The Literature and History of Anglo-Dutch Relations, Medieval to Modern

Abstract Ranging from c. 1050 to c. 1600 this volume crosses chronological, linguistic, geographical, and disciplinary boundaries to explore the cultural history of relations between English and Dutch speakers. The evidence consists of many different types and genres, and our contributors take account of the range of languages spoken and written in England and the Low Countries. They move beyond source study to consider other ways in which speakers of Dutch and English took notice of each other in their writing. Above all, this book attempts to join up the study of literary transfer with historical evidence of contact situations. Stories, ideas, and ‘memes’ in our period did not travel without people to carry them. While the literary historians amongst our contributors may come to the question of Anglo-Dutch relations from a different angle than do the historians, we have combined forces in the conviction that findings on both sides will be mutually illuminating.