Description
Book SynopsisThis concise companion provides a succinct introduction to Chaucer's major works, the contexts in which he wrote, and to medieval thought more generally. * Opens with a general introductory section discussing London life and politics, books and authority, manuscripts and readers.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements viii
Notes on Contributors ix
Note on Edition xii
Introduction 1
Part I: Chaucer in Context 11
1 Politics and London Life 13
Marion Turner
2 Manuscripts and Audience 34
Julia Boffey and A. S. G. Edwards
3 Books and Authority 51
R. F. Yeager
Part II: Dream Visions 69
4 Dreaming 71
Steven F. Kruger
5 Courtly Writing 90
Barry Windeatt
Part III: Troilus and Criseyde 111
6 Love in Wartime: Troilus and Criseyde as Trojan History 113
Andrew Lynch
7 Love and the Making of the Self: Troilus and Criseyde 134
Corinne Saunders
8 Tragedy and Romance in Chaucer’s ‘Litel Bok’ of Troilus and Criseyde 156
Norm Klassen
Part IV: The Canterbury Tales 177
9 Genre in and of the Canterbury Tales 179
Judith Ferster
10 Morality and Immorality 199
Richard Firth Green
11 Marriage, Sexuality and the Family 218
Neil Cartlidge
12 Christianity and the Church 241
John C. Hirsh
Part V: The Sound of Chaucer 261
13 Reading Chaucer Aloud 263
David Fuller
Index 285
