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The medieval period was one of extraordinary literary achievement sustained over centuries of great change, anchored by the Norman invasion and its aftermath, the re-emergence of English as the nation's leading literary language in the fourteenth century and the advent of print in the fifteenth. This Companion spans four full centuries to survey this most formative and turbulent era in the history of literature in English. Exploring the period's key authors - Chaucer, Langland, the Gawain-Poet, Margery Kempe, among many - and genres - plays, romances, poems and epics - the book offers an overview of the riches of medieval writing. The essays map out the flourishing field of medieval literary studies and point towards new directions and approaches. Designed to be accessible to students, the book also features a chronology and guide to further reading.
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t h e c a m br i d g e c om pa n ion t o m e di e va l e ngl i sh l i t e r at u r e 110 0 –150 0 The medieval period was one of extraordinary literary achievement sustained over centuries of great change, anchored by the Norman invasion and its aftermath, the re-emergence of English as the nation’s leading literary language in the fourteenth century and the advent of print in the fi fteenth. This Companion spans four full centuries to survey this most formative and turbulent era in the history of literature in English. Exploring the period’s key authors – Chaucer, Langland, the Gawain-poet, Mergery Kempe, among many – and genres – plays, romances, poems and epics – the book offers an overview of the riches of medieval writing. The essays map out the flourishing field of medieval literary studies and point toward new directions and approaches. Designed to be accessible to students, the book also features a chronology and guide to further reading. l a r ry s c a n l on is Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University. A complete list of books in the series is at the back of this book.
T H E C A M BR I DG E C OM PA N ION TO
M E DI E VA L E NG L I SH L I T E R AT U R E 110 0 –150 0 E d it e d by L A R RY S C A N LON
c a mbr idge u n i v ersi t y pr ess
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, uk Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521602587 © Cambridge University Press 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2009 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data The Cambridge companion to medieval English literature, 1100–1500 / [edited by] Larry Scanlon. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-84167-2 (hardback) – isbn 978-0-521-60258-7 (pbk.) 1. English literature–Middle English, 1100–1500–History and criticism. 2. Civilization, Medieval, in literature. I. Scanlon, Larry. II. Title. pr 255.c34 2009 820′.9′001–dc22 2009015144 isbn 978-0-521-84167-2 hardback isbn 978-0-521-60258-7 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
CON T EN TS
Abbreviations Contributors Chronology
page vii ix xi
Introduction l a r ry s c a n l on
1
part i contexts, genr