ENH2020

Heroes, lovers and monsters: the literary culture of medieval England

C Stevenson

8 points - 3 hours per week - First semester - Clayton

Objectives Students taking this subject should develop a basic knowledge of the historical and cultural background of the medieval English period, including relevant Christian doctrine and medieval philosophy; the nature of and conventions used in various medieval literary genres, in particular Germanic epic poetry and medieval romance; the different critical approaches that have been brought to bear on medieval texts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the different kinds of textual readings generated by these approaches.

Synopsis This subject examines the cultural concerns which form the historical context of Medieval English literature. Important, formative intellectual texts are read in modern English translation (The consolation of philosophy, The romance of the rose) and the philosophical and social issues raised in these texts are studied in two key medieval English literary texts (Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), which will be read in editions providing a modern English translation facing the text in its original form. Specific issues examined include the literary impact of Christianity, medieval cosmology, fate, the importance of the manuscript context, rhetoric, the structures of medieval narrative, love ('courtly' and otherwise), and the significance of generic contexts. The ability to read Old and Middle English is not required. This subject is a prerequisite or corequisite for each of ENH2170/ENH3170 (Old English) and ENH2190/ENH3190 (Middle English).

Assessment Essay (2500 words): 40% - Essay (2500 words): 40% - Seminar assessment (1000 words): 20% - An optional examination (3 hours) may replace up to 50% of the written work.

Prescribed texts

Anon. Beowulf ed. and tr. M Swanton, Manchester U P, 1978
Anon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ed. and tr. W R J Barron, Manchester U P, 1974
Boethius The consolation of philosophy tr. E V Watts, Penguin, 1969
Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun The romance of the rose tr. F Horgan, OUP, 1994

Recommended texts

Ackerman R Backgrounds to Medieval English literature Random House, 1966
Coote S English literature of the Middle Ages Penguin, 1988
Ford B (ed.) The new Pelican guide to English literature vol. I parts 1 and 2, Penguin, 1983
McEvedy C (ed.) The Penguin atlas of medieval history Penguin, 1961
Morgan K O (ed.) The Sphere illustrated history of Britain, c.55BC-1485 Sphere, 1985
Myers A R England in the late Middle Ages (The Pelican history of England vol. 4) Penguin 1963
Stenton D M English society in the early Middle Ages (The Pelican history of England vol. 3) Penguin, 1951
Whitelock D The beginnings of English society (The Pelican history of England vol. 2) Penguin, 1952

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