This volume contains an entirely new and accessible translation into modern English of the medieval Latin Gesta Romanorum. Based on the standard Gesta edition by Hermann Österley, it is the first such translation to appear since 1824, and the first to take appropriate account of modern scholarly priorities. The Gesta Romanorum are tales drawn from a wide variety of sources, such as classical mythology, legend and historical chronicles, and are accompanied in almost every case by allegorical Christian interpretations. They were enormously popular throughout the Middle Ages, and had a huge influence on many other authors, such as Boccaccio, Chaucer, Gower, Hoccleve, Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw and Thomas Mann. The Gesta is therefore a foundational work of western European literature as well as one whose lively, well-crafted and often entertaining narratives hold a continuing appeal for contemporary readers.

MLN pioneered the introduction of contemporary continental criticism into American scholarship. Critical studies in the modern languages--Italian, Hispanic, German, French--and recent work in comparative literature are the basis for articles and notes in MLN. Four single-language issues and one comparative literature issue are published each year.