The Cambridge Chaucer Companion

Table of contents

The Cambridge Chaucer Companion contains a series of essays by internationally known Chaucer experts, designed to provide a challenging introduction to the poet. The collection is divided between pieces which concentrate squarely on one or more of Chaucer's major poems, identifying themes, styles, moods and tones, and pieces of wider scope which give more general information about Chaucer's literary sources and historical background, or study his experiments with style and structure over a range of poems, or set his works in the context of medieval genres and literary traditions. While introducing a work or works to the reader, these essays also adopt fresh and rigorous lines of critical enquiry which will encourage him or her to develop and place his or her own interpretations. Taken as a whole, the collection establishes a context for Chaucer, discusses the significance of his position within it, and applies to his poetry detailed and frequently innovative analysis. These three functions combine to provide what should become a standard work of reference for students as well as readers who already have some familiarity with Chaucer but wish to achieve a greater understanding of this major English poet and his oeuvre.

A lively and accessible introduction to the variety, depth, and wonder of Chaucer's best-known poem.

A wide-ranging survey of the most important medieval authors and genres, designed for students of English.

The extensively revised and expanded version of the acclaimed Companion to Chaucer An essential text for both established scholars and those seeking to expand their knowledge of Chaucer studies, A New Companion to Chaucer is an authoritative and up-to-date survey of Chaucer scholarship. Rigorous yet accessible, this book helps readers to identify current debates, recognize historical and literary context, and to understand how particular concepts and theories affect the interpretation of Chaucer’s texts. Chaucer specialists from around the globe offer contributions that range from updates of long-standing scholarship on biography, language, women, and social structures, to original research in new areas such as ideology, the afterlife, patronage, and sexuality. In presenting conflicting perspectives and ideological differences, this stimulating volume encourages readers to explore additional paths of inquiry and engage in lively and informed debate. Each chapter of the Companion, organized by issues and themes, balances textual analysis and cultural context by grounding the reader in existing scholarship. Key issues from specific passages are discussed with an annotated bibliography provided for reference and further reading. Compiled with all students of Chaucer in mind, this important volume: Presents contributions from both established and emerging specialists Explores the circumstances in which Chaucer wrote, such as the political and religious issues of his time Includes numerous close readings of selected poems Provides points of entry to a wide range of approaches to Chaucer’s works Incorporates original research, fresh perspectives, and updated additions to Chaucer scholarship A New Companion to Chaucer is a valuable and enduring resource for scholars, teachers, and students of medieval literature and medieval studies, as well as the general reader interested in interpretations and historical contexts of Chaucer’s writings.

This Companion rethinks food in literature from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to contemporary food blogs, and recovers cookbooks as literary texts.

A major re-evaluation of Boccaccio's status as literary innovator and cultural mediator equal to that of Petrarch and Dante.