A Concise Companion to Middle English Literature

List of Illustrations vii

List of Contributors viii

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction 1
Marilyn Corrie

Part I Key Contexts 7

1 Signs and Symbols 9
Barry Windeatt

2 Religious Belief 32
Marilyn Corrie

3 Women and Literature 54
Catherine Sanok

4 The Past 77
Andrew Galloway

Part II The Production of Middle English Literature 97

5 Production and Dissemination 99
Alexandra Gillespie

6 The Author 120
Jane Griffiths

Part III Writing in Middle English; Writing in England 143

7 Language 145
Jeremy J. Smith

8 Translation and Adaptation 166
Helen Cooper

9 Contemporary Events 188
Helen Barr

Part IV Middle English Literature in the Post- Medieval World 209

10 Manuscripts and Modern Editions 211
Daniel Wakelin

11 The Afterlife of Middle English Literature 232
David Matthews

Index 253