Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

The Contributors ix

Acknowledgements xv

Abbreviations of Chaucer's Works xvi

The Idea of a Chaucer Companion 1
Peter Brown

1 Afterlife 8
Carolyn Collette

2 Authority 23
Andrew Galloway

3 Bodies 40
Linda Ehrsam Voigts

4 Chivalry 58
Derek Brewer

5 Christian Ideologies 75
Nicholas Watson

6 Comedy 90
Laura Kendrick

7 Contemporary English Writers 114
James Simpson

8 Crisis and Dissent 133
Alcuin Blamires

9 France 149
Michael Hanly

10 Games 167
Malcolm Andrew

11 Genre 180
Caroline D. Eckhardt

12 Geography and Travel 195
Scott D. Westrem

13 Italy 218
David Wallace

14 Language 235
David Burnley

15 Life Histories 251
Janette Dillon

16 London 266
Michael Hanrahan

17 Love 281
Helen Phillips

18 Modes of Representation 296
Edward Wheatley

19 Narrative 312
Robert R. Edwards

20 Other Thought-worlds 332
Susanna Fein

21 Pagan Survivals 349
John M. Fyler

22 Personal Identity 360
Lynn Staley

23 Science 378
Irma Taavitsainen

24 Social Structures 397
Robert Swanson

25 Style 414
John F. Plummer

26 Texts 428
Tim William Machan

27 Translation 443
Roger Ellis

28 Visualizing 459
Sarah Stanbury

29 Women 480
Nicky Hallett

Index 495

About the Author

Peter Brown is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Kent and Chair of its School of English. His publications include Reading Dreams: The Interpretation of Dreams from Chaucer to Shakespeare (editor and contributor), Chaucer at Work: The Making of the Canterbury Tales, and, with Andrew Butcher, The Age of Saturn: Literature and History in the Canterbury Tales.

Reviews

‘This collection of accessible, informative essays provides students and teachers with a balance of textual analysis and cultural contexts designed to enhance the understanding of Chaucer's major and minor works . . . Both serious first-time readers of Chaucer and veterans looking for credible information on more recent avenues of inquiry will find this a valuable source of information and bibliography.' Choice
"This work, the latest entry in Blackwell's "Companions to Literature and Culture" series. . . provides an inclusive and scholarly orientation to current theories and interpretation of Chaucer's works." "Each essay. . . places Chaucer's texts into cultural context by examining the medieval point of view, and includes notes, references, and suggestions for further readings." "The text. . . will serve well as a one-volume introduction for new students. It also provides access to original research and new ideas sought by graduate students and faculty." Library Journal
"Overall, this is useful book. providing an up-to-date survey of the state of Chaucer scholarship on a wide range of issues...it will provoke interesting and educational debates in and out of the classroom." Reference Reviews
"[This book] is both highly readable and rich in its diversity, a book which any Chaucerian, novice or seasoned, will often pick up simply for the pleasure of browsing[...] Every student of Chaucer, from undergraduate to emiritus professor, will want to have access to it." English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature

'This collection of accessible, informative essays provides students and teachers with a balance of textual analysis and cultural contexts designed to enhance the understanding of Chaucer's major and minor works . . . Both serious first-time readers of Chaucer and veterans looking for credible information on more recent avenues of inquiry will find this a valuable source of information and bibliography.' Choice
"This work, the latest entry in Blackwell's "Companions to Literature and Culture" series. . . provides an inclusive and scholarly orientation to current theories and interpretation of Chaucer's works." "Each essay. . . places Chaucer's texts into cultural context by examining the medieval point of view, and includes notes, references, and suggestions for further readings." "The text. . . will serve well as a one-volume introduction for new students. It also provides access to original research and new ideas sought by graduate students and faculty." Library Journal

"Overall, this is useful book. providing an up-to-date survey of the state of Chaucer scholarship on a wide range of issues...it will provoke interesting and educational debates in and out of the classroom." Reference Reviews

"[This book] is both highly readable and rich in its diversity, a book which any Chaucerian, novice or seasoned, will often pick up simply for the pleasure of browsing[...] Every student of Chaucer, from undergraduate to emiritus professor, will want to have access to it." English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature