English 443: The Literature of the Middle Ages

The texts in this syllabus are not meant as a comprehensive survey of medieval literature; to take them as such would be like reading a few science fiction novels and concluding that all contemporary literature is like science fiction. Nevertheless, the texts selected here represent an important feature of the English literary world from the mid thirteenth century to the end of the fourteenth: the convergence of aesthetics and politics in the aristocratic court. We will look at the development of English courtly culture and its impact on the literature of the period.

WEB SITE
A full web site with on-line resources and exercises for this course is under construction. However, at the moment, only the course syllabus is available on-line. In the meantime, you are encouraged to use the links available on my internet resources page or on the web sites for my past courses English 414: Chaucer and English 620: Chaucer and the Medieval Tradition. You may also look at the handout on Medieval English History: 1066-1413 on-line.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Week 1 (28/1)	Introduction
Week 2 (4/2)	Middle English
Week 3 (11/2)	Middle English
Week 4 (18/2)	King Horn
Week 5 (25/2)	King Horn
Week 6 (4/3)	Havelok the Dane
Week 7 (11/3)	Havelok the Dane
Week 8 (18/3)	Havelok the Dane
Spring Break
Week 9 (1/4)	Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal, Sir Thopas
Week 10 (8/4)	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Week 11 (15/4)	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Week 12 (22/4)	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Week 13 (29/4)	Pearl
Week 14 (6/5)	Pearl
Week 15 (13/5)	Review
Final Exam (20/5)	1730-1930

Note: This timetable may change depending on the pace of the class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what the assigned work was.

TEXTBOOK AND READINGS
Medieval English Literature, ed. Thomas J. Garbáty (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1984).

In addition to the texts scheduled above, we will read numerous shorter texts to be assigned in the course of the semester. You should start reading Robert Bisket's The Lay of Horn and Marie de France's Lanval (pp. 334-48) immediately. There will also be a number of handouts.

COURSEWORK
Your grade will be based on two translation tests (10% each), a final exam (25%), and two essays (25% for the first and 30% for the second). Guidelines for this work will be given to you in the course of the semester, but note that all texts not studied in translation MUST be cited in the original Middle English or I will not accept it.

GRADING
All essays must be typed. Late submissions and essays containing distracting numbers of typos, spelling mistakes, or grammatical errors will drop as much as one full grade. There is no automatic credit for participation or attendance; however, I will take these factors into account at the end of the semester in the case of borderline grades. I regret that I am unable to handle extra-credit assignments. Note: To receive a grade other than a U, you must have completed more than half the coursework (no exceptions).