The Testament of Love

by Thomas Usk, R Allen Shoaf (Editor)

Overview

Shoaf here presents a hitherto neglected Middle English text for both undergraduate and graduate classrooms: Thomas Usk's The Testament of Love. Left unpublished since the nineteenth century, Usk's modern edition includes glosses, notes, and a contextualizing introduction to assist students of all levels in approaching Usk's Middle English poem. The fourteenth century work describes Love descending to Usk's prison cell, and the two engaging in a long, theological conversation reminiscent of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. Notable for its idiosyncratic imagery, wide variety of themes, and Christian sentimentality, The Testament of Love is a fascinating text to be studied in any Middle English classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580440011
Publisher:	Medieval Institute Publications
Publication date:	06/01/1998
Series:	TEAMS Middle English Texts Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	471
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x (h) x (d)

About the Author

R. Allen Shoaf is Professor of English at the University of Florida. He co-founded and edited Exemplaria: A Journal of Theory in Medieval and Renaissance Studies between 1987 and 2008 and currently is a member of the Advisory Boards of The Chaucer Review and Advances in Literary Study.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction i. Nature of the Project ii. Usk's Biography iii. Overview of The Testament of Love a. Plot b. Sources c. Imagery d. Themes e. Ideology iv. Usk and His Contemporaries v. Importance of The Testament of Love vi. Guide to this Edition a. The Transcription b. Transcription Conventions c. How to Read this Edition d. Glosses and Glossary e. Annotations f. The Problem of the Broken Sequence of Book 3 g. Hypertext Version Select Bibliography (with Annotations) Summary of The Testament of Love The Testament of Love Prologue Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Notes Introduction List of Abbreviations Prologue Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Appendices 1. The Pearl (TL 2.12 and 3.1) 2. The Appeal of Thomas Usk against John Northampton (TL 1.6-8) 3. St. Anselm's De Concordia (Sections Relevant to TL)