A Concise Companion to Chaucer

This Concise Companion provides a succinct introduction to Chaucer’s major works, the contexts in which he wrote, and to medieval thought more generally. The bookopens with a general introductory section, discussing London life and politics, books and authority, manuscripts and readers. Subsequent sections focus on the dream visions, Troilus and Criseyde and the Canterbury Tales respectively, and illuminate key religious, political and intellectual contexts. These sections treating Chaucer’s major works also cover significant general topics, including medieval literary genres; dream theory; the Church; love, marriage and the family; gender and sexuality; Chaucer’s literary inheritance and influence; and reading Chaucer aloud. Contributors combine contemporary historical and cultural scholarship with recent critical emphases. A Concise Companion to Chaucer is designed so that students can read the appropriate contextual essays alongside each of Chaucer’s major works. Although the focus is on context, the essays also engage directly with Chaucer’s texts.

List of Illustrations. Acknowledgements. Notes on Contributors. Note on Edition. Introduction: Corinne Saunders (University of Durham). Part I: Chaucer in Context . 1 Politics and London life: Marion Turner (King’s College London). 2 Manuscripts and audience: Julia Boffey (Queen Mary, University of London) and A. S. G. Edwards (University of Victoria, Canada). 3 Books and authority: Robert F. Yeager (University of WestFlorida). Part II: Dream visions . 4 Dreaming: Steven F. Kruger (City University of New York). 5 Courtly writing: Barry Windeatt (Emmanuel College, Cambridge). Part III: Troilus and Criseyde . 6 Love in Wartime: Troilus and Criseyde as Trojan History: Andrew Lynch (University of Western Australia). 7 Love and the Making of the Self: Troilus and Criseyde : Corinne Saunders (University of Durham). 8 Tragedy and Romance in Chaucer’s ‘Litel Bok’ of Troilus and Criseyde : Norman Klassen (Trinity Western University, BC). Part IV: The Canterbury Tales . 9 Genre in and of the Canterbury Tales : Judith Ferster (North Carolina State University). 10 Morality and Immorality: Richard Firth Green (Ohio State University). 11 Marriage, Sexuality and the Family: Neil Cartlidge (University College Dublin). 12 Christianity and the Church: John C. Hirsh (Georgetown University). Part V . 13 Reading Chaucer Aloud: David Fuller (University of Durham). Index

Corinne Saunders is Reader in Medieval Literature at the University of Durham. Her previous publications include The Forest of Medieval Romance (1993), Rape and Ravishment in the Literature of Medieval England (2001), Chaucer (2001) in the Blackwell Guides to Criticism series, and A Companion to Romance: From Classical to Contemporary (Blackwell Publishing, 2004).