This concise companion examines contexts that are essential to understanding and interpreting writing in English produced in the period between approximately 1100 and 1500. The essays in the book explore ways in which Middle English literature is 'different' from the literature of other periods. The book includes discussion of such issues as the religious and historical background to Middle English literature, the circumstances and milieux in which it was produced, its linguistic features, and the manuscripts in which it has been preserved. Amongst the great range of writers and writings discussed, the book considers the works of the most widely read Middle English author, Chaucer, against the background of the period that he both typifies and subverts.
An accessible resource that examines contexts essential to understanding and interpreting writing of the Middle English period
Chapters explore the distinctiveness of Middle English literature
Brings together discussion and analysis by an international team of Middle English specialists, incorporating fresh material and new insights
Includes analysis of Chaucer's writings, and considers them in relation to the work of his Middle English predecessors, contemporaries and successors
Incorporates discussion of issues steering the perception of Middle English literature in the present day
About the Author
Marilyn Corrie is a lecturer in English at University College London. She specializes in Middle English literature, and has published essays on writing and manuscripts of the early Middle English period, Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, and the history of the English language in the medieval period. She is the author of a forthcoming book about Malory's Morte Darthur and religion in the late Middle Ages.
Features
Offers a new approach to Middle English literature through discussion of key topics that illustrate the distinctiveness of writing in the period
Examines the contextual issues that are key to the understanding and interpretation of the literature of the Middle English period
Features twelve essays written by authorities in their fields from leading UK and North American universities
Addresses issues that inform all medieval writing, as well as factors that are specific to writing in England in the period
The volume also considers issues steering the perception of Middle English literature in the present day
Accessible for students, but contains new arguments and material for specialists
