A New Companion to Chaucer: (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture)

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.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations ix The Contributors xi Acknowledgements xvii Abbreviations xix The Idea of a Chaucer Companion 1 Peter Brown 1 Afterlives 7 Candace Barrington and Jonathan Hsy 2 Auctorite 21 Andrew Galloway 3 Biography 37 Jane Griffiths 4 Bodies 51 Linda Ehrsam Voigts 5 Bohemia 71 Alfred Thomas 6 Chivalry 87 Derek Brewer and Barry Windeatt 7 Comedy 105 Laura Kendrick 8 Emotion 123 Sarah McNamer 9 Ethnicity 137 Kathy Lavezzo 10 Flemings 151 Michael Hanrahan 11 France 167 Michael Hanly 12 Genre 185 Caroline D. Eckhardt 13 Ideology 201 Stephen H. Rigby 14 Italy 213 David Wallace 15 Language 227 David Burnley and Graham Williams 16 London 243 Peter Guy Brown 17 Love 255 Helen Phillips 18 Narrative 269 Robert R. Edwards 19 Other Thought‐Worlds 283 Susanna Fein 20 Pagan Survivals 297 John M. Fyler 21 Patronage 307 Jenni Nuttall 22 Personal Identity 319 Lynn Staley 23 Pilgrimage and Travel 331 Sebastian Sobecki 24 Religion 345 Nicholas Watson 25 Richard II 359 James Simpson 26 Science 379 Irma Taavitsainen and Daniela Landert 27 The Senses 395 Marion Turner 28 Sexualities 409 Masha Raskolnikov 29 Sin 421 Ryan Perry 30 Social Structures 435 Robert Swanson 31 Style 451 John F. Plummer 32 Texts 461 Tim William Machan 33 Things 475 Michael Van Dussen 34 Translation 487 Roger Ellis 35 Visualizing 501 Sarah Stanbury 36 Women 515 Nicky Hallett Index 527

About the Author :
Peter Brown is Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Kent and Academic Director at its Paris School of Arts and Culture in Montparnasse. He has authored and edited numerous books on medieval literature, especially the works of Geoffrey Chaucer in their historical and cultural contexts such as Reading Chaucer: Selected Essays, Chaucer and the Making of Optical Space, and Chaucer at Work: The Making of the Canterbury Tales.