Middle English Literature and Illustrated Manuscripts:
New Approaches to the Disciplinary and the Interdisciplinary

Richard K. Emmerson, Medieval Academy of America

This article is written from my perspective as the Editor of Speculum, which, as the journal of the Medieval Academy of America, receives submissions in almost all areas of medieval scholarship. The editor is in a unique position to survey a large body of work in many areas of the discipline. The two approaches—the disciplinary and the interdisciplinary—and the two areas of study I discuss in helping assess the "state of medieval studies"—Middle English literature and illuminated manuscripts—are related to the goals I have set for the journal. But first I want to relate a brief anecdote that informs my comments on the disciplines in which we all work and on the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to medieval studies. It is based on my experience teaching at Western Washington University in the nineties before taking my present position at the Medieval Academy.