Reading the Medieval in Early Modern England

In English literary and historical studies the border between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, and hence between 'medieval' and 'early modern' studies, has become increasingly permeable. Written by an international group of medievalists and early modernists, the essays in this volume examine the ways in which medieval culture was read and reconstructed by writers, editors and scholars in early modern England. It also addresses the reciprocal process: the way in which early modern England, while apparently suppressing the medieval past, was in fact shaped and constructed by it, albeit in ways that early modern thinkers had an interest in suppressing. The book deals with this process as it is played out not only in literature but also in visual culture - for example in mapping - and in material culture - as in the physical destruction of the medieval past in the early modern English landscape.

Reviews & endorsements

"The last few years have witnessed a growing interest, largely on the part of medievalists, in examining the divide between the medieval and early modern periods.1 The essay collection reviewed here does an excellent job of showing how rich and complex these cross-period investigations can be— when the medieval period is not merely a backdrop to the early modern period but, rather, when these two periods are set in conversation."
-Katherine Little, Fordham University

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Product details

• Date Published: July 2009
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521117401
• length: 304 pages

• dimensions: 229 x 152 x 17 mm
• weight: 0.45kg
• contains: 13 b/w illus.
• availability: Available