This is the unique anthology that includes all thirty-one English verses from MS Harley 2253, all the poems of Francis Herbert that were published in Brown XIV, as well as all significant poems cited in Robbins' collection Secular Lyrics. In total, there are 245 verses, categorized thematically. To make these enjoyable poems accessible to the modern reader, the editors have removed many of the spelling difficulties associated with Middle English poetry and have modernized the punctuation, capitalization, and archaic letters, while still preserving the deep integrity of the poems. "Critical and Historical Backgrounds" are provided through essays by Peter Dronke, Stephen Manning, Raymond Oliver, and Rosemary Woolf. In a special section, six poems are highlighted for critical analysis by A. K. Moore, Edmund Reiss, D. W. Robertson, Jr., E. T. Donaldson, John Speirs, Thomas Jemielity, D. G. Halliburton, Leo Spitzer, and others. Two of these verses, "Maiden in the mor lay" and "I sing of a maiden," are analyzed by four different scholars. In total, twenty-five poems are discussed in the essays. The volume also includes a list of abbreviations, a table of text sources and dates, a selected bibliography, and an index of first lines.
