A book of Middle English
by J. A. Burrow, Thorlac Turville-Petre
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Description
This essential Middle English textbook, now in its third edition, introduces students to the wide range of literature written in England between 1150 and 1400. New, thoroughly revised edition of this essential Middle English textbook. Introduces the language of the time, giving guidance on pronunciation, spelling, grammar, metre, vocabulary and regional dialects. Now includes extracts from 'Pearl' and Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde'. Bibliographic references have been updated throughout. show more Each text is accompanied by detailed notes. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
An accessible reader of Middle English. Each selection is prefaced by an explanation of grammatical features that will be encountered. The glossary is very usable.
The explanations themselves are a bit too terse, and the chronological organization of the selections seems to presuppose a knowledge of Old English. I recommend reading all the prefaces in sequence, then working through the texts in reverse order.
The explanations themselves are a bit too terse, and the chronological organization of the selections seems to presuppose a knowledge of Old English. I recommend reading all the prefaces in sequence, then working through the texts in reverse order.
English language > Middle English, 1100-1500 >/Grammar/Readers
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184 works; 3 members
Author Information
16+ Works 645 Members
John Burrow is Emeritus Professor and Research Fellow in the Department of English at the University of Bristol.
10+ Works 405 Members
Thorlac Turville-Petre is Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Nottingham
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A book of Middle English
- Original title
- A book of Middle English
- Original publication date
- 1992 (first edition) (first edition); 1996 (second edition ∙ revised) (second edition ∙ revised); 2005 (third edition) (third edition)
- People/Characters
- Sir Orfeo; Piers Plowman; Sir Gawain; Green Knight; Erkenwald (Saint, or Earconwald, Bishop of London, died 693); Geoffrey Chaucer (show all 10); Laȝamon; John Trevisa; John Gower; Eurydice (Heurodis)
- Important places
- Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
- Epigraph
- Clerkes knoweþ wel ynow þat no synfol an doþ so wel þat he ne myȝte do betre, noþer makeþ so good a translacyon þat he ne myȝte make a betre.
Trevisa - First words
- I. Introducing Middle English
1.1 The Period
The term 'Middle English' has its origins in nineteenth-century studies of the history of the English language.
Preface to the Second (and third) Edition -- This book is a companion to Mitchell and Robinson's Guide to Old English. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Here endeth the Prioresse Tale.
Classifications
- Genre
- Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 427.02 — Language English & Old English languages Historical and geographic variations, modern nongeographic variations of English standard subdivisions, and by time period 1100-1500 Middle English
- LCC
- PE535 .B87 — Language and Literature English language English Middle English
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 332
- Popularity
- 95,762
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.78)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
