This handsome, lucid, meticulously researched volume identifies, and engages most comprehensively with, a range of questions fundamental to an understanding of the role of the court as a centre for literary production from the early eighth century through to the late sixteenth century. Of particular note is the fact that the contributions, by ten eminent scholars in the medieval and early-modern fields, shed invaluable new light on the function and place of the court beyond the parameters of Western Europe to include China and the Ottoman Empires. This panorama makes the volume an essential work of reference for scholars and undergraduates alike expanding as it does the traditional Euro-centric parameters of work on court cultures to permit a more coherent perspective and to point up fresh new avenues for research. Equally commendable is the exploration of and emphasis on the impact of the court beyond its physical boundaries, an aspect frequently neglected by scholarship. The close analysis of individual and significant authors, around the unifying theme of ambition and anxiety brings precious new insights for scholars across the linguistic spectrum.