Medieval Literature And Culture (Iblc)

Description:
Continuum's 'Introductions to British Literature and Culture' series provide practical guides to key literary periods. Guides in the series help to orientate students as they begin a new module or area of study, providing concise information on the historical, cultural, literary and critical context and acting as an initial map of the knowledge needed to study the literature and culture of a specific period. Each guide includes an overview of the historical period, intellectual contexts, major genres, critical approaches and a guide to original research and resource materials in the area, enabling students to progress confidently to further study. 'The Guide to Medieval Literature and Culture' provides students with the ideal introduction to literature and its context from the 7th to 15th centuries, including: the historical, cultural and intellectual background including religion and philosophy, society and politics, art and culture; major works and genres including religious literature, history writing, drama, Chaucer, and Langland; concise explanations of key terms needed to understand the literature and criticism; key critical approaches to medieval literature from the Renaissance to the present; and a chronology mapping historical events and literary works and further reading including websites and electronic resources.

Review:
''[This] series offers both the student reader and teacher exciting and invaluable interventions in and reorientations around questions of history, culture, and period... With brio, verve, and an admirable brevity, the series grounds our understanding of literature and culture in thought-provoking and highly original ways.... an indispensable series that will set the benchmark for all such surveys and overviews.' - Julian Wolfreys, Professor of Victorian Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Florida.'

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Historical, Cultural and Intellectual Context; 2.1 Periods and Regions; 2.2 The Three Estates; 2.3 Language, Nation and Religion at the End of the Middle Ages; 3. Literature in the Medieval Period; 3.1 Literary Communities, Literary Movements and Medieval Canonicity; 3.2 Genres; 4. Critical Approaches; 4.1 From the Renaissance through the Eighteenth Century; 4.2 From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century; 4.3 From the 1970s to the Present; 5. Resources for Independent Study; 5.1 Chronology of key historical and cultural events; 5.2 Glossary of key literary terms; 5.3 References and Further Reading; Index.

Author Biography:
Andrew Galloway is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Cornell University, UK. He is the editor of the Yearbook of Langland Studies and co-editor of the 'Medieval' section of The Literature Compass (Blackwells website, 2003).