ENG 313, 314 - Medieval Literature

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU
Meets requirement: W when offered as 314
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ENG or ITL course
This course introduces students to the European literature of the 10th to the 15th century. This epoch of upheaval and transformation saw the rise and fall of kingdoms, religious consolidation and conflict, horrific violence, transcendent art, and the birth of literature in the vernacular languages (as opposed to Latin). Our guides through this world of brilliance and shadow will be great works of literature from the nascent literary traditions in English, French, Italian and Hebrew, such as: Beowulf; the Lais of Marie de France; Dante’s Divine Comedy; the Hebrew poetry of Shmuel HaNagid; and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Students engage in close reading of texts, analysis of literary techniques, interrogation of intellectual, philosophical, and aesthetic concepts, and exploration of the materiality of medieval book culture. Satisfies departmental Poetry requirement.