's University Belfast)
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William Langland is the author of what is arguably the greatest religious poem in English,

Piers Plowman

. The ascription of Langland's name to

Piers Plowman

appears in only one source, an unfinished copy of the poem now known as Trinity College Dublin Manuscript D.4.1 (or 212). A Latin memorandum added to the final leaf of the manuscript provides the only contemporary “evidence” of Langland's authorship of

Piers Plowman

:

that Stacy de Rokayle was William de Longland's father; the which said Stacy was of gentle birth and lived in Shipton-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire, holding land from Lord le Spenser in Oxfordshire; the aforesaid William made the book that is called Piers Plowman.

that Stacy de Rokayle was William de Longland's father; the which said Stacy was of gentle birth and…

2035 words

Citation: Kelly, Stephen. "William Langland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2617, accessed 22 November 2024.]

2617 William Langland 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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