Europe: A Literary History, 1348-1418.

Physical Description: 2 vols. xlii, 747 pp.; xlii, 844 pp; maps and b&w illus.

Description: Surveys the literatures of late medieval Europe (eastern, western, and peripheral) from the onset of the Black Death to the end of the Great Schism at the Council of Constance, describing historical events, cultural conditions, ideological developments, languages, and methods of literary production, all with emphasis on cross-fertilizations. Includes eighty-two essays by various authors, titled and arranged as a series of geographical locales and pathways. The volumes include an index of manuscripts, and (all by Wallace) a general introduction (1:xxii-xlii; rpt. in 2), nine subsidiary introductions to essay clusters, and a culminating essay. Chaucer is cited more than 100 times in the general index (2:691-844). For five essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Europe: A Literary History, 1348-1418 under Alternative Title.