This alliterative poem, numbering 531 lines in the manuscript copy, was in all likelihood composed in the second half of the fourteenth century by the same anonymous poet who also wrote

(q.v.),

(q.v.) and

.

is the third work in the only surviving manuscript of the

poet’s works, British Library, Cotton Nero A.x., and opens with the line “Pacience is a poynt, thagh hit displese ofte”. This opening line sums up the poet’s theme and his worldy-wise attitude to patience (the word means both “suffering” and “patience” in Middle English): being patient is wise but not usually pleasant.

In a prologue the poet gives scriptural authority to his chosen theme by paraphrasing the eight beatitudes from the Sermon on the

406 words

Citation: Putter, Ad. "Patience". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13216, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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