These papers presented at the first meeting of the Society for the Study of Medieval Romance in 1988 are at once varied in content and held together by the recurrence of certain individual topics, which exemplify some of the most significant recent trends in literary studies in general. Notable among these are an interest in women’s history and female points of view; in the application of Marxist theory to literary texts; and in the reception of texts. More specifically medieval concerns that are reflected here are codicological study, and the present debate over editorial issues and principles. Since the essays deal with the genre in England in its various manifestations between the 12th and 15th centuries, they illustrate both the cultural and linguistic diversity of the romance for itself, and the diversity in possible critical approaches.