Skeat (1924) Piers the Plowman & Richard the Redeless – 2 volumes Philology

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Skeat, Walter W. The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman in Three Parallel Texts together with Richard the Redeless by William Langland (about 1362- 1399) Edited from Numerous Manuscripts with Preface, Notes and a Glossary  (Oxford University Press, 1924) 2 volumes 1)Text and 2) Preface/Notes/Glossary

Octavo.   Two volumes, 1) 626 pages. 2) xciii, [1], 484 pages. Hardcover.  Green cloth-covered boards stamped in gilt on spine.

Condition: Near fine. Gilding is bright and crisp. Binding tight, hinges solid, corners not bumped. Slight darkening of text block. A super copy of a classic Middle English literary work.

Walter William Skeat, FBA (21 November 1835 – 6 October 1912) was the pre-eminent British philologist of his time. He was instrumental in developing the English language as a higher education subject in the United Kingdom. – Wikipedia

Piers Plowman (written c. 1370–86; possibly c. 1377) or Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman (William’s Vision of Piers Plowman) is a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in un-rhymed, alliterative verse divided into sections called passus (Latin for “step”).

Like the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Piers Plowman is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest works of English literature of the Middle Ages, even preceding and influencing Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Piers Plowman contains the first known reference to a literary tradition of Robin Hood tales.

There exist three distinct versions of the poem, which scholars refer to as the A-, B-, and C-texts. The B-text is the most widely edited and translated version; it revises and extends the A-text by over four thousand lines. – Wikipedia

 

Richard the Redeless (“Richard without counsel”) is an anonymous fifteenth-century English alliterative poem that critiques Richard II’s kingship and his court, seeking to offer Richard retrospective (or even posthumous) advice, following his deposition by Henry IV in 1399. The poet claims that “Richard has been poorly advised, his kingdom mismanaged, his loyal subjects ill-served.” The author believes that the advice he imparts will be of great aid to any guiding the kingdom in future years. The poem also contains elements of satire, especially towards court manners and clothing fashions. – Wikipedia