Piers Plowman Lesson Plan

In Piers Plowman, Piers decides to lead a life of voluntary poverty. How might poverty be edifying from a Christian point of view, as opposed to being oppressive?

From the point of view of certain mediæval Christian organisations (particular mendicant orders), poverty, if voluntarily chosen, could serve as a form of spiritual and moral edification. By forswearing most material possessions, it was believed that Christians could deepen their faith and achieve a greater degree of spiritual "perfection". This is not to say that non-voluntary poverty was never a concern for the mediæval Church (just the opposite!): only that there was also a long tradition of holding poverty...