Writers of the Reign of Henry II

"This valuable collection of essays by leading scholars gives us a comprehensive picture of textual practice in the multi-linguistic and socially heterogeneous England of the later twelfth century. Writers of the Reign of Henry II envisions a new way of thinking about this era in English literary history, not as a transitional stage between the Anglo-Saxon and Middle English periods, but rather on its own terms as one of the most exciting and politically charged eras of literary culture in which Latin, English, and French occupied overlapping spheres of influence. The great virtue of this volume is that it does not reduce the multivocality of the twelfth century by focusing on just one of its languages, genres, or literary traditions, but instead surveys the diverse and often dissonant textual voices of the period." - Rita Copeland, University of Pennsylvania