Luke Penkett, The Pore Caitif. A Modern English Translation, with Introductory Essays and Notes

This Modern English translation will serve both as an in-depth companion to Moreau-Guibert’s recently published edition and as an accessible and up-to-date introduction to The Pore Caitif, bringing this popular and significant text to a much wider readership than previously has been the case and, as editions and translations of major Middle English texts continue to be published and studied, the present translation will fill a lacuna in the literature.

The Pore Caitif is a popular, late-fourteenth-century, carefully crafted compilation of biblical, catechetical, devotional and mystical material drawing on patristic and medieval sources, in Middle English, consisting of a Prologue and a variable number of sections of differing lengths according to each manuscript, assembled probably by a clerical writer for an increasing literate lay readership/audience.The Prologue sets out the reason for writing and its overall structure as an integrated ladder leading the reader to heaven. The text begins with basic catechetical instruction modelled on John Peckham’s Lambeth Constitutions of 1281 before continuing with more affective material, meditating, for example, on the Passion, and concludes with a treatise on virginity, leading the reader from an active to a contemplative way of life.

The Pore Caitif was written about the time the Lollards were starting to propagate their programme of universal vernacular education. The writer believes in the need to educate his readers in the truths necessary for salvation without necessarily subscribing to Lollard positions.   

Although referred to in a number of secondary articles and books, and serving as the focus of three doctoral dissertations, an edition of the work was not published until 2019. Penkett's publication is the first Modern English translation based on the 2019 publication and is in a readily accessible format for the modern reader, accompanied by a series of ground-breaking essays.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Pore Caitif and its Historical Context

Chapter 2. The Pore Caitif and its Literary Contexts

Chapter 3. The Poor Caitif Himself

Chapter 4. The Structure of the Pore Caitif

Chapter 5. The Pore Caitif and its Readers

Chapter 6. This Translation

Translation

Prologue
[Creed]
Ten Commandments
Peter Noster
Christ's Counsel
Of Virtuous Patience
Of Temptation
The Charter of Heaven
[The] Horse or Armour of Heaven
Love of Jesus
Desire of Jesus
Of Meekness
The Effect of Will
Active Life and Contemplative Life
[Mirror of Chastity]

Bibliography

General Index

Index of Scriptural References