Description
Book SynopsisA comprehensive guide to the medieval popular romance, one of the age's most important literary forms. Popular romance was one of the most wide-spread forms of literature in the middle ages, yet despite its cultural centrality, and its fundamental importance for later literary developments, the genre has defied precise definition,its subject matter ranging from tales of chivalric adventure, to saintly women, and monsters who become human. The essays in this collection seek to provide an inclusive and thorough examination of romance. They provide contexts,definitions, and explanations for the genre, particularly in, but not limited to, an English context. Topics covered include genre and literary classification; race and ethnicity; gender; orality and performance; the romance and young readers; metre and form; printing culture; and reception. CONTRIBUTORS: ROSALIND FIELD, RALUCA L. RADULESCU, MALDWYN MILLS, GILLIAN ROGERS, JENNIFER FELLOWS, THOMAS H. CROFTS, ROBERT ALLEN ROUSE, JOANNE CHARBONNEAU,DESIREE CROMWELL, AD PUTTER, KARL REICHL, PHILLIPA HARDMAN, CORY JAMES RUSHTON
Trade Review[T]his book will prove [...] valuable to students and researchers who are new to the field. [...] this volume is a welcome addition to, as well as testimony of, the scholarly conversation around the English popular romance. ATLANTIS - Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies * . *
Serves as a nice introduction to the critical complexities of what are all too often dismissed as simplistic texts. * JOURNAL OF THE EARLY BOOK SOCIETY *
An excellent introduction to Middle English romance that will serve well as a guide to the romances and recent scholarship. * FABULA *
A valuable collection of essays on the popular romance, a genre traditionally neglected by scholars. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsIntroduction - Raluca Radulescu and Cory Rushton Popular Romance: The Material and the Problems - Rosalind Field Genre and Classification - Raluca Radulescu The Manuscripts of Popular Romance - Maldwyn Mills and Gillian E Rogers Printed Romance in the Sixteenth Century - Jennifer Fellows Middle English Popular Romance and National Identity - Thomas Howard Crofts and Robert Rouse Gender and Identity in the Popular Romance - Joanne A Charbonneau and Desiree Cromwell The Metres and Stanza Forms of Popular Romance - Ad Putter Orality and Performance - Karl Reichl Popular Romances and Young Readers - Phillipa Hardman Modern and Academic Reception of the Popular Romance - Cory Rushton Bibliography
