Simon Horobin

The fantastical fictional land of Narnia, famously reached via a magical wardrobe, has many connections to the world in which its creator C. S. Lewis lived. The influence of Oxford can be seen not only in medieval buildings and towers but also in the literature which Lewis encountered there, through a lifetime's reading and teaching of classical, medieval and renaissance...

Assuming no previous linguistic knowledge or familiarity with Middle English, Simon Horobin introduces students to Chaucer's language and the importance of reading Chaucer in the original, rather than in a modern translation. Chaucer's Language leads the reader gently through basic linguistic concepts with appropriate explanation, highlighting how Chaucer's English differs from present-day English, and the significance of this for interpreting...