This module offers students the chance to read and consider critically two major medieval genres in the context of the social and cultural history of the period. It is taught in two parts: part 1 is called ‘Beowulf in Context’, and will be taught in the Autumn semester’; part 2 is called ‘Literature in the Age of Chivalry, and will be taught in the Spring semester.

Part 1: ‘Beowulf in Context’ introduces students to English poetry from the Anglo-Saxon period (the period from the fifth century AD to around the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066). Students will make a detailed study of the most famous Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, in a translation by the Nobel prize-winning contemporary Irish poet, Seamus Heaney. The emphasis in the module will be on understanding the poem in its historical and cultural contexts and this will include reading it alongside translations of other texts from the period.

Part 2: ‘Literature in the Age of Chivalry’ will examine the transition and relationship between two key medieval literary forms: epic and romance. It chronicles how the French and Anglo-Norman chansons de geste (‘songs of deeds’), epic poems concerned with battles and war, were followed by (and overlap with) written romance narratives, which focused on a single hero, his travails and triumphs. For the epic, the course shall study the Anglo-Norman Song of Roland (c.1100), read in translation, and as an example of romance students will read two lais (narrative poems) by Marie de France (c.1170), also in translation. Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur (c.1469), meanwhile, is something of a hybrid, moving from tales of war and the foundation of a British kingdom in its early parts, to a series of related individual romances in the remainder of the text.

In studying these texts we will be examining how and why medieval literature shifted from epic to romance, and how this shift reflected cultural and social changes in the twelfth and later centuries. Additionally, students will engage with a range of issues and contexts important to the future study of medieval literature, including courtly love, chivalry, the Crusades and feudalism. Students will also become familiar with two of Europe’s most popular and important narratives: that of Charlemagne and Roland’s battles in northern Spain, which became the archetypal account of the struggle between Christianity and Islam in the medieval West; and the medieval legends of King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, the popularity of which continue to the present day.

·         demonstrate a detailed knowledge of Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf and an informed awareness of key issues in the study of the poem

·         read a range of medieval chansons and romances with understanding of their language and implications

·         see the relevance of contextual material and recent criticism

·         think critically about the interrelation of texts and their contexts

·         write a lucid account of selected material in the light of issues and approaches explored in the course

There will be one lecture per week devoted to this module and one seminar per week, which will cover this module and the other in Medieval and Renaissance English Literature offered in the same semester.

During this course students will become familiar with several means of reading early literature. They will improve their scholarly and critical skills, engage in contemporary academic debates and will learn how to produce lucid critical arguments. Particular emphasis will be placed on the importance of genre and form – what they mean, how they operate and how they come into being. Though both Parts 1 and 2 of this module will use texts in translation, there will be some need for students to become familiar with forms of English literature which are quite different from contemporary English. Employability skills include the ability to synthesise information, operating in group-based discussion involving negotiating ideas and producing clear, informed arguments in a professional manner.

Parts 1 and 2 of this module are assessed by separate pieces of written work; the first essay will allow students to demonstrate knowledge of Beowulf and to show familiarity with the poem’s historical and literary contexts and with critical discussion of the poem. The second essay will allow students to explore the differences between Old French epic and Middle English romance.

The module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the English Literature Course Guide. There are otherwise no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

In accordance with University regulations, students are allowed two attempts at retrieval of any failed essay, with the cap of the individual essay set at 40.

The main readings for this module are texts and journal articles. Students should contact the module leader as early as possible if they will require readings in an alternative format.

Part 1: Beowulf in Context

1. Old English Literature: Difference and Continuity

2. Beowulf lines 1–85; Orality, Style, Performance

3. Monstrosity in Beowulf

4. Beowulf and/as History and the Dating of the Poem

5. The Norse Myth of Ragnarok

6. Christianity and Paganism

7. Tolkien on Beowulf; How to Read Criticism, How to Refer to it and Why

8. Women in Beowulf

9. From Old to Modern English: Heaney’s Translation and its Predecessors

10. End of module: Summary, Questions & Answers

Part 2: Literature in the Age of Chivalry

1: Introduction to Epic and Romance

2: The Song of Roland: the epic hero 3: The Song of Roland: king and Christianity

4: Marie de France, Guigemar: learning how to be a knight

5: Marie de France, Bisclavret: tips for a werewolf

6: Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: Lancelot and English romance

7: Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: Balyn and Balan, hybrid (anti-)heroes

8: Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: the Holy Grail

9: Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: Lancelot and Guinevere

10: Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: king and myth

Part 1: Beowulf in Context

The set text is:

Beowulf: A Verse Translation, tr. Seamus Heaney, ed. Daniel Donoghue, Norton Critical Editions, W. W. Norton & Co. (2002)

A list of recommended secondary reading will be provided at the beginning of the semester, with further suggestions on lecture handouts throughout the semester. The following are good starting points:

D. Donoghue, Old English Literature: A Short Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004)

M. Godden and M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991)

H. Magennis, The Cambridge Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011)

Part 2: Literature in the Age of Chivalry

The primary texts for this module are:

The Song of Roland, trans. Glyn Burgess (Penguin: Harmondsworth, 1990)

Marie de France, Bisclavret and Guigemar (copies to be made available in the first lecture)

Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, ed. Stephen H. A. Shepherd (NY: Norton, 2004)

A detailed reading list will be made in the first lecture.