Module Code - Title:
EH4046
-
OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE: TEXTS AND CONTEXTS
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
This module introduces students to literature written in Old and Middle English, specifically from the period c. 700-1500. Students will learn not just about the different genres of literature of the Middle Ages but will also be introduced to linguistic history and the political, social and cultural influences impacting and texturing written culture at this time. It will especially focus on literary contexts and reception, making full use of local archival collections and online databases and resources to allow students to experience literature in its manuscript form, building in research skills as a key component of assessment.
Syllabus:
This module is a survey offered to students in year 3 and year 4 as an elective. Its focus is insular works of literature in English, beginning with Old English texts such as the epic poem Beowulf and moving through the main literary genres that were popular in this period: romance, elegy, lay, devotional, drama and lyric, to c. 1500. The module will introduce students to textual traditions, such as the corpus of Arthurian literature and protest literature; works that circulated anonymously; and literature by well-known authors such Geoffrey Chaucer, John Lydgate, Margery Kempe, and Thomas Malory. Close readings and critical analysis will be combined with considerations of manuscript and performance for these works, encouraging attention to how textual materiality can contribute to the interpretation of early literature.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate familiarity with the historical contexts for Old and Middle English literature;
• Identify key issues arising in a selection of literary and cultural texts from these periods;
• Examine the prescribed texts in the cultural, political, and social contexts in which they were produced;
• Relate texts to literary traditions;
• Distinguish between different poetic genres; Interpret and analyse texts through an established process of close reading;
• Evaluate arguments relating to interpretation, concepts, and theories with respect to the prescribed texts;
• Develop research skills, in particular around archival research;
• Write an essay on a set topic at the appropriate level.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
This module will augment students' critical appreciation of literary artefacts by exposing them to the stylistic, historical and cultural factors involved in the creation of literature. On successful completion of this module, students should be able to utilise their learning activities as a basis for further independent cultural and literary development.
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
n/a
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
The module consists of two lectures and one tutorial per week. Students will read works composed in Old English in translation, and will be introduced to Middle English texts in the original language of the period from 1300 onwards, learning to read and critically appraise in structured tutorials using facing-page translations, where appropriate. Innovative assessment methods will develop student research and presentation skills.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
Heaney, Seamus (2002)
Beowulf
, Faber & Faber
various (2014)
The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, vol. 1: The Medieval Period
, Broadview
Other Relevant Texts:
Golden, M. and M. Lapidge (2013)
The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature
, Cambridge University Press
King, P. (2011)
Medieval Literature, 1300-1500
, Edinburgh University Press
Scanlon, L.D. (2009)
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Literature, 1100-1500
, Cambridge University Press
Grey, D. (2008)
Later Medieval English Literature
, Oxford University Press
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
BAULARUFA - ARTS
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Spring
Module Leader:
Carrie.Griffin@ul.ie