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Late medieval English society placed great weight on the practices of primogeniture, patrilineal descent, and patriarchal government, and the significance of the father had cultural resonance beyond the rule of law. Yet despite a burgeoning interest in both the family and gender, "the father" has to date received little attention from medievalists. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the "fictions" of fatherhood, the ideological constructs that underpinned late medieval conceptions of fathers and patriarchy. Its focus on gentry and mercantile readers and writers also offers new insights into the literary culture of late medieval England by considering how texts were produced and received within gentry and bourgeois communities, and demonstrates the ability of texts to not only reflect but also shape hegemonic norms and cultural anxieties. Through close examination of late medieval letters and romances, It shows how the father was the dominant figure not only of medieval domestic life, but also of the medieval imagination. Dr Rachel Moss is Lecturer in Medieval History, Faculty of History, University of Oxford.

English literature --- Fatherhood in literature. --- Fatherhood --- History and criticism. --- History --- Parenthood --- Gentry. --- Ideological Constructs. --- Late-Medieval Father. --- Mercantile Readers. --- Middle English Texts. --- Patriarchy. --- Patrilineal Descent. --- Primogeniture. --- Literature and society

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Although English medieval minstrels performed 'gestes', a genre closely related to romance, often playing the harp or the fiddle, the question of if, and how, Middle English romance was performed has been hotly debated. Here, the performance tradition is explored by combining textual, historical and musicological scholarship with practical experience from a noted musician. Using previously unrecognised evidence, the author reconstructs a realistic model of minstrel performance, showing how a simple melody can interact with the text, and vice versa. She argues that elements in Middle English romance which may seem simplistic or repetitive may in fact be incomplete, as missing an integral musical dimension; metrical irregularities, for example, may be relics of sophisticated rhythmic variation that make sense only with music. Overall, the study offers both a more accurate comprehension of minstrel performance, and a deeper appreciation of the romances themselves. Linda Marie Zaerr is Professor of Medieval Studies at Boise State University.

Romances, English --- Songs, English (Middle) --- Minstrels --- Jongleurs --- Bards and bardism --- Manners and customs --- Poets --- English songs, Middle --- Middle English songs --- Songs, English (Middle English, 1100-1500) --- Songs, Middle English --- English romances --- English literature --- Musical settings --- History and criticism. --- History --- Musicians --- Arranged Marriages. --- Court Culture. --- Late Medieval Ideology. --- Love and Marriage. --- Medieval Courtship. --- Medieval Romance. --- Middle English Literature. --- Middle English Romance. --- Middle English Texts. --- Minstrel Performance. --- Minstrels. --- Music and Romance. --- Romance Performance. --- Romantic Literature.