Cherewatuk began writing her book, called “Marriage, Adultery and Inheritance in Malory’s ‘Morte d’Arthur,’” 13 years ago. The piece began as a conference paper, and has ended as a book about Malory.

Malory, a 15th century writer, authored the tale now commonly accepted as the standard King Arthur story in the English language.

In her analysis, Cherewatuk looks at the institution of marriage in the context of the medieval period, and the cluster of issues surrounding marriage in the Middle Ages.

“I really enjoy researching this intersection of literature and culture,” Cherewatuk said of her work. These intersections include forms of courtship, Guinevere’s infertility and the difference between genders in areas of sexual liberty.

During the research process, Cherewatuk utilized the resources of old courtship letters and other historical documents from the Middle Ages.

Her book was published in October by Boydell & Brewer, an English publishing company dealing especially with medieval studies.

Marsalek also published a work this fall.

She is the co-editor of a collection of essays titled “‘Bring Furth the Pagants': Essays in Early English Drama Presented to Alexandra F. Johnston (Studies in Early English Drama).”

“Bring Furth the Pagants” is a collection of works by early English theatre scholars from Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States. This collection takes the form of a Festschrift.

A Festschrift is a collection of works presented as an “academic honor” at an important time in a scholar’s life, such as a birthday or retirement. In this case, “Bring Furth the Pagants” is dedicated to Alexandra F. Johnston, professor of medieval literature at Toronto University.

The contributors are Johnston’s colleagues and students. Marsalek herself is a former student; Johnston was her supervisor for her dissertation. Marsalek also wrote an original piece for the collection, titled “Awake Your Faith,” which explores the tradition of performances simulating the crucifixion, and relates them to the end of Shakespeare’s play “A Winter’s Tale.”

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