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Langland, William

(Encyclopedia) Langland, William, c.1332–c.1400, putative author of Piers Plowman. He was born probably at Ledbury near the Welsh marshes and may have gone to school at Great Malvern Priory. Although…

Piers Plowman

(Encyclopedia) Piers Plowman: see Langland, William.

Brewer's: Piers Plowman

The hero of a satirical poem of the fourteenth century. He falls asleep, like John Bunyan, on the Malvern Hills, and has different visions, which he describes, and in which he exposes the…

Brewer's: Piers

The shepherd who relates the fable of the Kid and her Dam, to show the danger of bad company. (Spenser: Shepherd's Calendar.) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer,…

Robin Hood

(Encyclopedia) Robin Hood, legendary hero of 12th-century England who robbed the rich to help the poor. Chivalrous, manly, fair, and always ready for a joke, Robin Hood reflected many of the ideals…

Brewer's: Plowman

The Vision of Piers Plowman is a satirical poem by W. [or R.] Langland, completed in 1362. The poet supposes himself falling asleep on the Malvern Hills, and in his dream sees various…

Skeat, Walter William

(Encyclopedia) Skeat, Walter William, 1835–1912, English scholar and philologist. Skeat took holy orders in 1860, but illness cut short his church career. At Cambridge he served as a lecturer in…

alliteration

(Encyclopedia) alliterationalliterationəlĭtˌərāˈshən [key], the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence. Probably the most powerful rhythmic and thematic uses of…

Brewer's: Pieta'

A representation of the Virgin Mary embracing the dead body of her Son. Filial or parental love was called piety by the Romans. (See Pious.) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E.…

pier

(Encyclopedia) pier, in engineering, term applied to a mass of reinforced concrete or masonry supporting a large structure, such as a bridge. When piers are built on ground of poor bearing value, it…