The History of British Women's Writing, 700-1500

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvi

   PDF

2. Writing a History of British Women’sWriting from 700 to 1500

   1. Writing a History of British Women’sWriting from 700 to 1500

      • Liz Herbert McAvoy, Diane Watt

      Pages 1-27

3. Pre-texts and Contexts

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 29-29

      PDF

   2. Women and the Origins of English Literature

      • Clare A. Lees, Gillian R. Overing

      Pages 31-40

   3. Literary Production Before and After the Conquest

      • Catherine A. M. Clarke

      Pages 41-50

   4. The French of the English and Early British Women s Literary Culture

      • Catherine Batt

      Pages 51-59

   5. Women Writers in Wales

      • Jane Cartwright

      Pages 60-71

   6. Medieval Antifeminism

      • Anke Bernau

      Pages 72-82

4. Bodies, Behaviours, and Texts

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 83-83

      PDF

   2. Romance

      • Corinne Saunders

      Pages 85-94

   3. Saints’ Lives

      • Shari Horner

      Pages 95-102

   4. Devotional Literature

      • Michelle M. Sauer

      Pages 103-111

   5. Marian Literature

      • Sue Niebrzydowski

      Pages 112-120

   6. Late-Medieval Conduct Literature

      • Myra J. Seaman

      Pages 121-130

5. Literacies and Literary Cultures

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 131-131

      PDF

   2. Women and their Manuscripts

      • Carol M. Meale

      Pages 133-141

   3. Women and Reading

      • Lara Farina

      Pages 142-150

   4. Women and Networks of Literary Production

      • Elizabeth Robertson

      Pages 151-159

   5. Anonymous Texts

      • Liz Herbert McAvoy

      Pages 160-168

   6. Women Translators

      • Alexandra Barratt

      Pages 169-177

This volume focuses on women's literary history in Britain between 700 and 1500. It brings to the fore a wide range of women's literary activity undertaken in Latin, Welsh and Anglo-Norman alongside that of the English vernacular, demanding a rethinking of the traditions of literary history, and ultimately the concept of 'writing' itself.

• Women's Writing
• Medieval studies
• English literature
• Great Britain
• Middle Ages
• women
• British and Irish Literature

'This collection is a noteworthy addition to the bibliography on women's contributions to medieval literature...McAvoy and Watt are to be commended for compiling an outstanding collaborative history of women's writings, as well as a significant history of medieval literature. It will be profitably read by anyone interested in medieval literature or women's writing. With its assessments of prior and current scholarship and its generous notes and bibliography, it offers a thorough overview of the field for graduate students, and its informative, well-written, and original essays make it recommended reading for anyone studying women's writing.' - Monica Brzezinski Potkay, The Review of English Studies

'McAvoy and Watt aim with this volume to establish a more engaging and relevant dialogue between past and present, and they succeed. The History of British Women's Writing, 700-1500 is, in fact, an exciting and valuable contribution to the study of medieval literature and feminist studies.' - Make Mag

• Swansea University, UK

  Liz Herbert McAvoy

• School of English and Languages, University of Surrey, UK

  Diane Watt

Amy Appleford, Boston University, USA Alexandra Barratt, University Of Waikato, New Zealand Catherine Batt, University Of Leeds, UK Anke Bernau, University Of Manchester, UK Jennifer N. Brown, Marymount Manhattan College, USA Jane Cartwright, University Of Wales Trinity St David, UK Catherine A. M. Clarke, Swansea University, UK James Daybell, University Of Plymouth, UK Mary C. Erler, English Fordham University, New York, USA Lara Farina, West Virginia University, USA Annette C. Grise, Mcmaster University, Canada Shari Horner, Shippensburg University, USA Clare A. Lees, Kings College London, UK Carol M. Meale, University Of Bristol, UK Laura Saetveit Miles, University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA Sue Niebrzydowski, Bangor University, UK Gillian R. Overing, Wake Forest University, USA Elizabeth Robertson, University Of Glasgow, UK Michelle M. Sauer, University Of North Dakota, USA Corinne Saunders, Durham University, UK Myra J. Seaman, College Of Charleston, USA Nancy Bradley Warren, Texas A&M University, USA

Policies and ethics