3 Review(s)

Veering between unprecedented military successes and the violent downfalls of kings, the period between the accession of Edward III and the death of Edward IV was a rich subject for contemporary political writers. This two-volume collection of poems and tracts was first compiled by Thomas Wright as part of the Rolls Series, commissioned to edit and publish publicly owned manuscript texts. First published in 1859 and including thirty-five pieces in English, French and Latin, Volume 1 covers the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. It features poems by Gower and Deschamps, a commentary on a fictional prophecy, and the much-contested Speght text of Chaucer's apocryphal 'Complaint of the Ploughman'. Also included are translations of the French poems, and a contextualising introduction. A fascinating example of Victorian scholarship and its expectations of readers, this set represents an interested resource for students of English literature and history.