These excerpts from works of philosophy and religion, history and drama, fiction, poetry, and other genres introduce the many facets of medieval literature. The anthology opens with chapters from The Confessions of St. Augustine, the first Western biography and a model for Christian writers throughout the Middle Ages. Book One of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy follows, along with selections from the Venerable Bede's The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and the Old English epic poem Beowulf.
Other selections include The Story of My Misfortunes by Peter Abélard; Medieval Lays and Legends of Marie de France; "The Lady of the Fountain" and "The Dream of Rhonabwy" from Lady Charlotte E. Guest's The Mabinogion; three stories from Boccaccio's Decameron; "The Reeve's Tale," "The Cook's Tale," and "The Lawyer's Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; Book One of Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ; and the anonymous 15-century morality play Everyman.