Piers Plowman A New Annotated Edition of the C-Text

William Langland's poemPiers Plowmantreats several important aspects of late fourteenth-century life: ideological conflict, social upheaval, and the changing role of religious thought. Vividly encapsulating the great debates of the day, it acts as a commentary on such historically significant events and ideas as the Peasants' Revolt (1381) and medieval allegory. Its engagement with religion and politics aside,Piers Plowmanstands as one of the greatest poems of the English Middle Ages, earning a place next to works by Dante and Chaucer. For this new and fully updated edition, Langland scholar Derek Pearsall has completely revised the C-text (part of an A-B-C textual chronology), adding helpful side-glosses for the student reader, revising and updating the explanatory notes, appending an up-to-date introduction and retaining the full glossary.

Derek Pearsall is professor emeritus at Harvard University. He has published widely on Langland and Chaucer, among other authors.