Norman Davis

This anthology covers a period in English literature - from the death of Chaucer to the early years of Henry VIII's reign - and forms an impressive and entertaining vindication that this is no dull period of 'transition' but an age of ferment and achievement. Included are extracts representative of such familiar authors as Malory, Henryson, Skelton, and More, and the well-known types of literature - songs and lyrics, ballads and romances. Also included are texts which have never before been published or available only in very obscure editions, as well as private letters, extracts from books on alchemy and medicine and hunting and fishing, recipes - for grilled salmon and stewed partridge - and tips on how to make hair grow.

The Oxford Book of Late Medieval Verse and Prose

Richard Beadle

Colin Richmond

The Paston family papers provide an incomparable picture of life in fifteenth-century England, and richly illustrate the resources of the language at an important period. They have long been consulted by historians and other students of the fifteenth century for their information about social history and politics, both within East Anglia and also nationally. This authoritative edition, by Professor Norman Davis--formerly Director of the Early English Text Society--was published by the Clarendon Press in 1971 (volume I) and 1976 (volume II) but has long been out of print. In addition to the letters and papers themselves, Volume I contains excellent biographical sketches of the writers, a full comparative chronological table, and an informative introduction to the separate documents. Volume II contains correspondence addressed to the Pastons by others than members of the family. This is arranged in chronological order under the names of the recipients, and in addition some sixty miscellaneous documents are also included. A third volume, which Professor Davis was unable to complete before his death, is in preparation, edited by Dr. Richard Beadle and Professor Colin Richmond. This will include the remaining text and the indexes, and will complete the series.

Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century

The Paston family papers have long been consulted for their infomation about social history and politics in the fiftenth century, both within East Anglia and also nationally. Parts I and II of Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, edited by Norman Davis, were originally published by the Clarendon Press in 1971 and 1976, and were reissued with corrections by EETS in 2004. Part III completes the edition. It contains the texts of 120 additional letters and papers, many of them relating to Sir John Fastolf and his circle. These texts are previously unprinted, or printed only in part; some only came to light after the publication of Parts I and II. The texts have been edited according to the principles established by Norman Davis, and are accompanied by an Introduction and Bibliography, as well as a consolidated index to all three parts of the edition, a glossary to the entire edition, a concordance of the principal editions and origal sources, and a working chronology of the documents. Richard Beadle is Reader in English Literature and Historical Bibliography at the University of Cambridge; Colin Richmond is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Keele.

"The Pastons of Norfolk left behind them an incomparable picture of life in fifteenth-century England in the earliest great collection of family letters in English."--BOOK JACKET. "The letters span three generations and most were written during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III, in a period of political turmoil, local anarchy and war abroad and at home. They reveal personal hopes and anxieties, and contain as well as business matters a wealth of information on leisure pursuits, education, and domestic life. The writers express themselves with a clarity and vigour that is remarkable at this early date, and the letters illustrate, as no other documents can, the state of the language in daily use immediately before and after the introduction of printing."--BOOK JACKET. "This modernized selection prepared from the original manuscripts is designed to present the full range of the Pastons' principal concerns."--BOOK JACKET.

Norman Davis

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