This volume investigates the conceptualization of origins and beginnings within medieval textual cultures and their subsequent influence on modern critical frameworks. The editors, David Lawton, Rita Copeland, and Wendy Scase, curate a collection of scholarly essays that examine how medieval authors engaged with their own foundational myths, such as imperial Rome and monastic reform. By juxtaposing these historical inquiries with modern theoretical lenses—specifically Marxist and Freudian criticism—the text explores the recursive relationship between medieval history and contemporary literary theory.

Experts recognize this annual publication as a rigorous venue for high-level medievalist scholarship. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for researchers and advanced students of literary history.