Medieval literature
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2008-07-01T00:05:37Z
Fsouza
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/* Secular */ Galician-Portuguese
'''Medieval literature''' is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in [[Europe]] beyond and during the [[Middle Ages]] (encompassing the one thousand years from the [[fall of the Roman Empire|fall of the Western Roman Empire]] ca. AD [[500]] to the beginning of the Florentine [[Renaissance]] in the late 15th century). 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. Because of the wide range of time and place it is difficult to speak in general terms without oversimplification, and thus the literature is best characterized by its place of origin and/or language, as well as its genre.
==Languages==
Since [[Latin]] was the language of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which dominated [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]], and since the Church was virtually the only source of education, Latin was a common language for Medieval writings, even in some parts of Europe that were never Romanized. However, in [[Eastern Europe]], the influence of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] made [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Old Church Slavonic]] the dominant written languages.
The common people continued to use their respective [[vernacular]]s. A few examples, such as the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''[[Beowulf]]'', the [[Middle High German]] ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'', the [[Medieval Greek]] [[Digenis Acritas]] and the [[Old French]] ''[[Chanson de Roland]]'', are well known to this day. Although the extant versions of these [[epic poetry|epics]] are generally considered the works of individual (but [[Anonymity|anonymous]]) poets, there is no doubt that they are based on their peoples' older oral traditions. [[Celt]]ic traditions have survived in the [[Breton lai|lais]] of [[Marie de France]], the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and the [[King Arthur#The Arthurian romance|Arthurian cycles]].
==Anonymity==
A notable amount of medieval literature is [[Anonymity|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 [[romanticism|romantic]] interpretation of the term in use today. Medieval authors were often overawed by the [[classical antiquity|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. [[Catholic]] clerics were the intellectual center of society in the Middle Ages, and it is their literature that was produced in the greatest quantity.
Countless [[hymn]]s survive from this time period (both [[liturgy|liturgical]] and paraliturgical). The liturgy itself was not in fixed form, and numerous competing missals set out individual conceptions of the order of the [[Mass (Liturgy)|mass]]. Religious scholars such as [[Anselm of Canterbury]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], and [[Pierre Abélard]] wrote lengthy [[theology|theological]] and [[philosophy|philosophical]] treatises, often attempting to reconcile the teachings of the Greek and Roman pagan authors with the doctrines of the Church. [[Hagiography|Hagiographies]], or "lives of the saints", were also frequently written, as an encouragement to the devout and a warning to others.
The ''[[Golden Legend]]'' of [[Jacobus de Voragine]] reached such popularity that, in its time, it was reportedly read more often than the [[Bible]]. [[Francis of Assisi]] was a prolific poet, and his [[Franciscan]] followers frequently wrote poetry themselves as an expression of their piety. ''[[Dies Irae]]'' and ''[[Stabat Mater]]'' are two of the most powerful Latin poems on religious subjects. [[Goliardic poetry]] (four-line stanzas of satiric verse) was an art form used by some clerics to express dissent. The only widespread religious writing that was not produced by clerics were the [[mystery play]]s: growing out of simple [[tableau vivant|tableaux]] re-enactments of a single Biblical scene, each mystery play became its village's expression of the key events in the [[Bible]]. The text of these plays was often controlled by local [[guild]]s, and mystery plays would be performed regularly on set feast-days, often lasting all day long and into the night.
During the Middle Ages, the [[Jew]]ish population of Europe also produced a number of outstanding writers. [[Maimonides]], born in [[Cordoba, Spain]], and [[Rashi]], born in [[Troyes]], [[France]], are two of the best-known and most influential of these Jewish authors.
===Secular===
[[Image:Beowulf.firstpage.jpeg|thumb|right|The first page of Beowulf]]
[[Secular]] literature in this period was not produced in equal quantity as religious literature, but much has survived and we possess today a rich corpus. The subject of "[[courtly love]]" became important in the 11th century, especially in the [[Romance languages]] (in the [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Provençal language|Provençal]], [[Galician-Portuguese]] and [[Catalan language|Catalan]] languages, most notably) and [[Greek language|Greek]], where the traveling singers—[[troubadour]]s—made a living from their songs. The writings of the troubadours are often associated with unrequited longing, but this is not entirely accurate (see [[aubade]], for instance). In Germany, the [[Minnesinger|Minnesänger]] continued the tradition of the troubadours.
In addition to epic poems in the Germanic tradition (e.g. ''[[Beowulf]]'' and ''[[Nibelungenlied]]''), epic poems in the tradition of the ''[[chanson de geste]]'' (e.g. ''[[The Song of Roland]] & [[Digenis Acritas]]'') which deal with the [[Matter of France]] and the [[Acritic songs]] respectively, courtly romances in the tradition of the ''[[roman courtois]]'' which deal with the [[Matter of Britain]] and the [[Matter of Rome]] achieved great and lasting popularity. The ''roman courtois'' is distinguished from the ''chanson de geste'' not only by its subject matter, but also by its emphasis on love and chivalry rather than acts of war.
Political poetry was written also, especially towards the end of this period, and the [[goliard]]ic form saw use by secular writers as well as clerics. 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, in most cases, limited people to the area in which they were born. (But note the importance of [[pilgrimage]]s, especially to [[Santiago de Compostela]], in medieval times, also witnessed by the prominence of [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s [[Canterbury Tales]].)
===Women's literature===
While it is true that women in the medieval period were never accorded full equality with men (in fact, [[misogynist]] tracts abound, although many sects, such as the [[Cathar]]s, afforded women greater status and rights), 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 [[saint]]s frequently published their reflections, revelations, and prayers. Much of what is known about women in the Middle Ages is known from the works of [[nun]]s 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]] 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.
===Allegory===
{{main|Allegory in the Middle Ages}}
While medieval literature makes use of many [[literary device]]s, [[allegory]] is so prominent in this period as to deserve special mention. Much of medieval literature relied on allegory to convey the morals the author had in mind while writing--representations of abstract qualities, events, and institutions are thick in much of the literature of this time. Probably the earliest and most influential allegory is the ''[[Psychomachia]]'' (''Battle of Souls'') by [[Aurelius Clemens Prudentius]]. Other important examples include the ''[[Romance of the Rose]]'', ''[[Everyman]]'', ''[[Piers Plowman]]'', ''[[Roman de Fauvel]]'', and ''[[The Divine Comedy]]''.
==Notable literature of the period==
*''[[Alexiad]]'', [[Anna Comnena]]
*''[[Digenis Acritas]]'', [[Anonymous work|anonymous]] [[Greek literature|Greek author]]
*''[[Beowulf]]'', [[Anonymous work|anonymous]] [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] author
*''[[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]'', [[Galician literature|Galician]] authors
*''[[David of Sassoun]]'' by an anonymous [[Armenia]]n author
*''[[Distichs of Cato|Cato]]'' (''Distichs of Cato''), [[Dionysius Cato]]
*''[[The Book of the City of Ladies]]'', [[Christine de Pizan]]
*''[[Book of the Civilized Man]]'', [[Daniel of Beccles]]
*''[[The Book of Good Love]]'', [[Juan Ruiz]]
*''[[The Book of Margery Kempe]]'', [[Margery Kempe]]
*''[[Brut (Layamon)|Brut]]'', [[Layamon]]
*''[[Roman de Brut|Brut]], [[Wace]]
*''[[Consolation of Philosophy]]'', [[Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius|Boethius]]
*''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]
*''[[Decameron]]'', [[Giovanni Boccaccio]]
*''[[The Dialogue]]'', [[Catherine of Siena]]
*''[[The Diseases of Women]]'', [[Trotula of Salerno]]
*''[[The Divine Comedy|La divina commedia]]'' (''The Divine Comedy''), [[Dante Alighieri]]
*''[[Dukus Horant]]'', the first extended work in Yiddish.
*''[[Elder Edda]]'', various [[Iceland]]ic authors
*''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'', anonymous [[English people|English]] author
*''[[Heimskringla]]'', [[Snorri Sturluson]]
*''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]'' ("The Ecclesiastical History of the English People"), the Venerable [[Bede]]
*''[[Hypnerotomachia Poliphili]]'', [[Francesco Colonna]]?
*''[[The Knight in the Panther Skin]]'', [[Shota Rustaveli]]
*''[[The Lais of Marie de France]]'', [[Marie de France]]
*''[[The Letters of Abelard and Heloise]]''
*''[[Das fließende Licht der Gottheit]]'', [[Mechthild of Magdeburg]]
*''[[Ludus de Antichristo]]'', anonymous [[Germany|German]] author
*''[[Mabinogion]]'', various [[Wales|Welsh]] authors
*''[[Metrical Dindshenchas]]'', [[Irish literature|Irish]] onomastic poems
*''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', Sir [[Thomas Malory]]
*''[[Nibelungenlied]]'', anonymous [[Germany|German]] author
*''[[Njál's saga]]'', anonymous [[Iceland]]ic author
*''[[Parzival]]'', [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]]
*''[[Piers Plowman]]'', [[William Langland]]
*''[[Cantar de Mio Cid|Poem of the Cid]]'', anonymous [[Spain|Spanish]] author
*''[[Proslogion|Proslogium]]'', [[Anselm of Canterbury]]
*''[[Queste del Saint Graal]]'' (''The Quest of the Holy Grail''), anonymous [[France|French]] author
*''[[Revelations of Divine Love]]'', [[Julian of Norwich]]
*''[[Roman de la Rose]]'', [[Guillaume de Lorris]] and [[Jean de Meun]]
*''[[Scivias]]'', [[Hildegard of Bingen]]
*''[[Sic et Non]]'', [[Abelard]]
*''[[The Song of Roland]]'', anonymous [[France|French]] author
*''[[Gertrude the Great|Spiritual Exercises]]'', [[Gertrude the Great]]
*''[[Summa Theologiae]]'', [[Thomas Aquinas]]
*''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'', anonymous [[Ireland|Irish]] author
*''[[The Tale of Igor's Campaign]]'', anonymous [[Rus' (people)|Russian]] author
*''[[Tirant lo Blanc]]'', [[Joanot Martorell]]
*''[[The Travels of Marco Polo|Il milione]]'' (''The Travels of Marco Polo''), [[Marco Polo]]
*''[[Tristan]]'', [[Thomas d'Angleterre]]
*''[[Tristan]]'', [[Béroul]]
*''[[Triumphs]]'', [[Petrarch]]
*''[[Waltharius]]''
*''[[Younger Edda]]'', [[Snorri Sturluson]]
*''[[Yvain: The Knight of the Lion]]'', [[Chrétien de Troyes]]
*''[[Gesta Danorum]]'', [[Saxo Grammaticus]]
==Specific articles==
===By region or language===
**[[Anglo-Norman literature]]
**[[Arabic literature]]
**[[Armenian literature]]
**[[Breton literature]]
**[[Byzantine literature]]
**[[Catalan literature]]
**[[Dutch literature]]
**[[English literature]]
***[[Anglo-Saxon literature]]
***[[Middle English]] literature
***[[Early English Jewish literature]]
***[[British literature]]
**[[Medieval French literature]]
**[[Georgian literature]]
**[[Gnomic literature]]
**[[Medieval German literature]]
**[[Hebrew literature]]
**[[Hispano-Arabic literature]]
**[[Icelandic saga]]
**[[Persian literature|Iranian literature]]
**[[Irish literature]]
**[[Italian literature]]
**[[Judeo-Arabic literature]]
**[[Latin literature]]
**[[Old Norse literature]]
**[[Pahlavi literature]]
**[[Picard literature]]
**[[Portuguese literature]]
**[[Provençal literature]]
**[[Romanian literature]]
**[[Scottish literature]]
**[[Medieval Slavic literature]] (see also [[Serbian literature]], [[Croatian literature]], [[Bulgarian literature]], [[Slovenian literature]])
**[[Spanish literature]]
**[[Medieval Welsh literature]]
===By genre===
**[[Medieval rhetoric]]
**[[Medieval poetry]]
**[[Medieval drama]]
**[[Medieval anthologies]]
**[[Medieval epic]]
**[[Medieval historiography]]
**[[Medieval allegory]]
**[[Medieval fables]]
**[[Medieval farces and fabliau]]
**[[Fabliau]]
**[[Medieval travel literature]]
**[[Arthurian literature]]
**[[Alexander romances]]
**[[Chronicle]]
**[[Encyclopedia]]
**[[Codex]]
**[[Beast epic]]
**[[Chanson de geste]]
**[[Eddic poetry]]
**[[Skaldic poetry]]
**[[Alliterative verse]]
**[[Hagiography]]
**[[Dialectic]]
**[[Family saga]]
**[[Courtesy book]]
**[[Commonplace book]]
**[[Modelbooks]]
**[[Lectionary]]
**[[Litany]]
**[[Liturgy]]
**[[Questiones and summa]] ([[Scholasticism]])
**[[Apocalyptic literature]]
**[[Riddles]]
**[[Miracle plays]]
**[[Morality plays]]
**[[Mystery plays]]
**[[Passion plays]]
{{History of literature3}}
===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]]
===See also===
*[[Medieval art]]
*[[Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe]]
*[[Latin translations of the 12th century]]
*{{Literature Portal}}
==External links==
*[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/ The Online Medieval and Classical Library]
*[http://www.pinellasfla.com/litmedieval.htm Synopsis of the greatest Medieval works and authors]
*[http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies]
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html The Internet Medieval Sourcebook Project]. See also [[Internet Medieval Sourcebook]].
* [http://www.shadowedrealm.com/ Shadowed Realm - Medieval Content and Discussion]
*[http://athena.english.vt.edu/~baugh/Medieval/ Medieval English Narrator ]- listen to recorded excerpts of Medieval English literature with text alongside for translation help. (Dr. Anthony Colaianne, Chris Baugh)
*[http://www.medievalists.net Medievalists.net] - includes articles, book introductions and other resources related to medieval literature
*[http://www.sagadb.org/ Medieval Nordic Literature] at the Icelandic Saga Database
{{Middle Ages wide 2}}
[[Category:Medieval literature| ]]
[[Category:History of literature|03]]
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[[eo:Mezepoka literaturo]]
[[fr:Littérature médiévale]]
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[[ja:中世文学]]
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