Wanhope

I was very angry all day. I was looking for classical references to anger, looked up anger in the wikipedia, followed the link to the Seven Deadly sins Lust, Pride, Greed, Envy, Anger, Sloth and Gluttony. In that article, the author mentions the word "wanhope" when he discusses accidie. There is a dutch word, "wanhoop" for the same emotion. According to the dictionary, "wanhope" occurs in the B text of The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, the earliest great work of English literature.

And there to jangle and jape and jugge hir evencristen,
And in fastynge dayes to frete er ful tyme were.
And thanne to sitten and soupen til sleep hem assaille,
And breden at burgh swyn, and bedden hem esily,
Til Sleuthe and sleep sliken hise sydes;
And thanne wanhope to awaken hym so with no wil to amende,
For he leveth be lost -- this is his laste ende.

The vision of Piers Plowman