Medieval English Prose for Women
Selections from the Katherine Group and Ancrene Wisse
Jocelyn Wogan-Browne editor Bella Millett editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:17th Sep '92
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The Ancrene Wisse, a guide for female recluses written in the West Midlands in the early thirteenth century, and the closely related religious works of the `Katherine Group', offer a vivid insight into the religious life of the time, and their rich and varied prose style blends Latin and native English stylistic traditions with remarkable skill and assurance. The difficulty of their language, however, has made them largely inaccessible except to experts in Middle English, and this edition is designed to introduce them to a wider audience, including undergraduates with limited experience of Middle English and specialists in other disciplines, particularly history, theology, and women's studies. It provides a representative selection (the last two parts of Ancrene Wisse, and three complete works from the Katherine Group, Hali Meithhad, Sawles Warde, and Seinte Margarete) in new and readable critical texts, with a general introduction, notes, a select glossary, and interleaved translations.
`Women's Studies are extended and transcended in this attractive and important book ... This new book, well produced and ... wholly accurate, will lead to a revival of interest.' Notes and Queries
Part of the immediacy of Medieval English Prose for Women comes from its felicitous translation, and we can be grateful to Millet and Wogan-Browne for providing us with a facing-page translation so that the power of the Middle English alliteration is combined with the imaginatively compelling Modern English.' Marion Wynne-Davies, University of Keele, Journal of Gender Studies, Volume 1, Number 2, November 1991
'the editors here wisely decided to translate the texts into contemporary English rather than choosing the surviving forms of words that have now dropped out of common usage ... They have presented easily readable translations in contemporary English while at the same time retaining the rhythm and tone of the originals. The editions themselves are meticulous new critical editions that are much easier to work with than previous ones. The edition includes a fine scholarly introduction in which the editors summarize each of the works, discuss their sources, and briefly comment on their most distinctive features.' Elizabeth Robertson, The University of Colorado at Boulder, Prose Studies, Vol. 15, No. 1, April 1992
'The introduction, without being enormously extensive, is quite satisfyingly informative; the translations are probably as smooth and idiomatic as it is possible to make them, the apparatus easy to use, and the scholarship conforms to the high standards set by previous writings of Millett and Wogan-Browne ... very solid and competent edition.' Claire Fanger, University of Toronto, English Studies, Volume 73, NUmber 6, December 1992
ISBN: 9780198119975
Dimensions: 216mm x 138mm x 15mm
Weight: 347g
262 pages