The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain.
- Author/Editor
- Echard, Siân, ed.
Rouse, Robert Allen, ed.
Yeager, R. F.
Irvin, Matthew W.
Echard, Siân
Ladd, Roger
Scanlon, Larry
Barrington, Candace
Passmore S. Elizabeth
Schieberle, Misty
Archibald, Elizabeth
- Title
- The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain.
- Published
- Echard, Siân, and Robert Allen Rouse, eds. The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain. 4 vols. (Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2017).
- Review
- "The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain" (EMLB) is a comprehensive reference work with over 600 substantial entries, in four volumes, totaling over 2000 pages, covering the years 449-1541. As the introduction states, the EMLB "seeks to redefine the study of medieval British literature as the study of the literature of medieval Britain" (lxxxviii), thus one of its great strengths is its focus on the multilingual and multicultural aspects of the literature of medieval Britain, including Latin, French, Celtic, and continental as well as English literatures and issues. Gower appears in a number of entries in the EMLB, including those on Estates Satire (Roger Ladd), Exemplum (Larry Scanlon), Legal Writing (Candace Barrington), the Loathly Lady (S. Elizabeth Passmore), Mirrors for Princes (Misty Schieberle), and Apollonius of Tyre (Elizabeth Archibald), among others. The EMLB also contains entries devoted exclusively to Gower: a substantial (approx. 7000 word) main entry for John Gower (R. F. Yeager) and one shorter (approx. 3500 word) entry each on his English Poetry (Matthew W. Irvin), French Poetry (Siân Echard), and Latin Poetry (Siân Echard). Yeager's entry covers what we know of Gower's life, as well as his critical reputation and influence during and after his life. This is followed by an overview of Gower's works, with a section each devoted to the French, Latin, and English works, which all include discussion of the content, form, and manuscripts of the works. Yeager's overarching approach is to highlight just how revolutionary and significant Gower's works are. The three entries that follow focus upon Gower's poetry in each of those three languages. While there is some overlap in each section with Yeager's primary entry on Gower, the entries by Irvin (on the English works) and Echard (on the French and Latin works) provide more detail concerning the content, forms, and manuscript issues, as well as sources and analogues. Each of the Gower entries concludes with references and useful lists of further readings. While the entries as a whole will provide students a substantive foundation for further study of Gower, even the most experienced Gowerian will undoubtably find (or be reminded of) useful information in them as well. [BWG. Copyright. John Gower Society. eJGN 43.2]
- Date
- 2017
- Gower Subjects
- Backgrounds and General Criticism
Bibliographies, Reports, and Reference