A New Companion to Chaucer

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.

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.

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

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