Peter Brown is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Kent and Chair of its School of English. His publications include Reading Dreams: The Interpretation of Dreams from Chaucer to Shakespeare (editor and contributor), Chaucer at Work: The Making of the Canterbury Tales, and, with Andrew Butcher, The Age of Saturn: Literature and History in the Canterbury Tales.

‘This collection of accessible, informative essays provides students and teachers with a balance of textual analysis and cultural contexts designed to enhance the understanding of Chaucer's major and minor works . . . Both serious first-time readers of Chaucer and veterans looking for credible information on more recent avenues of inquiry will find this a valuable source of information and bibliography.' Choice"This work, the latest entry in Blackwell's "Companions to Literature and Culture" series. . . provides an inclusive and scholarly orientation to current theories and interpretation of Chaucer's works." "Each essay. . . places Chaucer's texts into cultural context by examining the medieval point of view, and includes notes, references, and suggestions for further readings." "The text. . . will serve well as a one-volume introduction for new students. It also provides access to original research and new ideas sought by graduate students and faculty." Library Journal "Overall, this is useful book. providing an up-to-date survey of the state of Chaucer scholarship on a wide range of issues...it will provoke interesting and educational debates in and out of the classroom." Reference Reviews "[This book] is both highly readable and rich in its diversity, a book which any Chaucerian, novice or seasoned, will often pick up simply for the pleasure of browsing[...] Every student of Chaucer, from undergraduate to emiritus professor, will want to have access to it." English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature

• List of Illustrations viii The Contributors ixAcknowledgements xvAbbreviations of Chaucer's Works xviThe Idea of a Chaucer Companion 1Peter Brown1 Afterlife 8Carolyn Collette2 Authority 23Andrew Galloway3 Bodies 40Linda Ehrsam Voigts4 Chivalry 58Derek Brewer5 Christian Ideologies 75Nicholas Watson6 Comedy 90Laura Kendrick7 Contemporary English Writers 114James Simpson8 Crisis and Dissent 133Alcuin Blamires9 France 149Michael Hanly10 Games 167Malcolm Andrew11 Genre 180Caroline D. Eckhardt12 Geography and Travel 195Scott D. Westrem13 Italy 218David Wallace14 Language 235David Burnley15 Life Histories 251Janette Dillon16 London 266Michael Hanrahan17 Love 281Helen Phillips18 Modes of Representation 296Edward Wheatley19 Narrative 312Robert R. Edwards20 Other Thought-worlds 332Susanna Fein21 Pagan Survivals 349John M. Fyler22 Personal Identity 360Lynn Staley23 Science 378Irma Taavitsainen24 Social Structures 397Robert Swanson25 Style 414John F. Plummer26 Texts 428Tim William Machan27 Translation 443Roger Ellis28 Visualizing 459Sarah Stanbury29 Women 480Nicky HallettIndex 495