Genealogical Terms in Piers Plowman

This essay offers a quantitative analysis of the genealogical vocabulary (i.e., of terms for blood and marital relationships) in Piers Plowman A, B, and C, confirming that kinship is a central fact and rule of medieval life. Langland introduces eight new genealogical terms into English and is among the first users of about fifteen others; he exercises perhaps the largest genealogical vocabulary of any poet of his time, about 87 terms used 1156 times. His language creates a vivid, detailed sense of personal and public life in a kynde society and universe, where animals, plants, and even God are spoken of in genealogical terms.