Popular Middle English Literature Books

Pearl by Unknown , E.V. Gordon (Editor)

This paperback edition of Pearl, the 14th-century alliterative poem that is generally regarded as one of the greatest of medieval poems, includes an introduction, explanatory notes, a glossary with etymologies, linguistic appendices, and a bibliography.

The Riverside Chaucer by Geoffrey Chaucer , Larry Dean Benson (Editor) , F.N. Robinson (Editor)

The most authentic edition of Chaucer's Complete Works available. - The fruit of years of scholarship by an international team of experts - A new foreword by Christopher Cannon introduces students to recent developments in Chaucer Studies - A detailed introduction covers Chaucer's life, works, language, and verse - Includes on-the-page glosses, explanatory notes, textual notes The most authentic edition of Chaucer's Complete Works available. - The fruit of years of scholarship by an international team of experts - A new foreword by Christopher Cannon introduces students to recent developments in Chaucer Studies - A detailed introduction covers Chaucer's life, works, language, and verse - Includes on-the-page glosses, explanatory notes, textual notes, bibliography, and a glossary

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Patience; Pearl by Unknown , Marie Borroff (Translator)

"These translations by Marie Borroff not only are one of the great achievements of the translator's craft but are works of art in their own right."--Lee Patterson, Frederick W. Hilles Professor of English and Chairman of Medieval Studies, Yale University.

The Penguin Book of the Undead by Scott G. Bruce (Editor)

Since ancient times, accounts of supernatural activity have mystified us. Ghost stories as we know them did not develop until the late nineteenth century, but the restless dead haunted the premodern imagination in many forms, as recorded in historical narratives, theological texts, and personal letters. The Penguin Book of the Undead teems with roving hordes of dead warrio Since ancient times, accounts of supernatural activity have mystified us. Ghost stories as we know them did not develop until the late nineteenth century, but the restless dead haunted the premodern imagination in many forms, as recorded in historical narratives, theological texts, and personal letters. The Penguin Book of the Undead teems with roving hordes of dead warriors, corpses trailed by packs of barking dogs, moaning phantoms haunting deserted ruins, evil spirits emerging from burning carcasses in the form of crows, and zombies with pestilential breath. Spanning from the Hebrew scriptures to the Roman Empire, the Scandinavian sagas to medieval Europe, the Protestant Reformation to the Renaissance, this beguiling array of accounts charts our relationship with spirits and apparitions, wraiths and demons over fifteen hundred years, showing the evolution in our thinking about the ability of dead souls to return to the realm of the living--and to warn us about what awaits us in the afterlife.

The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer , V.A. Kolve (Editor) , Glending Olson (Editor)

Each is presented in the original language, with normalized spelling and substantial annotations for modern readers. Among the new added to the Second Edition are the much-requested "Merchant s Tale" and the "Tale of Sir Thopas." "Sources and Backgrounds" are included for the General Prologue and for most of the tales, enabling students to understandThe Canterbury Tales in Each is presented in the original language, with normalized spelling and substantial annotations for modern readers. Among the new added to the Second Edition are the much-requested "Merchant s Tale" and the "Tale of Sir Thopas." "Sources and Backgrounds" are included for the General Prologue and for most of the tales, enabling students to understandThe Canterbury Tales in light of relevant medieval ideas and attitudes and inviting comparison between Chaucer s work and his sources. "Criticism" includes nine essays, four of them new to this edition, by leading Chaucerians, among them F. R. H. DuBoulay, E. Talbot Donaldson, Barbara Nolani, and Lee Patterson. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included."

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo by Unknown , J.R.R. Tolkien (Translator) , Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values. Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values. Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like Gawain it is also a sophisticated and moving debate on much less tangible matters. Sir Orfeo is a slighter romance, belonging to an earlier and different tradition. It was a special favourite of Tolkien's. The three translations represent the complete rhyme and alliterative schemes of the originals.

Christian Mysticism by William Ralph Inge

I. General Characteristics of Mysticism II. The Mystical Element in the Bible III. Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism--(1) In the East IV. Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism--(2) In the West V. Practical and Devotional Mysticism VI. Practical and Devotional Mysticism--_continued_ VII. Nature-Mysticism and Symbolism VIII. Nature-Mysticism--_continued_ I. General Characteristics of Mysticism II. The Mystical Element in the Bible III. Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism--(1) In the East IV. Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism--(2) In the West V. Practical and Devotional Mysticism VI. Practical and Devotional Mysticism--_continued_ VII. Nature-Mysticism and Symbolism VIII. Nature-Mysticism--_continued_ APPENDIX A. Definitions of "Mysticism" and "Mystical Theology" APPENDIX B. The Greek Mysteries and Christian Mysticism APPENDIX C. The Doctrine of Deification APPENDIX D. The Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Solomon

The Canterbury Tales: A Selection by Geoffrey Chaucer

Lively, absorbing, often outrageously funny, Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a work of genius, an undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for each generation of readers. "The Canterbury Tales" gather twenty-nine of literature's most enduring (and endearing) characters in a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of medieval society, from the exal Lively, absorbing, often outrageously funny, Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a work of genius, an undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for each generation of readers. "The Canterbury Tales" gather twenty-nine of literature's most enduring (and endearing) characters in a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of medieval society, from the exalted Knight to the humble plowman. A graceful modren translation facing each page of the text allows the contemporary reader to enjoy the fast pace of these selections from "The Canterbury Tales" with the poetry of the Middle English original always at first hand.

Heroes and Anti-Heroes in Medieval Romance by Neil Cartlidge (Editor)

Medieval romances so insistently celebrate the triumphs of heroes and the discomfiture of villains that they discourage recognition of just how morally ambiguous, antisocial or even downright sinister their protagonists can be, and, correspondingly, of just how admirable or impressive their defeated opponents often are. This tension between the heroic and the antiheroic ma Medieval romances so insistently celebrate the triumphs of heroes and the discomfiture of villains that they discourage recognition of just how morally ambiguous, antisocial or even downright sinister their protagonists can be, and, correspondingly, of just how admirable or impressive their defeated opponents often are. This tension between the heroic and the antiheroic makes a major contribution to the dramatic complexity of medieval romance, but it is not an aspect of the genre that has been frequently discussed up until now. Focusing on fourteen distinct characters and character-types in medieval narrative, this book illustrates the range of different ways in which the imaginative power and appeal of romance-texts often depend on contradictions implicit in the very ideal of heroism.

King Horn by Kevin Crossley-Holland , Charles Keeping (Illustrator)

Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table by Thomas Malory , Keith Baines , Robert Graves (Introduction)

In a time when there were damsels in distress to save, and mythical dragons to slay, King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table were there to render justice in the face of any danger. From the incredible wizardry of Merlin to the undeniable passion of Sir Launcelot, these tales of Arthur and his knights offer epic adventures with the supernatural, as well as timeless b In a time when there were damsels in distress to save, and mythical dragons to slay, King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table were there to render justice in the face of any danger. From the incredible wizardry of Merlin to the undeniable passion of Sir Launcelot, these tales of Arthur and his knights offer epic adventures with the supernatural, as well as timeless battles with our humanity.

The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus , John Jay Parry (translator/introduction)

After becoming popularized by the troubadours of southern France in the 12th century, the social system of courtly love soon spread. Evidence of the influence of courtly love in the culture & literature of most of western Europe spans centuries. This unabridged edition of codifies life at Queen Eleanor's court at Poitiers between 1170 & 1174 into 'one of those capi After becoming popularized by the troubadours of southern France in the 12th century, the social system of courtly love soon spread. Evidence of the influence of courtly love in the culture & literature of most of western Europe spans centuries. This unabridged edition of codifies life at Queen Eleanor's court at Poitiers between 1170 & 1174 into 'one of those capital works which reflect the thought of a great epoch, which explain the secret of a civilization.' This translation of a work that may be viewed as didactic, mocking or merely descriptive, preserves the attitudes & practices that were the foundation of a long & significant tradition in English literature.

Heroes and Heroines in Medieval English Literature: A Festschrift Presented to Andr� Cr�pin on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday by Leo Carruthers (Editor)

Andre Crepin, head of the English faculty at the Sorbonne, has made a great contribution to medieval English studies in France and in Europe. These studies in his honour reflect the wide range of his interests in Old and Middle English, fromBeowulf to Malory. Their linking theme is the literary and linguistic evolution of the hero, from the classic expression of the German Andre Crepin, head of the English faculty at the Sorbonne, has made a great contribution to medieval English studies in France and in Europe. These studies in his honour reflect the wide range of his interests in Old and Middle English, fromBeowulf to Malory. Their linking theme is the literary and linguistic evolution of the hero, from the classic expression of the Germanic code to the chivalry of the knights of the Round Table, from Beowulf to Chaucer's knight to Sir Lancelot. Beowulf as archetypal hero is both the subject of and the concept behind more than one study; others, attempting to define heroism, grapple with the semantic problem posed by the absence of this word until very late in the medieval period; and the very notion of heroism is questioned as the passive hero or anti-hero emerges as a literary type, at the same time as the medieval consciousness of self developed. Contributors: GUY BOURGUIN, LEO CARRUTHERS, PETER CLEMOES, ANDY ORCHARD, ERIC STANLEY, JULIETTE DOR, DEREK BREWER, TERENCE P. DOLAN, JILL MANN, JOSSELINE BIBARD, JEAN-JACQUES BLANCHOT, JAMES WIMSATT, TERENCE McCARTHY, GLORIA CIGMAN.