The texts of the seven romances included—Havelok, Ywain and Gawain, SirOrfeo, Sir Launfal, The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne, TheWeddyng of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell, and The Sege off Melayne—arecomplete, authoritative (rendered from the best manuscripts), andcomprehensively glossed and annotated for undergraduate readers. In addition to their literary importance, the seven romances werechosen because they shed light on other important Middle English texts.<br /><br />"Sources and Backgrounds" offers comparative analogues (many complete) toeach of the seven romances. These readings enable students tounderstand the genre in the context of related medieval ideas andattitudes.<br /><br />"Criticism" collects four essays that provide a variety of perspectiveson Middle English romances by Erich Auerbach, John Finlayson, A. C.Baugh, and Gisela Guddat-Figge.<br /><br />A Selected Bibliography is also included.