Medieval Comic Tales

This anthology, edited by Derek Brewer, gathers comic narratives that circulated in medieval Europe and presents them in modern English prose. The pieces come from French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, and medieval Latin sources: fabliaux, exempla, and short jests about clerks, peasants, wives, priests, and tricksters. Tones run from literary parody to blunt farce; piety and blasphemy, sex and death are regular comic material. The tales stand alone, not as chapters of one romance. The book is a comparative reader of medieval humour, not a study of a single author such as Chaucer or Boccaccio, though later writers drew on the same stock.

Bound in mid-green buckram, cover and spine blocked with a black and gold design by Becca Thorne. Gold slipcase. Xl.