This Companion presents fifteen original and engaging essays by leading scholars on one of the most influential genres of Western literature. Essays on the origins of romance in French and English courts are complemented by articles that trace the transmission and evolution of these stories throughout Europe. The volume provides a clear introduction for students and fresh perspectives for scholars on topics ranging from manuscripts to gender roles in chivalry and courtly love. An introduction, a chronology and a bibliography of texts and translations complete this lively, useful overview.

Selective chronology
Introduction Roberta L. Krueger

Part I. The Shapes, Origins, and Contexts of Medieval Romance

1. The shape of romance in medieval France Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner
2. Marvels of translation and crises of transition in the romances of antiquity Christopher Baswell
3. Romance and other genres Simon Gaunt
4. The manuscript context of medieval romance Sylvia Huot

Part II. European Romance and Medieval Society: Issues for Debate

5. Courts, clerks, and courtly love Sarah Kay
6. The societal role of chivalry in romance: Northwestern Europe Richard Kaeuper
7. The other worlds of romance Jeff Rider
8. Questions of gender in old French romance Roberta L. Krueger
9. Women and men in late medieval romance Sheila Fisher

Part III. European Transformations

10. The evolution and legacy of French prose romance Norris J. Lacy
11. Medieval German romance Ann Marie Rasmussen
12. Chivalry and medieval Italian romance F. Regina Psaki
13. Gawain and popular chivalric romance in Britain Thomas Hahn
14. Middle English romance: family, marriage, intimacy Felicity Riddy
15. Romance at the crossroads: medieval Spanish paradigms and Cervantine revisions Marina Brownlee.