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• Prose Merlin

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  This anonymously authored Middle English adaptation of the Old French Vulgate Cycle survives in one manuscript, Cambridge University Library MS Ff.3.11, and was written near the middle of the fifteenth century, making it the single earliest piece of prose Arthuriana in Middle English. A complete account of its titular character’s life, the Prose Merlin follows the sorcerer from birth to final imprisonment by his former apprentice, Nimiane. Although composed not long before Malory’s Arthurian epic Le Morte D’Arthur, the Prose Merlin provides a more focused and optimistic account of the Arthurian court, while also reveling in the supernatural themes of its subjects. This edition, accessible to the reader unfamiliar with Middle English prose, is the first complete edition of the romance published since the nineteenth century, making it a valuable resource for modern scholarship.

• Prose Merlin

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• The Prophecy of Merlin (Dublin MS)

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• The Prophecy of Merlin (Bodley MS)

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• The Prophecy of Merlin (Magdalene Coll. MS)

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• Medieval English Political Writings

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  This selection of (mostly) anonymous texts reflects a variety of English political concerns from the turbulent fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Five sections introduce important themes: “Poems of Political Prophecy,” which foretell the imminent demise of England, include prophecies attributed to Merlin and Thomas of Erceldoune. “Anticlerical Poems and Documents,” which records complaints against corrupt clergy, focuses on the controversial Lollard movement. “Literature of Richard II's Reign and the Peasants' Revolt” documents the events of the 1381 rising, which began with protests against a royal poll tax; highlights include letters by the rebel priest John Ball. “Poems against Simony and the Abuse of Money,” which condemns greedy actors in the Church and courts of law, contains the “Sir Penny” lyrics. Finally, “Plowman Writings,” inspired by Langland’s Piers Plowman, idealize the poor hard-working farmer as a symbol of spiritual truth in the face of oppressive overlords. Discontent with the uneven distribution of wealth suffuses these Middle English works—an issue still relevant today.