Required Readings
Required to be Purchased
- [Chaucer] = Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales: Nine Tales and the General Prologue: Authoritative Text, Sources and Backgrounds, Criticism. Edited by Verdel Amos Kolve, and Glending Olson. W. W. Norton & Company Incorporation, 1989. ISBN: 9780393952452.
- [de Troyes] = de Troyes, Chrétien. Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart. Translated by Burton Raffel. Yale University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780300071214.
- [Armitage] = Armitage, Simon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation). W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. ISBN: 9780393334159.
Not Required to be Purchased
- [Salisbury] = Salisbury, Eve. Trials & Joys of Marriage. Western Michigan University, 2002. ISBN: 9781580440356.
- [Locke] = Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. Translated by John Jay Parry. Columbia University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780231073059.
- [Laskaya] = Laskaya, Anne, and Eve Salisbury, eds. The Middle English Breton Lays. Western Michigan University Medieval, 1995. ISBN: 9781879288621.
- [Pope] = Pope, Marvin H. Song of Songs. Vol. 7. Yale University Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780300139495.
- [Clairvaux] = Leclercq, Jean, ed. On the Song of Songs II, Sermons 21-46. Vol. 2. Cistercian Publications, 1976. ISBN: 9780879077075.
- [Bowie] = Bowie, Fiona. Beguine Spirituality: Mystical Writings of Mechthild of Magdeburg, Beatrice of Nazareth, and Hadewijch of Brabant. Crossroad Publication Company, 1990. ISBN: 9780824509934.
- [Levitan] = Levitan, William. Abelard & Heloise: The Letters and other Writings. Hackett Publishing Company, Incorporation, 2007. ISBN: 9780872208759. [Preview with Google Books]
- [Newman] = Newman, Barbara. From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780812215458. [Preview with Google Books]
- [Georgianna] = Georgianna, Linda. “The Clerk’s Tale and the Grammar of Assent.” Speculum 70, no. 4 (1995): 793–821.
- [Staley] = Kempe, Margery. The Book of Margery Kempe. Edited by Lynn Staley. The Folio Society, 2004.
- [Glasscoe] = Glasscoe, Marion, ed. Julian of Norwich: A Revelation of Love. Liverpool University Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780859894203.
- [Hahn] = Hahn, Thomas, ed. Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Western Michigan University, 1995. ISBN: 9781879288591.
- [Kooper] = Kooper, Erik. Sentimental and Humorous Romances: Floris And Blancheflour, Sir Degrevant, The Squire of Low Degree, The Tournament of Tottenham, and the Feast of Tottenham. Western Michigan University, 2006. ISBN: 9781580441032.
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introductions; Getting comfortable with Middle English (PDF); some medieval songs about married life (“In praise of women,” “Abuse of women”) |
[Salisbury] “In praise of women.” [Salisbury] “Abuse of women.” |
| 2 | Medieval marriage lyrics (continued) | [Salisbury] “Introduction.” |
| 3–4 | Geoffrey Chaucer | [Chaucer] “Wife of Bath’s Prologue.” |
| 5 | Andreas Capellanus, and Marie de France / Anonymous |
[Locke] [Laskaya] “Lay le Freine.” |
| 6 | The Song of Songs, and Medieval Beguines |
[Pope] [Clairvaux] “The Kiss of the Lord’s Feet, Hands and Mouth. Bernard of Claurvaux: Sermon 3 on The Song of Songs.” [Bowie] “Introduction, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Beatrice of Nazareth, and Hadewijch of Brabant.” |
| 7 | Abelard and Heloise, and Barbara Newman |
[Levitan] “Introduction, Calamities, First Letter - Fifth Letter.” [Newman] “Hadewijch and Abelard.” pp. 69–75. |
| 8–9 | Chrétien de Troyes | [de Troyes] “Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart.” |
| 10 | Julian of Norwich | [Glasscoe] |
| 11 | Margery Kempe | [Staley] |
| 12 | Geoffrey Chaucer (continued) | [Chaucer] “Clerk’s Prologue and Tale, Parts 1–3.” |
| 13 | Geoffrey Chaucer (continued) and Linda Georgianna |
[Chaucer] “Clerk’s Tale, Parts 4–6.” [Georgianna] |
| 14 | Anonymous / Simon Armitage | [Armitage] “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitts 1–2.” |
| 15 | Anonymous / Simon Armitage (continued) | [Armitage] “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fitts 3–4.” |
| 16 | Thomas Chestre | [Laskaya] “Sir Launfal.” |
| 17 | The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | [Hahn] “The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.” |
| 18 | Geoffrey Chaucer (continued) | [Chaucer] “Merchant’s Tale.” |
| 19 | Dame Sirith | [Salisbury] “Dame Sirith.” |
| 20 | Geoffrey Chaucer (continued) | [Chaucer] “Franklin’s Tale.” |
| 21 | Floris and Blanchefleur | [Kooper] “Floris and Blanchefleur.” |
Supplemental Readings
Pyles, Thomas, and John Algeo. “The Middle English Period (1100–1500).” Chapter 6 in English: An introduction to language. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1970.
