Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose — A Closer Reading

Dialectal Variety and Linguistic Self-Awareness

The anthology foregrounds the fourteenth century's linguistic diversity. Trevisa's account of the languages of Britain observes that Englishmen have 'þre maner speche, Souþeron, Norþeron, and Myddel speche,' and notes how schooling in French has 'apeyred' the native tongue. This passage, written around 1385, records a shift: grammar schools now teach in English rather than French, a change attributed to John of Cornwall. Sisam's selection thus captures a moment when English was reasserting itself as a literary and instructional language. The dialectal range in the volume—from the Northern Cursor Mundi excerpts to the Southern Ayenbite—allows readers to hear these regional differences firsthand.

Moral Instruction and Social Critique

Several texts in the collection blend religious teaching with pointed social commentary. In Handlyng Synne, Robert Mannyng tells the story of the Dancers of Colbek as a cautionary tale about Sabbath-breaking. The Piers Plowman excerpts (from both B and C texts) depict the plowing of the half-acre and the search for Dowel, mixing allegory with concrete details of medieval labor. John Ball's letter to the peasants of Essex, included among the Political Pieces, uses biblical language to challenge social hierarchy: 'Whan Adam dalf and Eve span, / Who was thanne a gentil man?' This juxtaposition of orthodox piety and radical critique is a recurring pattern in the anthology.

Narrative Experiment and Alliterative Form

The alliterative tradition is represented by substantial extracts from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy. The Gawain excerpt, titled 'The Testing of Sir Gawayne,' shows the poet's characteristic blend of courtly description and psychological tension. The Troy extract, by contrast, employs a more formulaic alliterative style in its account of the Greek departure. Sisam also includes shorter lyric poems—'Alysoun,' 'The Maid of the Moor,' 'The Blacksmiths'—that demonstrate the range of Middle English verse, from love lyric to satirical complaint. These pieces, often anonymous, reveal a culture in which poetry served both entertainment and moral instruction.

Readers approaching this collection should attend to the editorial apparatus: Sisam's notes clarify textual cruces and historical references, while the appendix on the English language in the fourteenth century provides essential context. The glossary by Tolkien is particularly valuable for navigating dialectal forms. Because the excerpts are often brief, they invite comparison—between the treatments of the same theme in different dialects, or between the alliterative and rhyming traditions. The anthology rewards a slow, comparative reading that respects the distinct voice of each text.

Decades shelving these volumes, I’ve noticed how Sisam’s restless fourteenth-century voices—their dialectal jostle, their patient editorial margins—find a quiet kinship with an old friendship I once watched unfold in Goethe and Schiller: An Historical Romance — Inside the Classic. Both texts hold that tender ache of minds straining toward each other across difference, a resonance I’ve never tired of.