Paris and Vienne, published in 1485, and Blanchardyn and Eglantine, published in 1489, are unique among the romances printed for English audiences by William Caxton, the printer responsible for many of the earliest print versions of major canonical works in England. The only independent tales of adventure that Caxton did not draw from the epic cycles of England, France, Greece, and Rome, these romances enjoyed widespread popularity throughout medieval Europe in multiple languages and in both verse and prose prior to Caxton's translations. Presenting lively characters, distinctive treatments of familiar plots, and differing but complementary accounts of chivalry and courtly love, these romances were both edifying and entertaining for medieval English audiences; as two of the first knightly romances ever printed in England, they also provide important witnesses to the development of English prose style, the evolution of the romance genre, and late medieval precursors to the novel.



Harriet Hudson is emerita professor of English at Indiana State University.



Introduction to the Volume



Introduction to Paris and Vienne



    Image: Paris and Vienne folio 1r 



Paris and Vienne



Explanatory Notes



Textual Notes 



Introduction to Blanchardyn and Eglantine



    Image: Blanchardyn and Eglantine folio 1r    



Caxton's Dedication



Table of Chapters 



Blanchardyn and Eglantine



Explanatory Notes



Textual Notes



Bibliography



Glossary