Medieval literature
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Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th, 15th or 16th century, depending on country). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre.
Languages
Outside of Europe, medieval literature was written in Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic, among many other languages.
In Western Europe, Latin was the common language for medieval writing, since
In
the dominant written languages.In Europe the common people used their respective
Anonymity
A notable amount of medieval literature is anonymous. This is not only due to the lack of documents from a period, but also due to an interpretation of the author's role that differs considerably from the romantic interpretation of the term in use today. Medieval authors often deeply respected the classical writers and the Church Fathers and tended to re-tell and embellish stories they had heard or read rather than invent new stories. And even when they did, they often claimed to be handing down something from an auctor instead. From this point of view, the names of the individual authors seemed much less important, and therefore many important works were never attributed to any specific person.
Types of writing
Religious
Theological works were the dominant form of literature typically found in libraries during the Middle Ages.
Countless
The
During the Middle Ages, the
Secular
Prose tales first emerged in Britain: the intricate Four Branches of the Mabinogi about princely families, notably anti-war in theme, and the romantic adventure Culhwch and Olwen. (The Mabinogi is not the same as the Mabinogion, a collection of disconnected prose tales, which does, however, include both the Mabinogi and Culhwch and Olwen.) These works were compiled from earlier oral tradition c. 1100.
At about the same time a new poetry of "
Following the earliest epic poems, prose tales, and romances, more long poems were crafted—the
Travel literature was highly popular in the Middle Ages, as fantastic accounts of far-off lands (frequently embellished or entirely false) entertained a society that supported sea voyages and trading along coasts and rivers, as well as
The most prominent authors of
Women's literature
While it is true that women in the medieval period were never accorded full equality with men, some women were able to use their skill with the written word to gain renown. Religious writing was the easiest avenue—women who would later be canonized as saints frequently published their reflections, revelations, and prayers. Much of what is known about women in the Middle Ages is known from the works of nuns such as Clare of Assisi, Bridget of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena.
Frequently, however, the religious perspectives of women were held to be unorthodox by those in power, and the mystical visions of such authors as Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Hildegard of Bingen provide insight into a part of the medieval experience less comfortable for the institutions that ruled Europe at the time. Women wrote influential texts in the secular realm as well—reflections on courtly love and society by Marie de France and Christine de Pizan continue to be studied for their glimpses of medieval society.
Some women were patrons of books and owners of significant book collections. Female book collectors in the fifteenth century included Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk; Cecily Neville, Duchess of York; and Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby. Lady Margaret Beaufort may also have completed translations as a testament to her piety, as Bishop Father John Fisher noted in a sermon dedicated to her after her death.[1]
For modern historical reflection, D.H. Green's (2007) historical work entitled, Women Readers of the Middle Ages explores literacy and literature in terms of women in medieval society.[2] The book has been reviewed as "a radical reassessment of women's contribution to medieval literary culture."[3]
Allegory
While medieval literature makes use of many
.Preservation
A recent study has concluded that only about 68 percent of all medieval works have survived to the present day, including fewer than 40 percent of English works, around 50 percent of Dutch and French works, and more than three quarters of German, Icelandic, and Irish works.[4]
Notable literature of the period
- Anna Comnena
- Beowulf, anonymous Anglo-Saxon author
- Caedmon's Hymn
- Galician
- The Book of the City of Ladies, Christine de Pizan
- Daniel of Beccles
- The Book of Good Love, Juan Ruiz
- The Book of Margery Kempe, Margery Kempe
- Brut, Layamon
- Brut, Wace
- The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
- Boethius
- David of Sassoun, anonymous Armenian author
- Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio
- The Dialogue, Catherine of Siena
- Digenis Acritas, anonymous Greek author
- Trotula of Salerno
- La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), Dante Alighieri
- Dukus Horant, the first extended work in Yiddish.
- Elder Edda, various Icelandicauthors
- Das fließende Licht der Gottheit, Mechthild of Magdeburg
- First Grammatical Treatise, 12th-century work on Old Norse phonology
- Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus
- Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson
- Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People), the Venerable Bede
- Holy Cross Sermons, anonymous Polish author
- The Knight in the Panther's Skin, Shota Rustaveli
- The Lais of Marie de France, Marie de France
- The Letters of Abelard and Heloise
- Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena
- Ludus de Antichristo, anonymous German author
- Mabinogion, various Welsh authors
- Metrical Dindshenchas, Irishonomastic poems
- Il milione (The Travels of Marco Polo), Marco Polo
- Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory
- Nibelungenlied, anonymous German author
- Njál's saga, anonymous Icelandicauthor
- Parzival, Wolfram von Eschenbach
- Piers Plowman, William Langland
- Poem of the Cid, anonymous Spanishauthor
- Proslogium, Anselm of Canterbury
- Queste del Saint Graal (The Quest of the Holy Grail), anonymous Frenchauthor
- Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
- Le Roman de Perceforest
- Roman de la Rose, Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun
- Russianauthor
- Scivias, Hildegard of Bingen
- Abelard
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, anonymous English author
- The Song of Roland, anonymous Frenchauthor
- Spiritual Exercises, Gertrude the Great
- Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas
- Táin Bó Cúailnge, anonymous Irish author
- Russianauthor
- Tirant lo Blanc, Joanot Martorell
- John Mandeville
- Thomas d'Angleterre
- Tristan, Béroul
- Tristan, Gottfried von Strassburg
- Troilus and Criseyde, Geoffrey Chaucer
- Waltharius
- Younger Edda, Snorri Sturluson
- Yvain: The Knight of the Lion, Chrétien de Troyes
Specific articles
By region or language
- Anglo-Norman literature
- Classical Arabic literature
- Medieval Armenian literature
- Medieval Bosnian literature
- Old Breton literature
- Byzantine literature
- Medieval Bulgarian literature
- Medieval Catalan literature
- Medieval Croatian literature
- Old and Middle Dutch literature
- Old English literature
- Middle English literature
- Early English Jewish literature
- Medieval French literature
- Sicilian School
- Old High German literature
- Middle High German literature
- Medieval Georgian literature
- Medieval Hebrew literature
- Icelandic literature
- Medieval Irish literature
- Medieval Italian literature
- Medieval Latin literature
- Occitan literature
- Old Norse literature
- Pahlavi literature
- Medieval Persian literature
- Medieval Portuguese literature
- Medieval Serbian literature
- Medieval Scottish literature
- Medieval Spanish literature
- Medieval Welsh literature
By genre
- Medieval poetry
- Medieval drama
- Medieval allegory
- Medieval mysticism
- Fabliau
- Medieval travel literature
- Arthurian literature
- Alexander romances
- Chanson de geste
- Chivalric romance
- Eddic poetry
- Skaldic poetry
- Alliterative verse
- Miracle plays
- Morality plays
- Mystery plays
- Passion plays
By period
- Early Medieval literature(6th to 9th centuries)
- 10th century in literature
- 11th century in literature
- 12th century in literature
- 13th century in literature
- 14th century in literature
References
- OCLC 774293897.
- ISBN 978-0-52187-9422
- ^ McDonald, Nicola. " Women Readers in the Middle Ages (review)" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bushwick, Sophie (8 March 2022). "How Much Medieval Literature Has Been Lost?". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries", The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 69, No. 2 (2009), pp. 409–445 (416, table 1)
External links
- The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
- The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
- The Internet Medieval Sourcebook Project
- Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, Vulgates, Books of Hours, Medicinal Texts and more, 12 - 17th century, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries
- Luminarium: Anthology of Middle English Literature
- Medieval Nordic Literature at the Icelandic Saga Database