This collection of original essays by an international group of distinguished medievalists provides a comprehensive introduction to the great work of Sir Thomas Malory, which will be indispensable for both students and scholars. It is divided into three main sections, on Malory in context, the art of the Morte Darthur, and its reception in later years. As well as essays on the eight tales which make up the Morte Darthur, there are studies of the relationship between the Winchestermanuscript and Caxton's and later editions; the political and social context in which Malory wrote; his style and...

John Lydgate wrote the 'Lives of Ss Edmund & Fremund' at the request of his abbot, William Curteys, to commemorate the stay of the young King Henry VI at the Benedictine abbey of Bury St Edmunds from Christmas Eve 1433 to shortly after Easter 1434 when Henry was received into confraternity. The work survives in thirteen manuscripts or fragments, and BL MS Harley 2278, on which the present edition of the 'Lives of Ss Edmund & Fremund' is based, was the copy of the poem presented to Henry VI, probably before 1444. The 'Lives' consists of a prologue, the Life of St Edmund as books one and two,...