Middle English Literature 1100 1400

Oxford University Press is pleased to announce the complete reissue of all the existing volumes of the Oxford History of English Literature. The set, originally published in thirteen volumes, is soon to be expanded to fifteen volumes with the forthcoming 1990 and 1991 publications of volumes VI, Shakespeare, and Volume XVI, Victorian Novel. Readers can now collect any of the thirteen volumes they missed upon the first publication, while newcomers can obtain the fifteen-volume set all at once. Handsomely presented in matching jackets, some of the books have been retitled for the purpose of the reissue, while the set as a whole has been renumbered for ease of use.

This essential Middle English textbook, now in its third edition, introduces students to the wide range of literature written in England between 1150 and 1400. New, thoroughly revised edition of this essential Middle English textbook. Introduces the language of the time, giving guidance on pronunciation, spelling, grammar, metre, vocabulary and regional dialects. Now includes extracts from 'Pearl' and Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde'. Bibliographic references have been updated throughout. Each text is accompanied by detailed notes.

How to Read Middle English Poetry guides readers through poetry between 1150 and 1500, for study and pleasure. Chapters give down-to-earth advice on enjoying and analyzing each aspect of verse, from the choice of single words, through syntax, metre, rhyme, and stanza-design, up to the play of larger forms across whole poems. How to Read Middle English Poetry covers major figures?such as Chaucer, Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Robert Henryson?but also delves into exciting anonymous lyrics, romances, and drama. It shows, too, how some modern poets have drawn on earlier poems, and how Middle English and early Scots provide crucial standpoints from which to think through present-day writing. Contextual sections discuss how poetry was heard aloud, introduce manuscripts and editing, and lay out Middle English poetry's ties to other tongues, including French, Welsh, and Latin. Critical terms are highlighted and explained both in the main text and in a full indexed glossary, while the uses of key tools such as the Middle English Dictionary are described and modeled. References to accessible editions and electronic resources mean that the book needs no accompanying anthology. At once thorough, wide-ranging, and practical, How to Read Middle English Poetry is indispensable for students exploring Middle English or early Scots, and for anyone curious about the heart of poetry's history.

A survey of the tournament in England from its first emergence in the 12th century to the beginning of the 15th, when technical changes altered its very nature. Juliet Barker surveys the tournament in England from its first emergence in the twelfth century to the beginning of the fifteenth, when it was revolutionised by the emergence of technical changes which altered its very nature. Theoriginal publication of this study, deriving from Juliet Barker's PhD thesis supervised by Maurice Keen, reestablished the importance of the tournament at the heart of medieval chivalric culture. The first serious scholarly publication for over half a century, it dramatically reawakened interest in the historical context of tournaments, and is especially valuable for its detailed evidence on the early years. Tournaments are shown as far more than just sport. They had wide political, social and military implications; in England their potential as a political instrument was quickly realised: for the disaffected they became a means of rebellion and feuding, but for the king and court they were a powerful propaganda machine. Participation in tournaments was also a way to earn a coveted reputation for chivalry; the passion for tourneying could bring knights lasting fame. Military demands accounted for the increasing sophistication of armour and weapons, partly in response to the demands of the tourneyers, who needed military training that reflected their role in actual combat. This wide-ranging study looks at the tournament fromall these angles, and in so doing produces an exemplary history of the first three hundred years of their development. JULIET BARKER is a well-known broadcaster and writer, whose other books include The Brontesand Wordsworth: A Life in Letters.

Examining English, Latin, French, and German texts, The Knight, the Cross, and the Song traces the role of secular chivalric literature in shaping Crusade propaganda across three centuries.

This impressive volume presents a thorough examination of all aspects of physical impairment and disability in medieval Europe. Examining a popular era that is of great interest to many historians and researchers, Irene Metzler presents a theoretical framework of disability and explores key areas such as: medieval theoretical concepts theology and natural philosophy notions of the physical body medical theory and practice. Bringing into play the modern day implications of medieval thought on the issue, this is a fascinating and informative addition to the research studies of medieval history, history of medicine and disability studies scholars the English-speaking world over.