Mum and the Sothsegger (Richard the Redeles) (15th century). Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature

Mum and the Sothsegger is an early 15th-century
English alliterative poem in the
PIERS PLOWMAN
tradition of social commentary. The poem survives in a single manuscript (British Museum MS
Additional 41666), from which are missing the beginning and ending of the poem. The extant text

includes 1,751 lines. The poem was formerly
known by scholars as
Richard the Redeles.
Allusions in the text to contemporary events
during the reign of Henry IV suggest that the
poem was written shortly after 1409. The title, conferred by the scribe, names the poem after its two
chief personified abstractions: Mum (the personification of self-interested silence), and Sothsegger
(one that speaks out and tells the truth).
The main action of the poem begins with a debate between the two: Truthtelling is necessary
within the state, so that honest criticism can be
heard. But Mum argues that flattering those in
power is much more profitable. Clearly the Sothsegger is in the right, while Mum, embodying selfinterest and hypocrisy, represents everything that
is wrong in society. Yet the narrator is undecided
about which path to choose, and wanders off to examine the world and find which of the two qualities is best. He discovers that while Mum is easy to
find everywhere, it is much more difficult to find
truthtellers. The poem turns into an example of
ESTATES SATIRE, as the narrator visits with personified
Liberal Arts at the university, with the friars, a
parish priest, and finally the town.
Like
Piers, the poem also involves a DREAM VISION. Here, the narrator is shown a hive of bees
that represent the perfect commonwealth, in
which the beekeeper (in the role of sovereign) exterminates those who do not contribute to the
good of the hive.
Ultimately the poem criticizes the religious establishment in ways that suggest the author held
some L
OLLARD sympathies, and it suggests that in
a well-run kingdom, a good king will listen to the
constructive criticism of his subjects. Interestingly,
the poem’s Narrator presents himself, finally, as
one of those truthtellers so hard to find.
Bibliography
Dean, James M., ed. Richard the Redeless and Mum
and the Sothsegger.
Kalamazoo, Mich.: Western
Michigan University for TEAMS, 2000.
Barr, Helen, ed.
The Piers Plowman Tradition: A Critical Edition of Pierce the Ploughman’s Crede,
Richard the Redeless, Mum and the Sothsegger, and
The Crowned King.
London: J. M. Dent, 1993.

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