A ground-breaking collection of newly-commissioned essays on medieval literature and culture. Encourages students to think beyond a narrowly defined canon and conventional disciplinary boundaries. Reflects the erosion of the traditional, rigid boundary between medieval and early modern literature.

List of Illustrations ix Notes on Contributors x Acknowledgements xv Abbreviations xvi Introduction 1 Part I Overviews 7 1. Critical Approaches 9 David Raybin 2. English Society in the Later Middle Ages: Deference, Ambition and Conflict 25 S. H. Rigby 3. Religious Authority and Dissent 40 Mishtooni Bose 4. City and Country, Wealth and Labour 56 Sarah Rees Jones 5. Women’s Voices and Roles 74 Carol M. Meale Part II The Production and Reception of Texts 91 6. Manuscripts and Readers 93 A. S. G. Edwards 7. From Manuscript to Modern Text 107 Julia Boffey 8. Translation and Society 123 Catherine Batt Part III Language and Literature 141 9. The Languages of Medieval Britain 143 Laura Wright 10. The Forms of Speech 159 Donka Minkova 11. The Forms of Verse 176 Donka Minkova Part IV Encounters with Other Cultures 197 12. England and France 199 Ardis Butterfi eld 13. Britain and Italy: Trade, Travel, Translation 215 Nick Havely 14. England’s Antiquities: Middle English Literature and the Classical Past 231 Christopher Baswell 15. Jews, Saracens, ‘Black Men’, Tartars: England in a World of Racial Difference 247 Geraldine Heng Part V Special Themes 271 16. War and Chivalry 273 Richard W. Kaeuper and Montgomery Bohna 17. Literature and Law 292 Richard Firth Green 18. Images 307 Peter Brown 19. Love 322 Barry Windeatt Part VI Genres 339 20. Middle English Romance 341 Thomas Hahn and Dana M. Symons 21. Writing Nation: Shaping Identity in Medieval Historical Narratives 358 Raluca L. Radulescu 22. Dream Poems 374 Helen Phillips 23. Lyric 387 Rosemary Greentree 24. Literature of Religious Instruction 406 E. A. Jones 25. Mystical and Devotional Literature 423 Denise N. Baker 26. Accounts of Lives 437 Kathleen Ashley 27. Medieval English Theatre: Codes and Genres 454 Meg Twycross 28. Morality and Interlude Drama 473 Darryll Grantley Part VII Readings 489 29. York Mystery Plays 491 Pamela King 30. The Book of Margery Kempe 507 Ruth Evans 31. Julian of Norwich 522 Santha Bhattacharji 32. Piers Plowman 537 Stephen Kelly 33. Subjectivity and Ideology in the Canterbury Tales 554 Mark Miller 34. John Gower and John Lydgate: Forms and Norms of Rhetorical Culture 569 J. Allan Mitchell 35. Thomas Hoccleve, La Male Regle 585 Nicholas Perkins 36. Discipline and Relaxation in the Poetry of Robert Henryson 604 R. James Goldstein 37. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 619 Kevin Gustafson 38. Blood and Love in Malory’s Morte Darthur 634 Catherine La Farge Index 649

A Companion to Medieval English Literature and Culture c.1350–c.1500 challenges readers to think beyond a narrowly defined canon and conventional disciplinary boundaries in a number of important ways. Firstly, the companion’s date range reflects the erosion of the traditional, rigid boundary between medieval and early modern literature. Secondly, the structure of the book stresses the importance of constructing contexts for reading literature. Thirdly, the companion explores the extent to which medieval literature is in dialogue with other cultural products, including the literature of other countries, manuscripts and religion. Students will welcome the companion’s close readings of frequently studied texts, together with its discussions of larger groupings, such as the literature of religious instruction, dream poems, and chronicle and history. They will also appreciate the way the book tackles controversies, including those connected with literary theory, love, chivalry and war.

List of Illustrations. Notes on Contributors. Acknowledgements. Abbreviations. Introduction: Peter Brown (University of Kent at Canterbury). Part I: Overviews. Part II: The Production and Reception of Texts. Part III: Language and Literature. Part IV: Encounters with Other Cultures. Part V: Special Themes. Part VI: Genres. Part VII: Readings. Index.