This course will cover, in the original language, Middle English literature written between 1100 and 1500. The works included on the schedule will provide examples of the central medieval genres of lyric, legend, romance, drama, allegory, debate, hagiography, burlesque, and epic-chronicle.  

In addition to the works themselves, we will investigate the nexus of cultural developments (such as social, political, literary, artistic, religious, linguistic) influencing the production and reception of these texts. 

ENGL 311 will help you

gain a familiarity with the literary issues of the twelfth through fifteenth centuries and with some of the fundamental scholarly concerns associated with the study of Middle English texts;

get a foothold in the events and concerns of the Middle English period;

understand and pronounce Middle English in its various manifestations over the centuries and in different regions; and

examine and discuss the selected readings as works of literature and as sources of insight and enjoyment.