The Alliterative Revival - lessons from a time of tyranny which still hold true today
- Michael Smith
- 7 hours ago
- 9 min read
The "Alliterative Revival" of the fourteenth century forms a remarkable corpus of poetry, rendered more so by its subversive nature. While the texts may appear medieval, their content is timeless; with their stories of oppression and governmental malpractice, they hold many lessons for leaders of today.
War, the Black Death and the growth of the English voice
The texts of the so-called Alliterative Revival frequently address political issues through debate poems or with messages thinly disguised within popular romances. More, they were written in a language which, during the century, emerged to overtake French as the language of Court, the courts and national administration: English.
The fourteenth century in England was overshadowed by two events of lasting significance: the beginning (and continuation) of the Hundred Years War and the devastating, lingering impact of the Black Death.
While the Hundred Years’ War may have led to a growing sense of national unity, it also led to an increase in power of relatively simple men, able to slay anyone in their way through something as unchivalrous as a bow and arrow.
The Black Death also transformed society. In the late 1340s and again in the early 1360s, it devastated the population leading to dramatic political and social change which culminated in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
English on the rise in literature and law
But these events also had a subtle, and lasting, influence. Socially and politically, they were to lead to a demand for legal disputes to be settled in English rather than French or Latin.
In 1362, the Pleading in English Act ensured that English courts heard and decided upon cases in the English tongue. Within fifty years, the Chancery Standard of English had emerged in official documents.
Linguistically, for the country as a whole, the developments were more profound. They were to lead ultimately to the creation of a unified written English language, rather than one consisting of four major regional dialects.
To some extent, this was due to the impact of writers such as Chaucer, whose seemingly ‘sophisticated’ South-east dialect poetry had a profound affect on the literary scene in English.
But popular poetry in different regional dialects was commenting on society and doing so richly –before, during and after the arrival of Chaucer.
The written use of English was on the rise and gives us a deep understanding of how contemporary issues were understood and reflected upon.
King Arthur as a critique of foreign wars
The impact of foreign wars is revealed in poems such as the alliterative Morte Arthure (King Arthur’s Death). In it, the anonymous Lincolnshire poet describes the power of the “bowmen of Britain” (not England) who slay all before them in an unchivalrous manner.
These were the new men of war - not cultured and learned but rough and ready. These were the new men behind the power of kings.
But, at a time of great military success for English armies in France, we learn of a "British" King (Arthur) who fights so much abroad that he neglects his kingdom at home, eventually losing both his kingdom and his wife.
The whole text acts is a literary metaphor against the folly of war. Pricked by pride, Arthur, while initially involving himself in a just war against the Roman emperor Lucius, eventually lets pride overcome him by, having defeated Lucius, attempting to seize Rome itself.
Such a story may have been a comment on the attempts by Richard II to become Holy Roman Emperor. If so, Richard should have listened to the poet; Arthur is told by Lady Fortune in a dream that his time has come and he is doomed.
In the end, while Arthur slays the treacherous Mordred in one last battle, he himself is fatally wounded and many of his loyal knights are slain. The twice-widowed Guinevere is sent off to a convent; her illegitimate children killed on Arthur’s command.
Literature for a litigious society
But these works are not only about the calamitous impact of war; social issues also come to the fore. In the semi-alliterative Sir Degrevant, we learn about the power of women in choosing their husbands and the skilful application of the law to defeat vested interests and the “old ways”.
Unlike the subtle “luf-talking” between Gawain and the Lady in the alliterative masterpiece Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, here we are shown a learned woman (Melidor) who knows what sort of man she wants and makes him run through hoops to win her.
Her suitor and eventual husband, Degrevant, is a lord who, as in Alan Clark’s waspish putdown of Michael Heseltine’s lack of breeding, had to buy all his own furniture (rather than inherit it).
Such romances therefore offer deeper commentaries on a society we think we might know; these were romances for a then modern age. Both Arthur and Degrevant were written between 1375 and 1410, yet their messages are timeless.
Winner and Waster and more subversive literature
But subversive alliterative English was on the rise well before then. In Wynnere and Wastoure (Winner and Waster, dated possibly to 1352 and potentially the earliest poem of the Revival), we read of a debate being settled by the King.
The king (most likely Edward III) must decide between the vested interests of society (as represented by Winner) and the newer social demands of Waster, who believes that wealth should also serve the poor.
Alas, we never learn the answer as the final stanzas are sadly missing! But the poem also references themes of social oppression which demand our attention.
In reading of Sir William Shareshull [l.317] we are being told about the Statute of Labourers (1351) and the Treasons Statute of 1352. These Acts, the latter of which is still in force today (albeit much modified) were swingeing and brutal acts of centralised control.
The first act, introduced because of the Black Death, fundamentally denied a much-reduced labour force the ability to demand higher wages. In the Treasons Statute, even imagining the king’s death was a capital offence (although in this case, the term meant planning it!).
William and the Werewolf and the demand for a just society
Clearly, such references highlight concerns for law, order and society. But not all texts are so provocative; in the Romance of William and the Werewolf (William of Palerne), we are reminded that for society to work well, it must be governed justly.
We are also reminded (in the form of the story’s transformed werewolf) of a horror of the modern age – exiles driven from their country to live as outcasts in the world.
Of note in this romance, written either at the same time or possibly earlier than Winner and Waster, is the role played by its patron Humphrey de Bohun. He is referenced twice in the romance, and we are asked to pray for his soul and remember him (a request also made in his own will).
A deeply religious man, and an invalid in charge of disparate estates, his commissioning of the translation of this ancient French text hints strongly at a profound understanding of social pressures.
Despite his decision to live in relative isolation at his caput at Pleshey in Essex (from where he also established a lavish book production operation), he was to die in 1361, most likely of the plague. What came to his people also came to him.
Cheshire, Lancashire and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
But perhaps one of the most subversive of alliterative texts was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We cannot be sure when this poem was written but it was most likely created in the final quarter of the fourteenth century, when the reign of Richard II was descending into tyranny.
This multi-layered poem deals with issues such as the conflict between religious observance versus the chivalric ideal; loyalty versus deceit; personal integrity versus selfishness; discipline versus desire.
But there is so much more. Why is it that Gawain takes the same journey across North Wales as that taken by Richard on his return from Ireland and his capture by Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV?
Does the revitalisation of the decapitated Green Knight represent the eternal nature of monarchy? Can the Green Knight’s remorseful self-reflection represent Bolingbroke’s own doubts? Might the Green Chapel be a metaphor for Lollardy? Is the dialect of the poem the voice of a Cheshire loyal to Richard or a Lancashire loyal to Henry?
The Alliterative Revival - texts for a time of tyranny
Alliterative poetry in Middle English reached its apogee in the final quarter of the fourteenth century, perhaps achieving its highest quality in the astonishing poetic complexity of texts such as the Awntyrs off Arthure (ca. 1410).
This suggests poetic forces at work in the land at courts of such rich and powerful northern families as the Nevilles and Percys.
Here, in almost lawless realms sandwiched between Scotland and the Midlands, men replicated the power of monarchy in vast estates far from centralised power. Castles such as Warkworth, Raby, Middleham and Sheriff Hutton no doubt resounded with the words of great poets seeking to please their local princes.
Such poetry must have had demanding audiences and were not hidden away. If such beauty and complexity was flourishing during the reign of Richard and the early years of Henry IV, it tells us too that beauty may have been the antidote to deeply troubled times.
This is especially so when we consider the Tyranny of Richard II from 1397 to 1399.
The troubled uncertainty of these times is reflected in the poems Richard Redeless (Richard the ignorant) and Mum and the Sothsegger, when the debate concerns the horrors of silence (keeping mum) in the face of social injustice. The king must, in the words of one poet, work as a beekeeper and look after his drones.
Words from the past carry warnings for today
All these poems act as a warning for today. In a world where many leaders use bullying, deceit and the manipulation of ignorance to cling to power, they also seek to keep control through bigotry and prejudice disguised as national pride.
But history teaches us that when such leaders’ promises turn to dust, their only option is oppression and the suppression of individual liberties to hold on to the power they craved. When they have nowhere else to hide and no one else to blame, they turn on those who voted for them.
The Alliterative Revival of the fourteenth century reminds us today that the challenge of humanity is to confront ignorance, bigotry and hate before it destroys us. Silence, acquiescence and fear only lead to greater oppression.
As the Gawain-poet writes in his corrupted motto of the Order of the Garter, “Hony soyt qui mal pence” or, in the subversive anglicised words of Wynnere and Wastoure, “hethyng have the hathell that any harme thynkes.”
Shame on he who thinks evil of it.
Michael Smith, author, translator, printmaker
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About the author, Michael Smith
I am a British author, translator and illustrator. I am currently studying for my PhD at the University of York, where I am researching the effective representation of Middle English romance.
My books, published by Wilton Square Books, include a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthure, and are available through all the usual outlets. My translation of The Romance of William and the Werewolf was published in 2024.
All my books feature my own linocut prints as their illustration; many of my prints are held in private collections worldwide.
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