ENGL 90259 - The Long Fourteenth Century and the Rise of English Literature

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

English

Description:

Even Richard II, the king under whom literary giants like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, and the Pearl Poet produced their mature works, owned no books in English. When he was deposed in 1399, English literary texts were still a minority interest among the educated, the majority as yet preferring to read in Latin or French. This was to change dramatically within a generation. This course traces the rise of English as a "national" literature (a literature read across England, in colonial Ireland and lowlands Scotland) by uncovering the reading circles that nurtured it. From its Early Middle English beginnings through the "Alliterative Revival," to the now famous London reading circles at the turn of the century, the course follows the trajectory of "the Long Fourteenth Century." Beginning with selections from Early Middle English works that continued to be actively read after 1300, such as Ancrene Wisse, Layamon's Brut, the Arundel Bestiary, and moving on to early fourteenth century masterpieces like the Harley Lyrics, the "Kildare" Poems, and the key romances of the Auchinleck manuscript, the course will attempt to link these achievements to the Ricardian "Golden Age" they heralded. By considering the less studied works of the late Edwardian era (such as The Chorister's Lament, Winner and Waster, Julian's Short Text, and the strange, abbreviated version of Piers Plowman known as "Z"), the course will provide a fuller historical context for Ricardian London reading circles. It will conclude with works by the Pearl Poet, a selection of some of Chaucer's "most English" poetry, and new women writers from the London Charterhouse. In particular, we will examine the role that the legal community, the civil service, and the pastorate played in the early development of post-Conquest English, its relations with the literature of the "French in England," and the trilingual contexts of the book production. Other key topics will include court culture, authorial self- representation, social and political dissent, and literary colonialism. We will look at various historicist approaches to the study of regional and developing reading communities, along with aspects of medieval literary theory and newer methodologies, such as the history of book culture. The course will involve a good deal of close reading of earlier and more difficult English prior to Chaucer's.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.