MALCOLM HEBRON teaches English Literature at Winchester College, UK. He is author of Mastering the Language of Literature, and The Medieval Siege (OUP), and writes articles on language and literature for various academic and educational journals.

'Too often literary introductions try to obscure differences between the 'then' and the 'now' when attempting to woo students to the period or offer seemingly easy points of access for new readers; this introduction preserves and celebrates the difference of the period and its literature without suggesting that it is inaccessible.' - Matt Woodcock, University of East Anglia, UK 'This is an immensely readable reference book.' - Helen Smith, Times Higher Education Textbook Guide

• General Editors' PrefaceShort Introductory EssayContexts: History, Politics, CultureLiterature: Texts, Themes, IssuesCriticism: Approaches, Theory, PracticeBibliographyChronologyIndex.