The Spirituality of William Langland

An exclusive study of the English fourteenth century mystics might lead one to suppose that the Mass and Divine Office played little part in the genuine spiritual life of the country. It might seem that the individualistic religion of the post-Reformation period was already the vital influence in those, such as Rolle, Hilton and Dame Julian, who sought the Kingdom of God with earnestness. But then we must not forget the great quantity of devotional verse designed for the ordinary Englishmen of the day: ascetical works, mass-books and instructions on the sacraments, on the virtues and vices. The mystical writers presupposed in their readers a thorough acquaintance with the broader and more 'ecclesiastical' type of religion inculcated by these works. It is clear from Walter Hilton that a realization of the union of the faithful in the 'ghostly' Body of Christ and of the meaning of the Mass and Divine Office were considered as the groundwork of a true spiritual life. It is therefore in that other less mystical literature that we may expect to find a mirror of the common spirituality of our forefathers. One of the most fruitful sources for such a picture lies in that vigorous poem of ecclesiastical reform, 'The Vision of Piers Plowman,' which endeavours to recall the sinning English folk to the springs of the spiritual life in the unity of the Church. In this poem we find a truly English and liturgical type of spirituality that must have been characteristic of the devout members of the Church, both ecclesiastical and lay

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