Covering the period from the late thirteenth to the early sixteenth century, Poetry, Knowledge, and Community examines the role of poetry in French culture in transmitting and shaping knowledge. The volume reveals the interplay between poet, text, and audience, and explores the key dynamics of later medieval French poetry and of the communities in which it was produced. Essays in both English and French are organised into three inter-related sections, 'Learned Poetry/ Poetry and Learning', 'Poetry or Prose?', and 'Poetic Communities', and address both canonical and less well-known French and Occitan verse literature, together with a wide range of complementary subject areas. The international cast of contributors to the volume includes many of the best-known scholars in the field: the introductory essay is by Jacqueline Cerquiglini-Toulet (Université de Paris IV, Sorbonne), and keynote essays are provided by David F. Hult (University of California, Berkeley), Michel Zink (Collège de France), and Nancy Freeman Regalado (New York University).

Edited by REBECCA DIXON (University of Manchester) and FINN E. SINCLAIR (University of Cambridge), with the participation of Adrian Armstrong (University of Manchester), Sylvia Huot (University of Cambridge), and Sarah Kay (University of Princeton).
CONTRIBUTORS: Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Mishtooni Bose, Jacqueline Cerquiglini-Toulet, Rebecca Dixon, Thelma Fenster, Denis Hüe, David Hult, Stephanie Kamath, Deborah McGrady, Amandine Mussou, Nancy Freeman Regalado, Jennifer Saltzstein, Finn E. Sinclair, Lori J. Walters, David Wrisley, Michel Zink