Welcome to the History of English Podcast, a podcast about the history of the English

language.

This is Episode 124, Peer's Plowman and the Peasant Revolt.

In this episode, we're going to explore one of the most important pieces of Middle English

literature, a poem known as Peer's Plowman.

It actually survives in several different versions, which are all presumably the product

of a cleric named William Langland.

The poem is highly revered by scholars, and at one time it rivaled Jeffrey Chaucer's

poetry and popularity.

In fact, it was so popular that it was cited as inspiration by the leaders of a massive

peasant revolt in the late 1300s.

So in this episode, we're going to explore the connections between this important Middle

English poem and the events that led to the first peasant uprising in England.

But before we begin, let me remind you that the website for the podcast is historyofenglishpodcast.com,

and you can sign up to support the podcast and get bonus episodes and transcripts at patreon.com

slash historyofenglish.

Now this time I want to talk about peasants.

I've actually mentioned some important developments related to peasants over the past few episodes.

In some respects, the peasants were experiencing a social and economic boost in the late 1300s.

The labor shortages stemming from the plague actually created a lot of opportunities for

peasants, allowing them to demand more money for work, and allowing some of them to accumulate

a modest estate.

...