Abstract

In the Vita de Dowel section of the medieval text Piers Plowman, Will, the protagonist, attempts to define the essence of spiritual truths primarily through intellectual means. Although the intellect can never attain full spiritual understanding, it can, as evidenced by Will's efforts, lead one to accept and recognize religious truths. The role of the intellect in Will's search is a complex one best defined through paradox. This dissertation examines how the paradoxical juxtaposition of the terms wisdom and folly describes the abilities and inabilities of the intellect to comprehend the divine. Three distinct paradoxes are created through the juxtaposition of these opposite terms, and each of these paradoxes illustrates a specific facet of the spiritual value of the intellect. These paradoxical configurations--"wise folly," "foolish wisdom," and "wisdom/folly"--convey the means of assistance which Will's intellect provides him in the attainment of Christian virtue. ;A chapter is dedicated to the discussion of each of the configurations and its ability to characterize Will's intellectual endeavors. Since the Vita de Dowel explores most extensively Will's intellectual pursuits, an examination of this section of the text through these paradoxes underscores the epistemological underpinnings, philosophical and religious, of the Vita de Dowel. Specifically, I argue that the methods of inquiry employed by Will in his "foolish" search parallel the late medieval epistemological theories of Scotus and Ockham, as well as the religious beliefs of Franciscanism more generally. My examination affirms the constructive capabilities of the mind in understanding and accepting divine truth