The Gests of King Alexander of Macedon: Two Middle-English Alliterative Fragments Alexander A and Alexander B

Published in 1929 by Harvard University Press, this scholarly volume was edited by Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr., a prominent medievalist and professor at Harvard. The book serves as a critical edition of two distinct Middle English alliterative poems, known to scholars as Alexander A and Alexander B, which detail the legendary life and conquests of Alexander the Great. These fragments were preserved in manuscript form and represent significant examples of the Alliterative Revival, a period in late fourteenth-century England when poets returned to traditional Old English poetic structures.

Magoun’s editorial work was motivated by a desire to provide a definitive, accessible text for academic study, accompanied by comprehensive notes on the linguistic and thematic elements of the poems. The design of the volume reflects the rigorous academic standards of early 20th-century university presses, emphasizing clarity and scholarly utility. It was received by the academic community as an essential resource for philologists and students of Middle English literature, helping to bridge the gap between early manuscript preservation and modern critical interpretation.