G.a. Lester

Index of manuscripts in Middle English prose contained in the John Rylands & Chetham's Libraries, Manchester The John Rylands and Chetham's Libraries, Manchester, were both founded by charitable local magnates and in the course of time have become well known in many parts of the world. Housed in their striking original premises, they both contain major collections of manuscripts which in each case include important texts in Middle English prose. In particular, the Rylands collection, which is the larger, has fifteen copies of the Wycliffite Bible, six of the prose Brut, three of Nicholas Love's Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesu Chris, two of Pore Caitif, as well as single copies of numerous other works. Chetham's has a Wycliffite Bible, a Mandeville's Travels, a Polychronicontranslation by Trevisa, lives of Christ and of the saints, and an important series of scientific and medical texts.

This book gives a linguistic overview of the first eight centuries of English poetry - years which produced such key works as Beowulf, Layaman's Brut and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It begins with chapters on the social and literary context, before turning in more detail to subjects such as poetic diction, rhymed and alliterative verse, borrowed words, recurrent phrases, rhetoric and linguistic variety. Aimed at the beginning student and general reader, the book seeks to enhance appreciation and enjoyment by making the linguistic resources of the poets better understood.

The Index of Middle English Prose is an international collaborative project which will ultimately locate, identify and record all extant Middle English prose texts composed between c.1200 and c.1500, in both manuscript andprinted form in medieval and post-medieval versions. The first step towards this goal has been this series of Handlists, each recording the holdings of a major library or group of libraries. Compiled by scholars, Handlists include detailed descriptions ofeach prose item with identifications, categorisations and full bibliographical data. Every Handlist will also contain a series of indexes including listings of opening and closing lines, authors, titles, subject matter and rubrics. For students of the middle ages Handlists provide essential bibliographical tools and shed light on a wide range of subjects.