Medieval number symbolism in Langland's Piers Plowman.

Abstract

A modern reader often finds medieval allegory and symbolism difficult to understand. Medieval number symbolism, an area of symbolism upon which there has not been much scholarly work, provides symbols which not only are easily comprehended, but also which are a means to a deeper and richer understanding of the themes of medieval authors. I chose to investigate the medieval number symbolism which Langland has used in deepening and pointing clearly to his theme of the salvation of men's souls in Piers Plowman. Number symbolism, serving for clarification of the theme in addition to enriching and enhancing a reader's understanding of the entire work, is easily understood when one has a knowledge of the inherent meanings of numbers and of the associational meanings of numbers, which were derived from Biblical stories. Therefore, I have included a short appendix of the most popular number symbols and their meanings.