Piers Plowman tradition facts for kids

The Piers Plowman tradition is a collection of about 14 poems and stories. They were written from the late 1300s, around the time of John Ball and the Peasants Revolt in 1381, up to the time of Queen Elizabeth I and even later.

All these works feature characters, usually named Piers. These characters come from a famous poem called Piers Plowman by William Langland. Sometimes, these "Plowman" stories are even linked to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. This is because a plowman character appears in Chaucer's book, but he doesn't have his own story.

These stories often make fun of things in society. They talk about problems with money, social classes, politics, and religion. They also discuss decisions made by leaders and the relationship between everyday people and the king. These works helped create a "public sphere" where people could discuss important issues. Most of these stories were written by unknown authors.

Early Piers Plowman Stories (1300s-1400s)

The first stories in the Piers Plowman tradition are linked to a group called the Lollards. The Lollards were people who wanted to reform the church.

Here are some early examples:

• Pierce the Ploughman's Crede: This was an anonymous poem written around 1395. It was against the clergy (church leaders) and was printed later in the 1500s.
• The Plowman's Tale: Also known as The Complaynte of the Ploughman, this Lollard poem was written around 1400. It was printed many times later.
• The Praier and Complaynte of the Ploweman unto Christe: This was a Lollard prose (non-poem) work and prayer for church reform. It was written around 1400 and printed in the 1530s.
• Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger: These were written around 1405. Some people thought W. W. Skeat believed they were written by Langland himself.
• The Crowned King (1415)

Other stories that were less directly about Piers Plowman include:

• Jack Upland: A Lollard satire written around 1389-1396.
• Responsiones ad Questiones LXV and Friar Daw's Reply: These were two responses against Jack Upland.
• Upland's Rejoinder: A Lollard response to Friar Daw's Reply.

Piers Plowman in the 1500s and 1600s

Many of the older Piers Plowman stories, which were first copied by hand, later appeared in printed books. They were often changed a bit to make them sound more like early Protestant ideas.

This happened with the first printed versions of Piers Plowman itself in 1550 and 1561. Famous figures like William Tyndale and John Foxe (who wrote Actes and Monuments) helped spread these texts. The Plowman's Tale even became linked to Geoffrey Chaucer and was added to his collected works.

New stories were also written in the 1500s that were part of this tradition. For example, Edmund Spenser's The Shepheardes Calendar has a character named "Piers." Spenser also used a character called Colin Clout, who was like Piers and came from the poet John Skelton. Skelton was seen as a "poetic prophet" who attacked corrupt churchmen.

Stories Mentioning Piers Plowman

Here are some texts from the 1500s and 1600s that mention the poem Piers Plowman or the character "Piers Plowman":

• The Banckett of Iohan the Reve unto Peirs Ploughman... (c. 1532): In this story, a Protestant character quotes reformers like Martin Luther. A Catholic Piers defends the traditional church view.
• Jack of the North (c. 1549): This was a dialogue against "enclosure" (when common land was fenced off).
• A Godly Dyalogue and Dysputacyion Betwene Pyers Plowman and a Popysh Preest... (c. 1550).
• Pyers Plowmans Exhortation unto the Lordes... (c. 1550): Possibly by Robert Crowley, this text encouraged Parliament to make changes.
• George Gascoigne, The Fruites of Warre (1575) and The Steel Glas (1576): Gascoigne made Piers a more complex character, showing he could also be selfish. He criticized both corrupt leaders and common people who complained for selfish reasons.
• Newes from the North... (1579): Possibly by Francis Thynne.
• A Merry Knack to Know a Knave (1594): A play where Piers Plowman complains to the king about unfair landlords. A riot happened during one performance in 1592, leading to theaters being closed.

Other Related Stories

Some other works were less directly linked to Piers but still shared similar ideas:

• God Spede the Plough.
• A Lytell Geste how the Plowman lerned his Pater Noster (c. 1510): Here, a Catholic priest is seen as good, while the plowman is greedy and ignorant.
• Of Gentylnes and Nobylyte... (1525): This play shows a plowman winning a debate. He argues that true nobility comes from inner goodness, not just wealth.
• A Proper Dialogue Between A Gentleman and a Husbandman (1529 and 1530): This mixed older Lollard ideas with new Protestant ones.
• John Bon and Mast Parson (1547 or 1548).
• A Pedlar's Tale to Queen Elizabeth (1578-90?): A play about a traveling worker who gives advice to leaders about social problems.
• Death and the Five Alls: A picture showing the plowman as the foundation of society.
• A Compendious or Briefe Examination of Certayne Ordinary Complaints (1581): This book, possibly by Sir Thomas Smith, talks about history and money issues. It features a complaining farmer in a dialogue. It also describes the social classes in England.
• Richard Harvey, Plaine Percevall the Peace-Maker of England (1590): This book features a simple, sensible man named Percevall.
• Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, books 1-3 (1590): In this epic poem, the Redcross knight's name, George, comes from the Greek word for "farmer." This shows how someone from humble beginnings can rise to importance.
• Robert Greene, A Quip for an Upstart Courtier (1592).
• Thomas Nashe, Pierce Pennilesse His Supplication to the Devil (1592): This story features a young writer in London who is unhappy and wants support.
• Henry Chettle, Piers Plainnes seaven yeres Prentiship: In this story, Piers talks about his life in London and his bad experiences with seven masters. He decides that happiness is found away from the busy court.

Preachers as Plowmen

Bishop Hugh Latimer was a strong critic of "enclosure" and greedy landlords. He gave a famous sermon in 1548 called "The Sermon of the Plowers." In it, he described good preachers as "God's plowmen." He said that lazy clergy were causing a "spiritual famine." He also called the devil the "busiest bishop" and "greatest plowman" because he was spreading bad ideas. Latimer's simple way of speaking was like the direct style of Piers Plowman.

Changes and Impact of the Piers Plowman Tradition

The way Piers Plowman was spread and understood from the 1300s to the 1500s shows a lot about changes in English society and politics. The original poem was about Catholic beliefs but also criticized society and asked for moral, economic, and political changes. Over time, the character of Piers was seen differently.

Piers became a symbol for the Lollards and later for Protestant reformers. William Tyndale famously said that if he lived long enough, he would make sure "a boy that driveth the plow shall know more of the scripture" than a priest. This shows how the image of the simple, wise plowman was used to promote new ideas.

After almost 200 years, the Piers Plowman tradition became less about religious ideals. It became more about complaining about class differences and political disagreements. It also became a way to control such complaints. In the time of Queen Elizabeth I, the old idea of Piers as a religious reformer who spoke truth for the poor mostly disappeared.

Criticism of the rich and powerful continued. However, instead of directly complaining to the king or Parliament, these complaints often became part of funny or satirical plays and pamphlets. These new forms of entertainment explored class identities and rivalries in more complex ways.

After the Elizabethan Religious Settlement (when England became Protestant), the Piers tradition changed even more. Laws in the 1550s banned discussions about religion or state matters. Also, the old medieval ideas about social classes and the afterlife, which were important in Langland's poem, were fading away.

Piers, who was once a symbol of Christ and the common person, became more of a regular "economic man" with his own interests. The idea of a "fair field of folk" (Langland's vision of society) became more like a playing field where everyone competed. In this way, Piers and similar characters helped create an English national identity based on popular culture, not just the elite. This idea was especially strong among nonconformist Puritan groups.

In the late 1500s, military conscription (forcing people into the army) was high. The government saw this as a way to get rid of people who would otherwise be a "burden to the country." People knew about these strategies. Thomas Nashe wrote that if common people "have no service abroad, they will make mutinies at home." This meant that commoners could use their power to get their own interests met.

This is why, during the Elizabethan era, Piers and similar characters started appearing as traveling workers like tinkers or cobblers. They claimed to represent true Englishness against fancy, fake elites. While showing loyalty, these humble figures helped define an English identity from below. This identity was based on native, popular traditions going back to Langland and Chaucer. This popular view of England was often defined against Catholic nations and "Rome," which were seen as less free.

Piers, as a strong working-class character, didn't often appear in the works of elite writers. He was seen as old-fashioned and possibly rebellious. University-educated writers from poorer backgrounds, like Spenser, might have felt uneasy with a tradition that sometimes criticized ambitious city dwellers like themselves.

However, writers like Nashe and Greene still used the old moral-satirical tradition. They used it to expose and attack—or just laugh at—problems related to their own social and political times.

Sources

• Aston, Margaret, Lollards and Reformers: Images and Literacy in Late Medieval Religion. London: Hambledon Press, 2003.
• Barr, Helen., ed. The Piers Plowman Tradition. London: Everyman's Library, 1993.
• Dean, James M. "Plowman Writings: Introduction", in Medieval English Political Writings, Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 1996 – covers Song of the Husbandman, God Spede the Plough, I-blessyd Be Cristes Sonde, and Chaucer's Plowman
• DiMarco, Vincent, Piers Plowman: A Reference Guide Boston: G. K. Hall, 1982.
• Hudson, Anne, 'Epilogue: The Legacy of Piers Plowman', in A Companion to Piers Plowman, ed. John A. Alford. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. 251–66.
• Rydzeski, Justine, 'Radical Nostalgia in the Age of Piers Plowman: Economics, Apocalypticism, and Discontent' in Studies in the Humanities: Literature-Politics-Society vol 48 Peter Lang, 1999
• Tawney, R. H. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926)
• Tawney, R. H. and Eileen Power, eds. Tudor Economic Documents: Being Select Documents Illustrating the Economic and Social History of Tudor England 3 vols. (1924)