ABSTRACT

Originally imagined as both granary and church writ large, Langland’s Barn of Unity morphs into a space of refuge-in-crisis as it is besieged by Antichrist and the Seven Deadly Sins in Piers Plowman’s apocalyptic finale. Central to Langland’s imagining is a conundrum at the heart of hospitality, the Latin root of which means not only guest and friend but also stranger and enemy. Within Unity, the allegorical figure of Conscience practices hospitality, welcoming others, yet attempting to set conditions for entry to keep his space morally intact. Unity is intended to be a refuge from the violence of sin, but with every act of welcome Conscience risks letting sin in. This essay breaks new ground by interrogating Langland’s representation of these acts of welcome in relation to recent hospitality theory (of Derrida and others) to illuminate how the satirical bent of the ending of Piers Plowman coexists with reformist idealism.

摘要

朗兰的团结谷仓最初被想象为粮仓和教堂，但在Piers Plowman的世界末日结局中被敌基督和七大罪围困时，变成了危机中的避难所。朗兰想象的核心是热情好客的核心难题，其拉丁词根不仅意味着客人和朋友，还意味着陌生人和敌人. 在 Unity 中，良心的寓言人物表现出热情好客，欢迎他人，但试图设定进入条件以保持他的空间在道德上完好无损。团结旨在成为远离罪恶暴力的避难所，但每一个受到良心欢迎的行为都有可能让罪进入。这篇文章通过询问兰兰对这些欢迎行为的代表与最近的好客理论（德里达和其他人）的关系，开辟了新天地) 来阐明Piers Plowman结局的讽刺倾向如何与改良主义理想主义共存。