That the seven principal texts are English, in the sense of having an exclusive origin in England, is certainly a lie. As the Sources and Backgrounds section is intended to illustrate, all in one way or another have continental, Anglo-Norman, or Celtic antecedents; for some, the link is made through Middle English intermediaries; and others may bear an even fainter impress of dependence as composites of tradition and motif rather than as translations and adaptations of identifiable texts; but none exists in splendid isolation. This is not to say that there is nothing uniquely English about them--to the contrary, they have been selected largely because they have no peer--but responsibly to speak of them as English texts presupposes a sensitivity to that which they inherit from other places, and times.

This Norton Critical Edition presents significant examples of one of the most important bodies of English poetry written before the Renaissance.

The texts of the seven romances included—Havelok, Ywain and Gawain, Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal, The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne, The Weddyng of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell, and The Sege off Melayne—are complete, authoritative (rendered from the best manuscripts), and comprehensively glossed and annotated for undergraduate readers.

In addition to their literary importance, the seven romances were chosen because they shed light on other important Middle English texts.

Sources and Backgrounds offers comparative analogues (many complete) to each of the seven romances. These readings enable students to understand the genre in the context of related medieval ideas and attitudes.

"Criticism" collects four essays that provide a variety of perspectives on Middle English romances by Erich Auerbach, John Finlayson, A. C. Baugh, and Gisela Guddat-Figge.

A Selected Bibliography is also included.

Preface

Reading Middle English

Abbreviations

Middle English Romances

 NURTURE AND CORRECTION

Havelok

Ywain and Gawain

 TRIAL AND ORDEAL

Sir Orfeo

Sir Launfal

 CHALLENGES TO THE ROUND TABLE

The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne

The Weddyng of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell for

 Helpyng of Kyng Arthoure

 HOLY WAR

　 The Sege off Melayne

Sources and Backgrounds

 HAVELOK

Geffrei Gaimar·From L'Estoire des Engleis

 YWAIN AND GAWAIN

Chr6tien de Troyes·From Yvain

 SIR ORFEO

Boethius·From King Alfred's Translation of

The Consolation of Philosophy

 SIR LAUNFAL

Sir Landevale

　THE AWNTYRS OFF ARTHURE AT THE TERNE WATHELYNE

　 The Trental of St. Gregory

　 Two Exempla from the Gesta Romanorum

　THE WEDDYNG OF SYR GAWEN AND DAME RAGNELL

 FOR HELPYNG OF KYNG ARTHOURE

　 The Marriage of Sir Gawaine

　THE SEGE OFF MELAYNE

　 Capystranus

Critlcism

 Erich Auerbach·The Knight Sets Forth

 John Finlayson·Definitions of Middle English Romance

 Albert C Baugh·Improvisation in the Middle

English Romance

 Gisela Guddat-Figge·The Audience of the Romances

Selected Bibliography