Resumen de Medieval English Manuscripts and Literary Forms

Joshua Hutchinson (res.)

• A handbook for the use and understanding of medieval English manuscripts is a significant undertaking. A good version of such a handbook is even more significant—but it can pay dividends for a generation as it introduces a new crop of students to the field, while also advancing scholarship. In addition, the benefits of creating a central repository for information relating to such manuscripts include the very significant opportunity to allow those who don’t have access to the physical manuscript the ability to participate in its examination and interpretation. Even in the age of digitized manuscripts, this is important. The new monograph from Jessica Brantley is one such book; Medieval English Manuscripts and Literary Forms ably threads the needle of providing content of interest for scholars and teachers, while remaining an accessible work for students. Of note, it is also at times visually arresting with sixteen pages of well-printed full color plates.