spirit is the same in all.

No English is included for two reasons: Mediaeval English
literature is easily accessible to those readers for whom this
book is prepared; during the special period in which the best
mediaeval literature was developed, England was comparatively
unproductive.

The constant aim has been to put before the reader the literature
itself, with comment barely sufficient to make an intelligible
setting for the selections. Criticism of all kinds has been
avoided, so that the reader may come to his material with
judgment entirely unbiased.
The translations used have been selected largely with a view to
their accessibility, so that readers who desire to enlarge the
scope of their reading may easily find the books they need.
Caxton's "Reynard the Fox", and "The Romance of the Rose",
attributed to Chaucer, were chosen because they convey an
impression of the quaint flavor of the original, which is lost in
a modern version. The slight adaptations and transliterations
made in these two selections are entirely defensible on the score
of intelligibility.

Our acknowledgments are due to Prof. William I. Knapp, of the
University of Chicago, for the use of books from his valuable
library, and for the permission, most highly prized, to print for
the first time some of his translations of the Cid ballads.

THE EDITORS. Chicago, April, 1893.