by William Langland

Unlike modern works that feature the author’s name prominently on the cover, medieval poems were frequently written and read without much regard for the author’s identity. In the case of Piers Plowman, we have some evidence for the poet’s name; a handwritten note in an early fifteenth-century manuscript attributes the poem to “Willielm[us] de Langlond,” which seems confirmed by this cryptogram in the poem itself: “‘I have lived in land,’ said I, ‘my name is Long Will’” (Langland, Piers Plowman, B.15.152). Since no other information about “William Langland” has come to light, however, this name is mainly a convenience, rather than a helpful piece of historical information. All other biographical materials about the poet come from the poem itself. The opening episode of Piers Plowman shows a strong knowledge of the area around Malvern Hills (in south west Worcestershire...