The Mythographic Art : Classical Fable and the Rise of the Vernacular in Early France and England

"An important collection on an area essential to understanding the intellectual foundations and literary practices of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . . . invaluable not only for its insights into the individual works of authors as diverse as John Sandys and Chrétien de Troyes, but also for the light shed on medieval and Renaissance ways of appropriating the texts and legends of the classical world. Despite its breadth of inquiry, Professor Chance’s volume demonstrates a unity and focus often lacking in collections of this sort."—Julian Wasserman, Loyola University

"This collection of essays will help both medievalists and Renaissance scholars to collect and focus their energies on one of the most neglected but truly important fields in our discipline; it should, I think, contribute significantly to our ongoing recovery of the vernacular tradition in Western Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. No serious medievalist or Renaissance scholar can afford not to have this book."—R. A. Shoaf, University of Florida

Jane Chance, professor of English at Rice University, is author or editor of several books including Medieval Mythography, and Gender and Text in the Later Middle Ages.