Studia Litterarum Studia Litterarum 2500-4247 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2026-11-1-32-49 Research Article Articles Social Problematic in the Allegoric Poem Vision of Piers Plowman: Worldly and Heavenly Sergeeva Valentina S. red@studlit.ru March 25, 2026 2026 January 25, 2023 The allegorical poem Vision of Piers Plowman is one of the key works of the medieval religious literature. The poem is based on the real historical material of the epoch where it was written (consequences of the plague, statutes of labourers, social conflicts in England of the second half of the 14th century); many medieval authors drew topics and images from the contemporary reality while describing the disastrous state of the society chastised by God for its pride and covetousness. Historical events inspired the development of the theological thought and influenced everyday practice of Christian life. The increasing numbers of paupers, tension between labourers and their masters, changed condition of almsgiving made people rethink such key ideas as brotherly love, charity and the divine order. It is especially actual for Langland who held the reality to be, first of all, a reason to talk about eternal. Not a condemnation of this or that estate follows from the specific episodes of social discontent, but a theme of love, duty and salvation; the image of the Waster (Wastour) who does not want to work for the general good is applicable to a representative of any class, from a husbandman to an aristocrat. Langland medieval literature English literature vision society commentary theory and practice theology Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 1. 1 Petrushevskii, D.M. “Videniia Lenglenda i sovremennaia emu angliiskaia deistvitel’nost’” [“Langland’s Visions and the Contemporary English Reality”]. Lenglend, Uill’iam. Videnie Uill’iama o Petre Pakhare [William’s Vision of Piers 2. Plowman], trans., ed. by D.M. Petrushevskii. Moscow, Leningrad, Academy of the Sciences of the Soviet Union Publ., 1941, pp. 5–40. (In Russ.) 3. 2 Adams, Robert. “The Nature of Need in Piers Plowman XX.” Traditio, no. 34, 1978, pp. 273–301. (In English) 4. 3 Aers, David. “Piers Plowman and Problems in the Perception of Poverty: A Culture in Transition.” Leeds Studies in English, no. 14, 1983, pp. 5–25. (In English) 5. 4 Aers, David. “Piers Plowman: Poverty, Work, and Community.” Community, Gender, and Individual Identity: English Writing, 1360–1430. London, Routledge, 1988, pp. 20–72. (In English) 6. 5 Arnold, David John. Famine: Social Crisis and Historical Change. Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1988. 154 p. (In English) 7. 6 Hanska, Jussi. “And the Rich Man also died; and He was buried in Hell.” The Social Ethos in Mendicant Sermons. Helsinki, Suomen IIistoriallinen Seura, 1997. 196 p. (In English) 8. 7 Hess, Dina Bevin. “Of beggeris and of bidderis what best be to doone?”: The Problem of Poverty in Piers Plowman: PhD Dissertation. University of Tennessee, 2008. 214 p. (In English) 9. 8 Metzler, Irina. A Social History of Disability in the Middle Ages: Cultural Considerations of Physical Impairment. New York, London, Routledge, 2013. 346 p. (In English)