The Medieval Area is flourishing within the Department of English. Whereas most English Departments have at best three specialists in the Middle Ages, Purdue's English Department has five professors who regularly teach and publish in that area. Their strengths are complemented by faculty members in related areas within English (historical linguistics, early modern drama and romance, and nineteenth-century medievalism) as well as by Medieval Studies faculty members in other Departments within the University. In 1992 the External Review Team singled out the faculty in the area for special praise for their distinguished scholarship and national prominence. The 1996 External Review Team for Interdisciplinary Programs termed the Medieval Studies Program, in which English faculty members in Medieval and Renaissance participate, a mature program with youthful enthusiasm and commitment.