The papers contained in this volume represent a portion of the presentations at the seventh annual meeting of the Illinois Medieval Association held February 24, 1990, at Eastern Illinois University. It began with an introduction to the exhibition of lexicographical manuscripts lent for the occasion by Indiana State University's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. The plenary address, "Medieval Women Writers: Authority, Silence and Secrecy," was given by Tilde Sankovitch. It appears here under the title "The French Woman Writer in the Middle Ages: Staying Up Late." Four other sessions with four papers each were then held throughout the day. A business meeting was held after lunch. The weekend event concluded with a performance by the Burgundian Consort on Sunday afternoon.

IMA officers for the 1990-91 year are:

The seventh annual meeting and the publication of the seventh annual volume of Essays Medieval Studies were made possible by the generous support and assistance of many departments and individuals at Eastern Illinois University. We are especially grateful to the School of Adult and Continuing Education under the direction of Kaylin Johns for meeting arrangements, to the Tarble Arts Center under the direction of Michael Watts for the exhibition and hosting of the morning session, and to the College of Fine Arts for offering the service of the Proceedings designer, Daniel Crews, whose efforts above and beyond regular duties have been the greatest factor in making this volume possible. We also received funding from the following: Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Art Department, English Department, Graduate School, Office of Faculty Development, Booth Library, Foreign Language Department, History Department, Sociology Department.

Copyright notice carried in printed volume follows; see updated copyright notice. Essays in Medieval Studies: Proceedings of the Illinois Medieval Association (ISSN 1043-2213) is published annually by the Illinois Medieval Association. Individual copies are available from

Dr. Robert L Kindrick, Executive Secretary, Illinois Medieval Association, 105 Old Main, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920. Please address inquires to Dr. Kindrick.