Excerpt from The Index of Middle English Verse The hopes and plans of several years find their first fruition in the publication of this volume. For some time prior to 19 3 g a small group of interested scholars had discussed intermittently the problems in volved in making available to students certain types of labor-saving books - indexes, bibliographies, chronologies, concordances - which so markedly facilitate the work of research. From these discussions had emerged, by the summer of 1 9 39, the conviction that a new publishing society dedicated to the production of such books could perform a definite and valuable service to the world of scholarship. The foundation of such a society, conceived under the shadow of a domestic financial depression, was destined to be achieved under the still deeper shadow of international war. Final decision to proceed with the organization of The Index Society and to call a meeting for its formal foundation was reached in mid-july. On the last day of August, when the Editorial Committee met in New York, the Germans were marching into Poland, the Bremen and Aquitania were fleeing New York harbor for home, and the world seemed falling apart. In January the Committee faced the new problems presented by the war and debated the wisdom of continuing with our plans. After consider ing all the factors involved, the Committee voted unanimously to pro ceed with our program. In making this decision we were strengthened by heartening expres sions of interest and enthusiasm from numerous colleagues. We were also impressed by the enduring value to the whole scholarly world of certain manuscripts, notably that of A short-title Catalogue of Books, 1641 - 1700, which had already been made available for publication under the auspices of the Society. Continuation of our efforts seemed then, and seems still, an affirmation of our faith that there are certain unchanging values in a chaotic world. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.