Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

All Things Chaucer: An Encyclopedia of Chaucer's World. By Shannon L. Rogers. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007. 2 vols. 507 p. $149.95. ISBN 0-313-33252-5.

"All Things Chaucer" includes all things about Chaucer: the historical background of his time, his writing and the medieval and physical cultures. Included are the money, the food, the tools, the clothing and the weapons as well as the rituals, superstitions, politics and daily life. Frontmatter provides an alphabetic list of entries, a guide to related topics, an introduction reporting Chaucer's life and a 2-page chronology. Articles often have examples of his writing to illustrate the meaning of the entry, and each entry has suggestions for further reading. Black-and-white illustrations include buildings, manuscripts, woodcuts and objects from the era. One inset box has a menu and another, two recipes. Appendixes in Vol. 2 include "Genealogy of Edward III," "Map of Route to Canterbury" and an 11-page bibliography. This will be a prize for English literature teachers who must present Chaucer to their students and may need a little review. When students become interested in doing further study, this will be their first stop in planning their research journey.