Purity

Middle English poem

Also known as: “Cleanness”

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July 13, 2026

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Purity, also known as Cleanness, is a Middle English poem written in the alliterative verse style, likely in the late 14th century. It is one of four poems attributed to the same anonymous author, who also wrote Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight, Patience, and Pearl.12

The poem uses vivid imagery and poetic skill to retell biblical narratives that illustrate the consequences of human impurity. These stories include the Great Flood, the destruction of Sodom, and Belshazzar's Feast.2

Purity is considered a significant work within the revival of alliterative poetry during the later Middle English period.2

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English literature
The revival of alliterative poetry
…homiletic poems called Patience and Purity (or Cleanness), and an elegiac dream vision known as Pearl, all miraculously preserved in a single manuscript dated about 1400. The poet of Sir Gawayne far exceeded the other alliterative writers in his mastery of form and style, and, though he wrote ultimately as…
Read More
…homiletic poems called Patience and Purity (or Cleanness), and an elegiac dream vision known as Pearl, all miraculously preserved in a single manuscript dated about 1400. The poet of Sir Gawayne far exceeded the other alliterative writers in his mastery of form and style, and, though he wrote ultimately as…
Read More