Index of themes in 12c French Arthurian verse romances from literary themes to everyday motifs. There has long been a need for an index of the themes in the French Arthurian verse romances. E.H. Ruck's analysis includes not only therecognised literary themes - the Unspelling Quest, the FaithlessWife -of the verse romances from Wace's Brut to Froissart'sMeliador, but also the other, less obvious, motifs of equalsignificance to the researcher, hawthorns, for example, and weaponry. Dr Ruck's index encompasses the Arthurian part of Wace's Brut; all of the works of Chrétien de Troyes; all four Tristan poems together with Marie de France's Chevrefoil and Lanval; the lais of Tyolet, Melion, Cor and Mantel; Renaut de Beaujeu's Le Bel Inconnu; La Mule sans frein and Le Chevalier à l'épée. As the index is intended first and foremost for the use of Arthurian scholars, the non-Arthurian parts of the Brut and the Laisof Marie de France have not been included, although reference is made to them in the notes. E.H. RUCK studied at the universities of Exeter, Lancaster, and Reading, where she worked for her PhD.

In this book, the author explores medieval society's fascination with the cross-dressed woman. The author examines a wide variety of religious, literary, and historical sources, which record interpretations of sartorial attempts to overcome gender hierarchy and also illustrate, mainly through the device of inversion, a remarkably sustained desire to examine and reexamine the nature of social gender identities.

Twenty-seven authors approach the diverse areas of the cultural, religious, and social life of the twelfth century. These essays form a basic resource for all interested in this pivotal century. A reprint of the first edition first published in 1982.

Enide’s tattered dress and Erec’s fabulous coronation robe; Yvain’s nudity in the forest, which prevents maidens who know him well clothed from identifying him; Lanval’s fairy-lady parading about in the Arthurian court, scantily dressed, for all to observe: just why is clothing so important in twelfth-century French romance? This interdisciplinary book explores how writers of this era used clothing as a signifier with multiple meanings for many narrative purposes. Clothing figured prominently in twelfth-century France, where exotic fabrics and furs came to define a social elite. Monica Wright shows that representations of clothing are not mere embellishments to the text; they help form the textual weave of the romances in which they appear. This book is about how these descriptions are constructed, what they mean, and how clothing becomes an active part of romance composition—the ways in which writers use it to develop and elaborate character, to advance or stall the plot, and to structure the narrative generally.

Twenty-nine collected essays represent a critical history of Shakespeare's play as text and as theater, beginning with Samuel Johnson in 1765, and ending with a review of the Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1991. The criticism centers on three aspects of the play: the love/friendship debate.

Examines a set of five twelfth-century romance texts—complete and fragmentary, canonical and now neglected, long and short—to map out the characteristics and boundaries of the genre in its formative period.

This collection honours the scholarship of Professor David F. Johnson, exploring the wider view of medieval England and its cultural contracts with the Low Countries, and highlighting common texts, motifs, and themes across the textual traditions of Old English and later medieval romances in both English and Middle Dutch.

"[A]n eminently readable text, done clearly and accurately . . . it gives as good an idea as a translation can of the complexity and subtlety of Chrétien's originals. . . . The text is provided by a translator who understands the spirit as well as the letter of the original and renders it with style. . . . [T]his translation should attract a wide audience of students and Arthurian enthusiasts." —Speculum "[A] significant contribution to the field of medieval studies [and] a pleasure to read." —Library Journal "These are, above all, stories of courtly love and of knights tested in their devotion to chivalric ideals (with passion and duty often at odds); but they are also thrilling wonder stories of giants, wild men, tame lions, razor-sharp bridges and visits to the Other World." —Washington Post Book World "This tastefully produced book will be the standard general translation for many years to come." —Choice This new translation brings to life for a new generation of readers the stories of King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Gawain, Perceval, Yvain, and the other "knights and ladies" of Chrétien de Troyes' famous romances.