The Middle Ages, 700-1550

Anthologies of English Literature #1

by Michael Alexander (Editor), Felicity Riddy (Editor)

Each volume in the "Macmillan Anthologies of English Literature" series includes a representative and wide-ranging selection of drama, poetry and prose extracted from the literature of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The items are arranged chronologically and supported by full notes and biographical details of the authors. A wide range of the works of Middle English authors, including some new verse translations from the Old English, are contained in this volume. A substantial selection from such writers as Chaucer and Malory is accompanied by elegies, heroic poems, riddles and various extracts from prose.

Genres: Anthologies

618 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 1989

About the author

Michael Joseph Alexander (born 1941) is an English translator, academic and broadcaster. He held the Berry Chair of English Literature at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland until his retirement in 2003. He translated Beowulf into modern English verse.

Reviews

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A questo volume fanno seguito altri quattro: The Renaissance, The Restauration and the 18th Century, the 19th Century, the 20th Century.

[Michael McGuinness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these Macmillan Anthologies and the Medieval one is particularly useful, for the interpretations and glosses that are incorporated into or are alongside the text.
This is divided into two sections; Old English and Middle English. The 1st section begins with Bede and an excerpt from his Ecclesiastical History translated from Latin. These earliest sources are translated from Latin and Anglo-Saxon and include a long excerpt from Beowulf.
All the texts have notations with asterisks and daggers, glossed in the margin or annotated, or given a longer gloss, at the foot of the page. This is particularly useful when reading the sometimes difficult language of the period, and it is convenient that these footnotes are not placed at the back, so the reader doesn't have to keep consulting the back of the book.
Using the word definitions, it is possible to construct a veritable Medieval glossary which I found fascinating.
There is a fair representation of Scots poetry in the longer Middle English section, in amongst the usual names, Chaucer, William Langland etc.
Also included are a few excerpts from medieval mystery plays, and the volume concludes with a short excerpt from Thomas More's History of Richard III.
I would recommend this anthology to the general reader or student of the period who wishes to get a basic flavour of pre-Elizabethan English literature, and perhaps to use the excerpts as the basis for further reading, as his taste suits. Some writers, in particular Chaucer, are enjoyable and high quality enough to require proper reading.
I also have the 2nd volume, on the Renaissance, and the 3rd, which deals with the Restoration and Eighteenth Century.