These chapters on Old English Literature are intended to fill the gap between Professor Thomas’s valuable, but all too brief account in his English Literature before Chaucer, and longer works, such as those of Stopford Brooke and the Chapters in the first volume of the Cambridge History of English Literature. My primary object has, of course, been to make the works themselves known to my readers, but I have also tried to trace the development of prose and poetry during the period, showing in the poetry the modifications of the original Germanic character brought about by later influences of all kinds, and noting those forms or features which lead on to Middle English. In dealing with the many unsettled questions, I have given only the views which seem to me most important. Had I wished to do more, it would obviously have been impossible in the space which I have allowed myself; but references to other works are added for a student who may wish to make a more thorough investigation of such points for himself.

V. 1. Old English to 1800.--v. 2. 1800 to the present.

Written in an engaging and accessible manner, English Literature in the Age of Chaucer serves as both a lucid introduction to Middle English literature for those coming fresh to the study of earlier English writing, and as a stimulating examination of the themes, traditions and the literary achievement of a number of particulary original and interesting authors. In addition to detailed and sensitive treatment of Chaucer's major works, the book includes chapters on his chief contemporaries, such as John Gower, William Langland and the Gawain-poet. It also examines the often underrated contribution to the English literary tradition of his successors John Lydgate and Thomas Hoccleve, as well as the interesting and original work of the Scottish poets, Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas, who also claim Chaucer as their model. Apart from the narrative poetry of Chaucer and his followers, the book also contains chapters on the Middle English lyric; Middle English prose, including Mandeville's travels; the most original and imaginative writings of the Middle English mystics, in particular Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe; and Thomas Malory's impressive prose compilation of Arthurian stories.

The written word is one of the defining elements of Christian experience. As vigorous in the 1st century as it is in the 21st, Christian literature has had a significant function in history, and teachers and students need to be reminded of this powerful literary legacy. Covering 2,000 years, The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature is the first encyclopedia devoted to Christian writers and books. In addition to an overview of the Christian literature, this two-volume set also includes 40 essays on the principal genres of Christian literature and more than 400 bio-bibliographical essays describing the principal writers and their works. These essays examine the evolution of Christian thought as reflected in the literature of every age. The companion volume also features bibliographies, an index, a timeline of Christian Literature, and a list of the greatest Christian authors. The encyclopedia will appeal not only to scholars and Christian evangelicals, but students and teachers in seminaries and theological schools, as well as to the growing body of Christian readers and bibliophiles.

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