Dives and Pauper

Dives and Pauper is an encyclopaedic prose commentary on the ten commandments, cast as a dialogue between a wealthy layman and his instructor, a poor priest, perhaps a mendicant friar. It was composed in the early fifteenth century and addresses theological debates of the turbulent period of English church history with unusual directness and compendiousness. It has long attracted attention from historians of the period and often been quoted.

This concluding volume presents a full historical discussion of its context and authorship, while the extensive explanatory notes and glossary make the many references in the text to church authorities, canon law and language accessible. The first two volumes were published by the Early English Text Society as Original Series 275 (1976) and 288 (1980). This final volume has been long- and eagerly-awaited.