Early English Text Society ;

"This is the first critical edition of the earliest and most important English translation of Mandeville's Travels. Its title, the 'Defective Version' derives from the loss of the second quire in the Anglo-French 'Insular' manuscript, or its antecedent, from which it was translated, containing part of the description of Egypt. Despite this loss of text, the Defective Version established itself as the dominant form of the work in England, and was perpetuated in the printed editions of the text until 1725." "The new edition is based on examination of all the extant manuscripts of the Middle English text and its French source, and so makes possible a more informed assessment of all other English versions. The textual commentary is based on a fresh investigation of the sources, and offers details for the first time of the author's indirect reliance on Marco Polo for much of his Asian relation."--BOOK JACKET.

"Ipomadon is a Middle English translation of the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman romance, Ipomedon, by Hue de Rotelande. The romance was translated into English three times in the medieval period; this edition contains the fullest version, Ipomadon A. The complete text has only been available hitherto in E. Kolbing's German edition of 1889." "This new edition includes a glossary and full explanatory notes, and discussion of the language of the text, together with a full comparison of the different versions of this popular story."--BOOK JACKET.

Layamon's Brut (ca. 1190-1215), also known as The Chronicle of Britain, is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon.