Devotional texts in late medieval England were notable for their flamboyant piety and their preoccupation with the tortured body of Christ and the grief of the Virgin Mary. Generations of readers internalized and shaped the "cultures of piety" represented by these works. Anne Clark Bartlett and Thomas H. Bestul here gather seven examples of this literature, all written in the period 1350–1450, one in Anglo-Norman, the remainder in Middle English. (The volume includes an appendix containing the original texts of the latter six pieces.) The collection illustrates the polyglottal, conflicting, and often polemical nature of devotional culture in the Middle Ages. It provides a valuable context for and interesting counterpoint to the Canterbury Tales and other classic works of late medieval England. The introduction and the translators' headnotes discuss crucial aspects of the texts' histories and thematics, including the importance of the body in spiritual practices, the development of female patronage and of a wide audience for this literature, and the indivisibility of the political and the religious in medieval times.

Originally published in 1974. The thirty-six essays of this book were written and assembled in hour of an internationally recognised scholar of medieval literature. Written by a diverse range of contributors, the chapters cover not only various studies of aspects of Chaucer’s poetry, but also some other medieval authors and investigations about the period, particularly referencing carols and hymns.

This is a survey of the prose to be found in six smaller collections of the Bodleian Library: English Miscellaneous, English Poetry, English Theology, Latin Theology, Lyell, and the Radcliffe Trust. The manuscripts covered include the largest in Middle English, the Vernon manuscript.

The book offers a new perspective on late medieval compiling activity. Additionally, it offers a more nuanced perspective on late medieval religious culture in England. Lastly, it examines three major, but understudied Middle English texts in depth: the Pore Caitif, The Tretyse of Love and A Talkyng of the Love of God.

Aims to assess the spiritual state of England under Catholicism, before the onslaught of the Reformation. It covers the Latin and the Wycliffite bibles, the way Catholicism was disseminated, the mass, parish celebrations, pilgrimage, indulgences, security for the dead and more.