The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English (Oxford Handbooks)

Bringing together the insights of new fields and approaches with those of more familiar texts and methods, this handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the state of Medieval Literature today. It discusses texts such as Beowulf, Wulf and Eadwacer, and Ancrene Wisse and authors from Ælfric to Chaucer, Langland, and the Gawain Poet. Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors PROLOGUE: Speaking of the Medieval PART I: LITERARY PRODUCTION 1. Books and Manuscripts 2. Textual Copying and Transmission 3. The Professionalization of Writing 4. Writing, Authority, and Bureaucracy 5. The Impact of Print: The Perceived Worth of the Printed Book in England, 1476–1575 PART II: LITERARY CONSUMPTION 6. Literature and the Cultural Elites 7. The Verse of Heroes 8. Insular Romance 9. A York Primer and its Alphabet: Reading Women in a Lay Household 10. Performing Communities: Civic Religious Drama PART III: LITERATURE, CLERICAL AND LAY 11. Change and Continuity: The English Sermon before 1250 12. Authorizing Female Piety 13. Visions and Visionaries 14. Writing, Heresy, and the Anticlerical Muse 15. Acquiring Wisdom: Teaching Texts and the Lore of the People PART IV: LITERARY REALITIES 16. The Yorkshire Partisans and the Literature of Popular Discontent 17. The Gothic Turn and the Twelfth-Century English Chronicles 18. Anti-Social Reform: Writing Rebellion 19. Secular Medieval Drama 20. ‘Sweit Rois . . . Delytsum Lyllie’: Metaphorical and Real Flowers in Medieval Verse PART V: COMPLEX IDENTITIES 21. Authority, Constraint, and the Writing of the Medieval Self 22. Complex Identities: Selves and Others 23. The Chosen People: Spiritual Identities 24. Individuality 25. Emergent Englishness PART VI: LITERARY PLACE, SPACE, AND TIME 26. Regions and Communities 27. The City and the Text: London Literature 28. Reading Communities 29. Scottish Writing 30. Places of the Imagination: The Gawain-Poet PART VII: LITERARY JOURNEYS 31. Pilgrimages, Travel Writing, and the Medieval Exotic 32. ‘Britain’: Originary Myths and the Stories of Peoples 33. Maps and Margins: Other Lands, Other Peoples 34. Monsters and the Exotic in Medieval England 35. Spiritual Quest and Social Space: Texts of Hard Travel for God on Earth and in the Heart EPILOGUE: When did ‘the Medieval’ End? Retrospection, Foresight, and the End(s) of the English Middle Ages Index of Manuscripts A B C D E F G H J L M N O P S T V W Y General Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The study of medieval literature has experienced a revolution in the last two decades, which has reinvigorated many parts of the discipline and changed the shape of the subject in relation to the scholarship of the previous generation. 'New' texts (laws and penitentials, women's writing, drama records), innovative fields and objects of study (the history of the book, the study of space and the body, medieval masculinities), and original ways of studying them (the Sociology of the Text, performance studies) have emerged. This has brought fresh vigour and impetus to medieval studies, and impacted significantly on cognate periods and areas. The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English brings together the insights of these new fields and approaches with those of more familiar texts and methods of study, to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of medieval literature today. It also returns to first principles in posing fundamental questions about the nature, scope, and significance of the discipline, and the directions that it might take in the next decade. The Handbook contains 44 newly commissioned essays from both world-leading scholars and exciting new scholarly voices. Topics covered range from the canonical genres of Saints' lives, sermons, romance, lyric poetry, and heroic poetry; major themes including monstrosity and marginality, patronage and literary politics, manuscript studies and vernacularity are investigated; and there are close readings of key texts, such as Beowulf , Wulf and Eadwacer , and Ancrene Wisse and key authors from AElfric to Geoffrey Chaucer, Langland, and the Gawain Poet. The study of medieval literature has experienced a revolution in the last two decades, which has reinvigorated many parts of the discipline and changed the shape of the subject in relation to the scholarship of the previous generation.'New'texts (laws and penitentials, women's writing, drama records), innovative fields and objects of study (the history of the book, the study of space and the body, medieval masculinities), and original ways of studying them (the Sociology of the Text, performance studies) have emerged. This has brought fresh vigour and impetus to medieval studies, and impacted significantly on cognate periods and areas. The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English brings together the insights of these new fields and approaches with those of more familiar texts and methods of study, to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of medieval literature today. It also returns to first principles in posing fundamental questions about the nature, scope, and significance of the discipline, and the directions that it might take in the next decade. The Handbook contains 44 newly commissioned essays from both world-leading scholars and exciting new scholarly voices. Topics covered range from the canonical genres of Saints'lives, sermons, romance, lyric poetry, and heroic poetry; major themes including monstrosity and marginality, patronage and literary politics, manuscript studies and vernacularity are investigated; and there are close readings of key texts, such as Beowulf, Wulf and Eadwacer, and Ancrene Wisse and key authors from Ælfric to Geoffrey Chaucer, Langland, and the Gawain Poet. The Study Of Medieval Literature Has Experienced A Revolution In The Last Two Decades, Which Has Reinvigorated Many Parts Of The Discipline And Changed The Shape Of The Subject In Relation To The Scholarship Of The Previous Generation. 'new' Texts (laws And Penitentials, Women's Writing, Drama Records), Innovative Fields And Objects Of Study (the History Of The Book, The Study Of Space And The Body, Medieval Masculinities), And Original Ways Of Studying Them (the Sociology Of The Text, Performance Studies) Have Emerged. This Has Brought Fresh Vigour And Impetus To Medieval Studies, And Impacted Significantly On Cognate Periods And Areas. The Oxford Handbook Of Medieval Literature In English Brings Together The Insights Of These New Fields And Approaches With Those Of More Familiar Texts And Methods Of Study, To Provide A Comprehensive Overview Of The State Of Medieval Literature Today. It Also Returns To First Principles In Posing Fundamental Questions About The Nature, Scope, And Significance Of The Discipline, And The Directions That It Might Take In The Next Decade. Edited By Elaine Treharne And Greg Walker With The Assistance Of William Green. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.