Sentimental and Humorous Romances

This volume presents a unique collection of Middle English romances, each with a different view of society. One of the oldest English romances, Floris and Blancheflour, presents a tale of oriental wonders: a harem, an emir who never lacks a wife, eunuchs, and a garden housing a magical tree and spring. Sir Degrevant relates a tale of country nobility and marriage between the low and high ranks, while realistically illustrating their status and the ever-present issues of love and battle; The Squire of Low Degree is a poem about social mobility and the difference between reputation and wealth. The Tournament of Tottenham and its likely continuation, The Feast of Tottenham , are excellent examples of burlesque where the humor is inescapable: the bumpkin heroes in their stuffed sheepskins fighting with flails for the reeve's daughter, who is watching them with her pet hen on her lap, are a spectacle not easily forgotten. - from the Introduction

Erik Kooper received both his MA and PhD degrees from Utrecht University, where he taught Old and Middle English until his retirement in 2007. Since then he has regularly taught courses and given guest lectures both at his own university, the Nijmegen Radboud University, and abroad, e.g. in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Ghent (Belgium). His main research interests are in the fields of Middle English literature and culture, and medieval historiography. In 1999 he founded the Medieval Chronicle Society (of which he was International President until 2008), and its yearbook The Medieval Chronicle, of which he is still the general editor. His other recent publications include an edition of four Middle English romances for the American TEAMS series (2006), an edition of the Middle English poem Arthur (2011), and several articles.