Full text loading...
An allegorical tree is presented before Will in B.16 to show him what ‘charite is to mene’, yet despite the ‘Tree of Charity’ moniker which follows this passage in critical literature, in the B-text Langland never actually calls the tree itself ‘charity’ but rather ‘patience’. This essay seeks to better understand the interrelation of caritas and patientia by considering the place of patience in medieval pastoral theology. It draws attention to the use of patientia to describe cooperation with grace in pastoral manuals and moreover, patientia is considered essential to retaining caritas after penitence. It also proposes that Langland prepares us for the tree allegory by highlighting this role of patience as a preparatory virtue through his personification Patience, who takes on a sacramental role in B.14. Langland’s C-text revisions continue to think about cooperating grace by developing the role of Liberum Arbitrium in C.18.
Article metrics loading...
Full text loading...