Pissede or Passede: Piers Plowman C VI.67

Abstract

THE copy of Piers Plowman (C-text) in the manuscript San Marino, CA, Huntington Library MS Hm 143, cryptically introduces the character Envy as malevolently desiring anybody who has urinated on his land to cease living (VI.66–7): A wroth his fuste vppon Wrath; hadde he wesches at wille Sholde no lyf lyue that on his lond pissede. 1 The reading of MS X [San Marino, CA, Huntington Library MS Hm 143] here (all other C-MSS have passede ) is lively, but one might wonder whether ‘passing’ is not in fact more appropriate, since passing over someone’s land is annoying only to a wrathful man who is specially prone to take offence, where ‘pissing’ on it might annoy anyone. On the other hand, ‘passing’ might carry some association of ‘trespassing’. 4