A Companion to Middle English Prose

by A.S.G. Edwards (Contributor)

The essays in this volume provide an up-to-date and authoritative guide to the major prose Middle English authors and genres. Each chapter is written by a leading authority on the subject and offers a succinct account of all relevant literary, history and cultural factors that need to considered, together with bibliographical references. Authors examined include the writers of the Ancrene Wisse, the Katherine Group and the Wohunge Group; Richard Rolle; Walter Hilton; Nicholas Love; Julian of Norwich; Margery Kempe; "Sir John Mandeville"; John Trevisa, Reginald Pecock; and John Fortescue. Genres discussed include romances, saints' lives, letters, sermon literature, historical prose, anonymous devotional writings, Wycliffite prose, and various forms of technical writing. The final chapter examines the treatment of Middle English prose in the first age of print. BELLA MILLETT, RALPH HANNA III, AD PUTTER, KANTIK GHOSH, BARRY A. WINDEATT, A.C. SPEARING, IAN HIGGINS, A.S.G. EDWARDS, VINCENT GILLESPIE, HELEN L. SPENCER, ALFRED HIATT, FIONA SOMERSET, HELEN COOPER, GEORGE KEISER, OLIVER S. PICKERING, JAMES SIMPSON, RICHARD BEADLE, ALEXANDRA GILLESPIE.

Table of Contents

Ancrene Wisse, the Katherine Group and the Wohunge Group - Bella MillettRolle and Related Works - Ralph HannaWlater Hilton's Scale of Perfection and The Cloud of Unknowing - Ad PutterNicholas Love - Kantik GhoshJulian of Norwich - Barry A WindeattMargery Kempe - A C Spearing ***Mandeville - Ian HigginsTrevisa - A S G EdwardsAnonymous Devotional Writings - Vincent GillespieSermon Literature - Helen L SpencerHistorical Writing - Alfred HiattWycliffite Prose - Fiona SomersetProse Romances - Helen CooperScientific, Medical and Utalitarian Prose - George KeiserSaints' Lives - Oliver S PickeringReginald Pecock and John Fortescue - James SimpsonPrivate Letters - Richard BeadleCaxton and After - Alexandra Gillespie

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Professor Tony Edwards is Honorary Professor of Medieval Manuscripts at the University of Kent (Canterbury), and an Honorary Visiting Professor at University College London. He has edited a collection of essays in Florilegium on medieval manuscript fragments and, with Julia Boffey, volume 3 of the Oxford History of Poetry in English, 1400 -1500 for Oxford University Press.

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the essay titled "Margery Kempe" by A.C. Spearing. It was exceedingly helpful for a short paper I wrote on "The Book of Margery Kempe".