This excerpt from William Langland's great poem, Piers Plowman, graphically illuminates the title of this chapter. The blood of brotherhood as portrayed in the poem springs from the human blood embodied in the divine person, Jesus Christ, who, at his Incarnation, took on the flesh and blood of human nature while maintaining his godhead. “Peres the Plouhman”— Piers the Plowman— has many manifestations within the poem, but overall, he appears as the human representative of Christ who, in the above quotation, is said to be wearing Piers's “cote armure,” a metaphor for Christ's human form. The scene derives from the biblical narrative of the Passion, and shows Jesus on his way to crucifixion on Calvary. In Christian teaching, the Passion and death of Jesus seal and validate his humanity which he shares with his blood brothers— the rest of humanity. I will argue that, in Langland's scheme, the concept of “blody bretherne”— blood brotherhood between one human being and another— derives its strength and significance from being associated with the blood of Christ. For Wille, the poem's visionary protagonist, a long and tortuous life's journey spent trying to discover “How Y may saue my soule” (How I may save my soul) (C.1.80), leads to the practical understanding that salvation comes, not by human efforts, but by participating fully in the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, both of which are intimately connected with the shedding of Christ's blood.