The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature

Account of medieval English literature to appear for nearly a century.

David Wallace (Edited by)

9780521444200, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 January 1999

1066 pages
23.7 x 16 x 5.7 cm, 1.535 kg

'The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature is an excellent and long overdue reassessment, which completes a paradigm shift in the study of English medieval literature. It synthesises and responds to developments in the field over the last twenty years, and forges them into a coherent whole. A pioneering work in the field of medieval studies, it is also a fascinating and highly rewarding reading experience, that should be shared by everyone in the discipline.' Jörg Fichte, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen

This was the first full-scale history of medieval English literature for nearly a century. Thirty-three distinguished contributors offer a collaborative account of literature composed or transmitted in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland between the Norman conquest and the death of Henry VIII in 1547. The volume has five sections: 'After the Norman Conquest'; 'Writing in the British Isles'; 'Institutional Productions'; 'After the Black Death' and 'Before the Reformation'. It provides information on a vast range of literary texts and the conditions of their production and reception, which will serve both specialists and general readers, and also contains a chronology, full bibliography and a detailed index. This book offers an extensive and vibrant account of the medieval literatures so drastically reconfigured in Tudor England. It will thus prove essential reading for scholars of the Renaissance as well as medievalists, and for historians as well as literary specialists.

General introduction David Wallace
Part I. After the Norman Conquest: Introduction David Wallace
1. Old English and its afterlife Seth Lerer
2. Anglo-Norman cultures in England,1066–1460 Susan Crane
3. Early Middle English Thomas Hahn
4. National, world, and women's history writers and readers in post-Conquest England Lesley Johnson and Jocelyn Wogan-Browne
5. Latinitas Christopher Baswell
6. Romance in England 1066–1400 Rosalind Field
Part II. Writing in the British Isles: Introduction David Wallace
7. Writing in Wales Brynley F. Roberts
8. Writing in Ireland Terence Dolan
9. Writing in Scotland R. James Goldstein
10. Writing history in England Andrew Galloway
11. London texts and literate practice Sheila Lindenbaum
Part III. Institutional Productions: Introduction David Wallace
12. Monastic productions Christopher Cannon
13. The friars and medieval English literature John V. Fleming
14. Classroom and confession Marjorie Curry Woods and Rita Copeland
15. Literature and the law Richard Firth Green
16. 'Vox Populi' and the literature of 1381 David Aers
17. Englishing the Bible 1066–1549 David Lawton
Part IV. After the Black Death: Introduction David Wallace
18. Alliterative poetry Ralph Hanna
19. Piers Plowman Kathryn Kerby-Fulton
20. The Middle English mystics Nicholas Watson
21. Geoffrey Chaucer Glending Olson
22. John Gower Winthrop Wetherbee
23. Middle English lives Julia Boffey
Part V. Before the Reformation: Introduction David Wallace
24. Hoccleve, Lydgate, and the Lancastrian Court Paul Strohm
25. Lollardy Steven Justice
26. Romance after 1400 Helen Cooper
27. William Caxton Seth Lerer
28. English drama from Ungodly Ludi to Sacred Play Lawrence M. Clopper
29. The allegorical theatre: moralities, interludes, and Protestant drama John Watkins
30. Literature and politics in the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII Colin Burrow
31. Reformed literature and literature reformed Brian Cummings
Chronologies
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]