Andrew Galloway is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Cornell University, UK. He is the editor of the Yearbook of Langland Studies and co-editor of the 'Medieval' section of The Literature Compass (Blackwells website, 2003).

• 1. Introduction; 2. Historical, Cultural and Intellectual Context; 2.1 Periods and Regions; 2.2 The Three Estates; 2.3 Language, Nation and Religion at the End of the Middle Ages; 3. Literature in the Medieval Period; 3.1 Literary Communities, Literary Movements and Medieval Canonicity; 3.2 Genres; 4. Critical Approaches; 4.1 From the Renaissance through the Eighteenth Century; 4.2 From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century; 4.3 From the 1970s to the Present; 5. Resources for Independent Study; 5.1 Chronology of key historical and cultural events; 5.2 Glossary of key literary terms; 5.3 References and Further Reading; Index.

"'[This] series offers both the student reader and teacher exciting and invaluable interventions in and reorientations around questions of history, culture, and period... With brio, verve, and an admirable brevity, the series grounds our understanding of literature and culture in thought-provoking and highly original ways.... an indispensable series that will set the benchmark for all such surveys and overviews.' - Julian Wolfreys, Professor of Victorian Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Florida."

Andrew Galloway is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Cornell University, UK. He is the editor of the Yearbook of Langland Studies and co-editor of the 'Medieval' section of The Literature Compass (Blackwells website, 2003).

• 1. Introduction; 2. Historical, Cultural and Intellectual Context; 2.1 Periods and Regions; 2.2 The Three Estates; 2.3 Language, Nation and Religion at the End of the Middle Ages; 3. Literature in the Medieval Period; 3.1 Literary Communities, Literary Movements and Medieval Canonicity; 3.2 Genres; 4. Critical Approaches; 4.1 From the Renaissance through the Eighteenth Century; 4.2 From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century; 4.3 From the 1970s to the Present; 5. Resources for Independent Study; 5.1 Chronology of key historical and cultural events; 5.2 Glossary of key literary terms; 5.3 References and Further Reading; Index.

"'[This] series offers both the student reader and teacher exciting and invaluable interventions in and reorientations around questions of history, culture, and period... With brio, verve, and an admirable brevity, the series grounds our understanding of literature and culture in thought-provoking and highly original ways.... an indispensable series that will set the benchmark for all such surveys and overviews.' - Julian Wolfreys, Professor of Victorian Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Florida."

Andrew Galloway is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Cornell University, UK. He is the editor of the Yearbook of Langland Studies and co-editor of the 'Medieval' section of The Literature Compass (Blackwells website, 2003).

• 1. Introduction; 2. Historical, Cultural and Intellectual Context; 2.1 Periods and Regions; 2.2 The Three Estates; 2.3 Language, Nation and Religion at the End of the Middle Ages; 3. Literature in the Medieval Period; 3.1 Literary Communities, Literary Movements and Medieval Canonicity; 3.2 Genres; 4. Critical Approaches; 4.1 From the Renaissance through the Eighteenth Century; 4.2 From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century; 4.3 From the 1970s to the Present; 5. Resources for Independent Study; 5.1 Chronology of key historical and cultural events; 5.2 Glossary of key literary terms; 5.3 References and Further Reading; Index.

"'[This] series offers both the student reader and teacher exciting and invaluable interventions in and reorientations around questions of history, culture, and period... With brio, verve, and an admirable brevity, the series grounds our understanding of literature and culture in thought-provoking and highly original ways.... an indispensable series that will set the benchmark for all such surveys and overviews.' - Julian Wolfreys, Professor of Victorian Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Florida."