It isthe only anthology which includes all thirty-one English lyrics from MSHarley 2253 , all the verses by Friar Herebert printed in Brown XIV , andall the important poems given in Robbins' Secular Lyrics . In all there are 245 lyrics, arranged thematically. To make these delightful poems accessible to the modern reader, theeditors have removed many of the orthographic impediments inherent inMiddle English verse and have modernized punctuation, capitalization,and obsolete letters while scrupulously seeking to retain thesubstantive integrity of the poems. "Critical and Historical Backgrounds" are provided in essays by PeterDronke, Stephen Manning, Raymond Oliver, and Rosemary Woolf. In aspecial section, six poems are singled out for critical comment by A.K. Moore, Edmund Reiss, D. W. Robertson, Jr., E. T. Donaldson, JohnSpeirs, Thomas Jemielity, D. G. Halliburton, Leo Spitzer, and others. Two of these lyrics, "Maiden in the mor lay" and "I sing of a maiden,"are discussed by four different scholars. In all, twenty-five poems arediscussed in the essays. The volume also includes a list of Abbreviations, a Table of TextualSources and Dates, a Select Bibliography, and an Index of First Lines.