In this course we study a small, representative part of the vast body of European literature created between the Fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance. We read all kinds of literature: letters, journals, legends, epics, poetry, religious tracts, tales of chivalry, love stories, real-life accounts of Christian martyrs, and tales of magic and mystery. The Middle Ages cover a long period of time and involve a wide variety of people--we will read about crusaders and hermits, merchants and mendicants, wives and nuns, kings and queens, popes and peasants, saints and sinners.

Religion is one element tying together every aspect of life in the Middle Ages--but you must be very careful not to assume that the Roman Catholic Church of the 12th Century had the same exact beliefs and practices as the Roman Catholic Church of the 21st Century--and if you are a member of any other religion it is even less likely that Medieval beliefs will correspond with yours. Be very cautious not to judge Medieval practices by modern standards.

The same goes for the people--and especially Medieval women. It's true that their lives were hard and they had very few freedoms--but that was true of Medieval men as well. What is not true is that Medieval women were universally uneducated. A major discovery of the past thirty years is the wealth of Medieval writing by women, and the circulation and respect that it had in its own day. This material and information was always there, but was ignored by scholars and historians for hundreds of years. One of our texts deals with writings by Medieval women that were virtually ignored until a generation ago.

One of the things you will do in this course is a Group Project, in which your team will be responsible for teaching the class about an important event, person, or work that is not covered in the regular readings. When students throw themselves into the projects and get enthusiastic about presenting their work to the class, such projects become very entertaining as well as informative, and are rewarding to everyone. The Group Projects require graphic presentation, and may include music, the demonstration of physical objects, or even costumes--in other words, the best Group Projects are great fun for both the participants and the class!

You should come away from this class with something of a "feel" for what life was like in the Middle Ages, as well as familiarity with some of the great literary works of the period.

Here is the English 427 Syllabus.
Here is a good page on Beowulf.
A page of Beowulf links.
Beowulf in Bulfinch's Mythology with useful annotations.
Or, you may prefer to read the Beowulf Comic Book.

Monolith background from Graphics by Tess

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