All of Gwerful Mechain’s known work is included here—as are several poems of uncertain authorship, and a selection of other works that help to fill in the historical and literary context. Each medieval Welsh poem is provided in the original language and in two different translations—a literal translation and a second, freer translation, with rhyme patterns approximating those of the original.

All of Gwerful Mechain’s known work is included here—as are several poems of uncertain authorship, and a selection of other works that help to fill in the historical and literary context. Each medieval Welsh poem is provided in the original language and in two different translations—a literal translation and a second, freer translation, with rhyme patterns approximating those of the original.

A breathtaking journey into the hidden history of medieval manuscripts, from the Lindisfarne Gospels to the ornate Psalter of Henry VIII “A delight—immersive, conversational, and intensely visual, full of gorgeous illustrations and shimmering description.” –Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves Medieval manuscripts can tell us much about power and art, knowledge and beauty. Many have survived because of an author’s status—part of the reason we have so much of Chaucer’s writing, for example, is because he was a London-based government official first and a poet second. Other works by the less influential have narrowly avoided ruin, like the book of illiterate Margery Kempe, found in a country house closet, the cover nibbled on by mice. Scholar Mary Wellesley recounts the amazing origins of these remarkable manuscripts, surfacing the important roles played by women and ordinary people—the grinders, binders, and scribes—in their creation and survival. The Gilded Page is the story of the written word in the manuscript age. Rich and surprising, it shows how the most exquisite objects ever made by human hands came from unexpected places. “Mary Wellesley is a born storyteller and The Gilded Page is as good as historical writing gets. This is a sensational debut by a wonderfully gifted historian.” —Dan Jones, bestselling author of The Plantagenets and The Templars

A monument to the literary genius of women throughout the ages, A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now is an invaluable collection. Here in one volume are the works of three hundred poets from six different continents and four millennia. This revised edition includes a newly expanded section of American poets from the colonial era to the present. "[A] splendid collection of verse by women" (TIME) throughout the ages and around the world; now revised and expanded, with 38 American poets.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field. The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. For the third edition of this volume a considerable number of changes have been made. Newly prepared, for example, is a substantial selection from Baldassare Castiglione’s The Courtier, presented in Thomas Hoby’s influential early modern English translation. Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy is another major addition. Also new to the anthology are excerpts from Thomas Dekker’s plague pamphlets. We have considerably expanded our representation of Elizabeth I’s writings and speeches, as well as providing several more cantos from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene and adding selections from Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia. We have broadened our coverage, too, to include substantial selections of Irish, Gaelic Scottish, and Welsh literature. (Perhaps most notable of the numerous authors in this section are two extraordinary Welsh poets, Dafydd ap Gwilym and Gwerful Mechain.) Mary Sidney Herbert’s writings now appear in the bound book instead of on the companion website. Margaret Cavendish, previously included in volume 3 of the full anthology, will now also be included in this volume; we have added a number of her poems, with an emphasis on those with scientific themes. The edition features two new Contexts sections: a sampling of “Tudor and Stuart Humor,” and a section on “Levellers, Diggers, Ranters, and Covenanters.” New materials on emblem books and on manuscript culture have also been added to the “Culture: A Portfolio” contexts section. There are many additions the website component as well—including Thomas Deloney’s Jack of Newbury also published as a stand-alone BABL edition). We are also expanding our online selection of transatlantic material, with the inclusion of writings by John Smith, William Bradford, and Anne Bradstreet.

Observant, passionate, witty, offbeat, Mike Parker tours Powys from the border towns of Hay on Wye, Presteigne and Knighton, through the interior and on to the furthest points of Newtown, Penybont, Ystradgynlais and Brecon. What surprises does he stumble upon among the mountains, forests, streams and farms of this mysterious countryside?