Table of Contents; Preface vii; Prologue: Marriage Contracts through the Centuries 1; Part I. Chaucer; 1. Rewriting the Marriage Contract: Adultery in the Canterbury Tales 15; 2. Marriage Ceremonies and Property in the Canterbury Tales 28; 3. Extramarital Contracts in the Canterbury Tales 47; 4. The Legacy of the Marriage Contract: Chaucer's Widows 70; Entr'acte: When the Law Changed 93; Part II. Religious and Renaissance Drama; 5. Under Stress: The Marriage Contracts of the Mystery Cycles, and the Trailing Spouse 101; 6. Unlawful Unions on the Renaissance Stage 115
Summary
''A fine historic exploration of why marriage treatments in literary texts are transformed between the 14th and 16th centuries. ... This volume has the power and evidence--both historic and textual--to revamp our understanding of crucial texts
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-174) and index
