This volume covers the lives of 34 eminent individuals -- from Laurence Nowell (1530-1570) to Rosemary Woolf (1925-1978) -- whose subjects were the languages and literatures of Europe between 500 and 1500. Each of these scholars pioneered or revolutionized traditional views in fields such as manuscript and archival studies; folklore and prognostics; metrics; dialectology, phonology, and grammar; textual criticism and editing; folk and religious drama; literary and cultural history; Germanic and Romance philology. The selections discuss such topics as the chansons de geste, Chaucer, Dante, Chretien de Troyes, troubadour lyrics, topology, heroic epic, Arthurian Romance, and Celtic, Germanic, and medieval Scandinavian literature. Some of the scholars pioneered comparative and multidisciplinary studies; others championed national literatures; all published work that is still essential to our understanding of our cultural and aesthetic heritage.