Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger
Published by Medieval Institute Publications
English
185 pages
2000
ISBN 9781580444255
Estimated reading time: 3 h 24 min
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About this book
This volume brings together two fragmentary Middle English poems, written in the alliterative style of William Langland's Piers Plowman, that critique the crisis of kingship at the turn of the fourteenth century. Richard the Redeless, a mirror for princes, employs an elaborate beast allegory to describe Richard II's reign as egregiously lawless, implicitly blaming him for the events of 1399 that ended with his rival, Henry Bolingbroke, usurping his throne. James Dean opines that "no [other] writer … was so critical of Richard." Mum and the Sothsegger, which translates roughly to Silence (keeping mum) and the Soothsayer (or truth-teller), uses debate poetry to satirize the bureaucratic institutions of Henry IV. The narrator goes on a journey to determine which of the two titular courses of action is best; he discovers that Sothsegger's pragmatic wisdom wins out over Mum's spineless sycophancy. Both texts, written in a Midlands dialect, denounce agents of political instability in their hopes for more principled governance.
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Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger is available as PDF at 14 online bookshops. Bookshops carrying it include Alpha Books, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam.
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- In what formats is Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger available?
- Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger is available as PDF at 14 online bookshops.
- Where can I buy Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger?
- You can buy Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger at Alpha Books, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam. Compare every option in the list on this page.
- How long does it take to read Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger?
- At an average reading pace, Richard the Redeless and Mum and the Sothsegger takes about 3 h 24 min to read (185 pages).
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