Description
Despite an unprecedented level of interest in the interaction between law and literature over the past two decades, readers have had no accessible introduction to this rich engagement in medieval and early Tudor England. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Law and Literature addresses this need by combining an authoritative guide through the bewildering maze of medieval law with concise examples illustrating how the law infiltrated literary texts during this period. Foundational chapters written by leading specialists in legal history prepare readers to be guided by noted literary scholars through unexpected conversations with the law found in numerous medieval texts, including major works by Chaucer, Langland, Gower, and Malory. Part I contains detailed introductions to legal concepts, practices and institutions in medieval England, and Part II covers medieval texts and authors whose verse and prose can be understood as engaging with the law.
A comprehensive and wide-ranging account of the interrelationship between law and literature in Anglo-Saxon, Medieval and Tudor England.
About the Author
Candace Barrington is a Professor in the English Department of Central Connecticut State University. She has written multiple articles for journals and edited volumes and is the co-editor of The Letter of the Law: Legal Practice and Literary Production in Medieval England (with Emily Steiner, 2002). Sebastian Sobecki is Professor of Medieval English Literature at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands. He is the author of The Sea and Medieval English Literature (2007) and Unwritten Verities: The Making of England's Vernacular Legal Culture, 1463-1549 (2015).
Reviews
'The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Law and Literature provides a useful introduction to the intersection of law and literature from the Middle Ages ... this collection provides a rewarding read, and it will be of use to a broad array of literary scholars in later periods, as well as to those researching the origins of so many political and theological controversies in Anglo-American culture, many of which are shown to have their roots in medieval legal contexts.' Brian C. Lockey, Renaissance Quarterly
Book Information
ISBN 9781107180789
Author Candace Barrington
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 470g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 17mm
A comprehensive and wide-ranging account of the interrelationship between law and literature in Anglo-Saxon, Medieval and Tudor England.
About the Author
Candace Barrington is a Professor in the English Department of Central Connecticut State University. She has written multiple articles for journals and edited volumes and is the co-editor of The Letter of the Law: Legal Practice and Literary Production in Medieval England (with Emily Steiner, 2002). Sebastian Sobecki is Professor of Medieval English Literature at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands. He is the author of The Sea and Medieval English Literature (2007) and Unwritten Verities: The Making of England's Vernacular Legal Culture, 1463-1549 (2015).
Reviews
'The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Law and Literature provides a useful introduction to the intersection of law and literature from the Middle Ages ... this collection provides a rewarding read, and it will be of use to a broad array of literary scholars in later periods, as well as to those researching the origins of so many political and theological controversies in Anglo-American culture, many of which are shown to have their roots in medieval legal contexts.' Brian C. Lockey, Renaissance Quarterly
Book Information
ISBN 9781107180789
Author Candace Barrington
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 470g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 17mm
