"Drawing on new historicist principles, this book examines literary and historical narratives, legal statutes and records, sermons, lyric poetry, and biblical exegesis circulating in England between the 11th and 16th centuries. Jones theorizes the figure of the outlaw in Medieval England and uncovers the legal, ethical, and social assumptions that underlie the practice of outlawry"--

"Given its limited resources to identify and apprehend suspected criminals, the medieval English legal system depended on the practice of outlawry to enforce participation in the courts. Outlawry in Medieval Literature analyzes the narrative of outlawry defined by legal authority and practice, identifying the assumptions upon which it depends and examining the ways in which a variety of texts dialogically contest this narrative. In particular, this book explores the outlaw story as a literature of borders, engaging with social, political, religious, ethnic and legal conflicts and the identities that they create"--