Gematria in Piers Plowman (A Response to Arthur Versluis).

Versluis’s explanation of the apocalyptic first prophecy (B.3.325-30) plausibly interprets a probable gematria for 666 and the Last Days. Elsewhere, however, his admittedly preliminary investigation neglects to consider the adverse evidence of different line numbers in editions of the poem, and shows that the method of calculating line or number significance varies according to local interpretive needs.