Medieval Literature: The Basics

Medieval Literature: The Basics PDF

Author: Angela Jane Weisl

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-03-20

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1317210638

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Medieval Literature: The Basics is an engaging introduction to this fascinating body of literature. The volume breaks down the variety of genres used in the corpus of medieval literature and makes these texts accessible to readers. It engages with the familiarities present in the narratives and connects these ideas with a contemporary, twenty-first century audience. The volume also addresses contemporary medievalism to show the presence of medieval literature in contemporary culture, such as film, television, games, and novels. From Dante and Chaucer to Christine de Pisan, this book deals with questions such as: What is medieval literature? What are some of the key topics and genres of medieval literature? How did it evolve as technology, such as the printing press, developed? How has it remained relevant in the twenty-first century? Medieval Literature: The Basics is an ideal introduction for students coming to the subject for the first time, while also acting as a springboard from which deeper interaction with medieval literature can be developed.

Medieval Literature: A Basic Anthology

Medieval Literature: A Basic Anthology PDF

Author: Dover Publications, Inc.

Publisher: Courier Dover Publications

Published: 2017-05-22

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0486822656

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Excerpts include stories from Canterbury Tales and The Decameron as well as works by St. Augustine, Boethius, Marie de France, and others; plus selections from such anonymous works as Beowulf and Everyman.

The Medieval Saga

The Medieval Saga PDF

Author: Carol J. Clover

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1501740520

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Written in the thirteenth century, the Icelandic prose sagas, chronicling the lives of kings and commoners, give a dramatic account of the first century after the settlement of Iceland—the period from about 930 to 1050. To some extent these elaborate tales are written versions of traditional sagas passed down by word of mouth. How did they become the long and polished literary works that are still read today? The evolution of the written sagas is commonly regarded as an anomalous phenomenon, distinct from contemporary developments in European literature. In this groundbreaking study, Carol J. Clover challenges this view and relates the rise of imaginative prose in Iceland directly to the rise of imaginative prose on the Continent. Analyzing the narrative structure and composition of the sagas and comparing them with other medieval works, Clover shows that the Icelandic authors, using Continental models, owe the prose form of their writings, as well as some basic narrative strategies, to Latin historiography and to French romance.

Anthology of Medieval Literature

Anthology of Medieval Literature PDF

Author: Rebecca Berg Manor

Publisher:

Published: 2013-08-01

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 9781893103504

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Beautiful Feet Books' Anthology of Medieval Literature traces the development of thought and culture in Europe from the fourth century up through the 1300s. Beginning with excerpts from Augustine's Confessions and culminating with selections from Dante's Divine Comedy, students will trace medieval culture from the beginnings of Christendom to the Age of Exploration. Selections from major works such as The Song of Roland, Marco Polo's Book of Wonders, and The Deeds of Charlemagne are included along with poems, creeds, hymns, and selections from medieval thinkers like Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas. For use with Beautiful Feet Books' Literature Approach to Medieval History study guide, this anthology will provide high school level students with an introductory survey of some of the greatest literary works of western civilization.

Reading the Middle Ages

Reading the Middle Ages PDF

Author: Theodore L. Steinberg

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2010-06-28

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0786481870

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Medieval literature is separated from us by so many centuries that it may seem completely foreign, both in its concerns and its techniques. However, this literature has much to say to 21st century readers and Steinberg's book demonstrates its continuing relevance and appeal. This introduction to medieval literature provides some of the cultural context that readers need to know in order to understand the literature, such as the religious orientation of the people, often deep and sincere but sometimes treated casually or subjected to intense scrutiny. The first chapter provides a brief explanation of medieval religious thought, cosmology and intellectual history. The remaining chapters provide introductions to a number of individual works ranging from Beowulf to the works of Chaucer. Avoiding the tendency to regard the Middle Ages as an era dominated by Christian men, these discussions include works by women writers and Jewish writers and a chapter on the medieval Japanese masterpiece The Tale of Genji. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

A World Lit Only by Fire

A World Lit Only by Fire PDF

Author: William Manchester

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Published: 2009-09-26

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0316082791

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A "lively and engaging" history of the Middle Ages (Dallas Morning News) from the acclaimed historian William Manchester, author of The Last Lion. From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth: the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains. "Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune

Books of Knowledge in Late Medieval Europe

Books of Knowledge in Late Medieval Europe PDF

Author: Pavlina Cermanova

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06-30

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 9782503594637

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This book provides a series of studies concerning unique medieval texts that can be defined as 'books of knowledge', such as medieval chronicles, bestiaries, or catechetic handbooks. Thus far, scholarship of intellectual history has focused on concepts of knowledge to describe a specific community, or to delimit intellectuals in society. However, the specific textual tool for the transmission of knowledge has been missing. Besides oral tradition, books and other written texts were the only sources of knowledge, and they were thus invaluable in efforts to receive or transfer knowledge. That is one reason why texts that proclaim to introduce a specific field of expertise or promise to present a summary of wisdom were so popular. These texts discussed cosmology, theology, philosophy, the natural sciences, history, and other fields. They often did so in an accessible way to maintain the potential to also attract a non-specialised public. The basic form was usually a narrative, chronologically or thematically structured, and clearly ordered to appeal to readers. Books of this kind could be disseminated in dozens or even hundreds of copies, and were often available (by translation or adaptation) in various languages, including the vernacular. In exploring these widely-disseminated and highly popular texts that offered a precise segment of knowledge that could be accessed by readers outside the intellectual and social elite, this volume intends to introduce books of knowledge as a new category within the study of medieval literacy.