William Called Long Will

In July 1385 an indictment was drawn up in King’s Bench relating to a homicide by Sir John Holland, Richard II’s half brother, aided and abetted by a dozen squires and gentlemen. The informality of the seventh name is difficult to understand unless important people vouched for his identity and deemed the name sufficient. The name was ‘Willelmus vocatus Longwyll’ or, in a second indictment, ‘Willelmus vocatus Longewille’. This essay argues that this man can be identified as the Long Will named as the author of Piers Plowman by early scribes, and now generally known as William Langland.