Visions of the Other World in Middle English (review)

Reviews 207 The reader-enticement is engaging and ubiquitous, its authority enforcing the m a n y cultural obiter dicta, e. g.: 'the most ineffectual of monarchs . . . Aethelraed . . . "Noble Counsel", was rechristened Unraed (No Counsel) by later generations' (p.94); or, concerning the soul-warning and soul-winning public religious drama: 'For at least two centuries it was possible to stand in the streets and market places of mediaeval cities ... and witness the drama of cosmic conflict, human frailty and eternal destiny played out for all to see—and heed' (p. 225). It but remains to add that this text will be high on the list of my university's bibliography for "The Medieval Background: A Study of Set Texts in Translation and Related Problems'. J. S. Ryan School ofEnglish, Communication and Theatre The University ofNew England Easting, Robert, ed., Visions of the Other World in Middle Engli (Annotated Bibliographies of Old and Middle English Literature 3), Cambridge, D. S. Brewer, 1997; cloth; pp. xi, 119; R.R.P. £30.00, US$54.00. Visions of the Other World in Middle English is Volume 3 of the Annotated Bibliographies of Old and Middle English Literature, of which four have n o w been produced. The series is intended to cover every area of medieval English literary studies for which such a tool does not already exist. Items are listed chronologically rather than alphabetically, a sensible arrangement which enables the reader to follow the historical development of the scholarly debate. Items by particular authors m a y be located by consulting the alphabetical index of scholars and critics at the end of the book. 208 Reviews In accordance with editorial policy the individual annotations comprise neutral summaries of varying lengths while the General Introduction provides an overview of the field and the opportunity for the volume editor to offer a critical analysis of individual works and of the general trend of scholarship. By concentrating on small, well-defined fields, the series can afford to be comprehensive and detailed. For this particular volume a wise editorial decision was m a d e to separate visions of the otherworld from the vast field of saints' legends. Visits by the dead to the living are also excluded from consideration. The commendably narrow focus has resulted in a manageable volume of 119 pages, of which 90 are devoted to the bibliography and 15 to the General Introduction. A s well as the Index of Scholars and Critics, there is an Index of Manuscripts and a short Subject Index. The bibliography features 443 entries, some of which are repeated since works dealing with more than one vision are listed separately under each heading. It is interesting to note that most of the secondary scholarship is in either English or German, although works in Italian and French are also included. Presumably this is an accurate reflection of the field, which prompts the question of whether this reflects the literary bias of such studies or differences in national temperament. Certainly the British Isles seem to have been particularly fertile producers of otherworld visionaries during the middle ages. The bibliography is divided into eight main sections. The f i r s t section, entitled "The Latin Tradition and Background', gives a brief treatment of secondary scholarship on medieval visions of the otherworld, while the remaining seven sections are each devoted to a particular vision. The sections themselves recapitulate this arrangement. A n introductory note on the Latin source, if any, is followed by a select, non-annotated bibliography on it. A similar Reviews 209 introductory note precedes the Middle English versions which are then treated separately, with the annotated bibliography following the l i s t of manuscripts in which the vision appears. A synopsis is provided of either the Latin source or the main Middle English version, in most cases with an indication of the original's word length. Thefirsttext is the Vision of St. Paul. Originally composed in Greek in Egypt in the second century, it was translated into Latin in thefifthor sixth century and became one of the principal foundations of the medieval otherworld vision. The four verse and two prose Middle English versions all derive...