Wikipedia

Medieval literature

Medieval literatureis a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available inEuropeand beyond during theMiddle Ages(that is, the one thousand years from thefall of the Western Roman Empireca. AD 500 to the beginning of theRenaissancein the 14th, 15th or 16th century, depending on country). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Like modern literature, it is a broad field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre.

Statuta Mutine Reformata,1420–1485; parchmentcodexbound in wood and leather with brass plaques worked the corners and in the center, with clasps.

Languages

edit

Outside of Europe, medieval literature was written inEthiopic,Syriac,Coptic,Japanese,Chinese,andArabic,among many other languages.

In Western Europe, Latin was the common language for medieval writing, sinceLatinwas the language of theRoman Catholic Church,which dominatedWesternandCentral Europe,and since the Church was virtually the only source of education. This was the case even in some parts of Europe that were never Romanized.

InEastern Europe,the influence of theEastern Roman Empireand theEastern Orthodox ChurchmadeGreekandOld Church Slavonicthe dominant written languages.

In Europe the common people used their respectivevernaculars.A few examples, such as theOld EnglishBeowulf,theMiddle High GermanNibelungenlied,theMedieval GreekDigenis Acritas,theOld East SlavicTale of Igor's Campaign,and theOld FrenchChanson de Roland,are well known to this day. Although the extant versions of theseepicsare generally considered the works of individual (butanonymous) poets, there is no doubt that they are based on their peoples' older oral traditions.Celtictraditions have survived in thelaisofMarie de France,theMabinogionand theArthurian cycles.Another host of vernacular literature has survived in theOld Norse literatureand more specifically in thesagaliterature ofIceland.

Anonymity

edit

A notable amount of medieval literature isanonymous.This is not only due to the lack of documents from a period, but also due to an interpretation of theauthor's role that differs considerably from theromanticinterpretation of the term in use today. Medieval authors often deeply respected theclassicalwriters and theChurch Fathersand 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 anauctorinstead. 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

edit

Religious

edit

Theological works were the dominant form of literature typically found in libraries during the Middle Ages.Catholicclerics were the intellectual center of society in the Middle Ages, and it is their literature that was produced in the greatest quantity.

Countlesshymnssurvive from this time period (bothliturgicaland paraliturgical). The liturgy itself was not in fixed form, and numerous competing missals set out individual conceptions of the order of themass.Religious scholars such asAnselm of Canterbury,Thomas Aquinas,andPierre Abélardwrote lengthytheologicalandphilosophicaltreatises, often attempting to reconcile the teachings of the Greek and Roman pagan authors with the doctrines of the Church.Hagiographies,or "lives of the saints", were also frequently written, as an encouragement to the devout and a warning to others.

TheGolden LegendofJacobus de Voraginereached such popularity that, in its time, it was reportedly read more often than theBible.Francis of Assisiwas a prolific poet, and hisFranciscanfollowers frequently wrote poetry themselves as an expression of their piety.Dies IraeandStabat Materare 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 themystery plays:growing out of simpletableauxre-enactments of a single Biblical scene, each mystery play became its village's expression of the key events in theBible.The text of these plays was often controlled by localguilds,and mystery plays would be performed regularly on set feast-days, often lasting all day long and into the night.

During the Middle Ages, theJewishpopulation of Europe also produced a number of outstanding writers.Maimonides,born inCordoba, Spain,andRashi,born inTroyes,France,are two of the best-known and most influential of theseJewish authors.

Secular

edit
The first page ofBeowulf

Secularliterature in this period was not produced in equal quantity as religious literature. The earliest tales are based on oral traditions: the BritishY GododdinandPreiddeu Annwfn,along with the GermanicBeowulfandNibelungenlied.They relate to myths or certain 6th-century events, but the surviving manuscripts date from centuries later—Y Gododdinfrom the late 13th century,Preiddu Annwfnfrom the early 14th century,Beowulffromc. 1000,and theNibelungenliedfrom the 13th century. The makers and performers werebards(British/Welsh) andscops(Germanic), elite professionals attached to royal or noble courts to praise the heroes of legendary history.

Prose tales first emerged in Britain: the intricateFour Branches of theMabinogiabout princely families, notably anti-war in theme, and the romantic adventureCulhwch and Olwen.(TheMabinogiis not the same as theMabinogion,a collection of disconnected prose tales, which does, however, include both theMabinogiandCulhwch and Olwen.) These works were compiled from earlier oral traditionc. 1100.

At about the same time a new poetry of "courtly love"became fashionable in Europe. Traveling singers—troubadoursandtrouvères—made a living from their love songs inFrench,Spanish,Galician-Portuguese,Catalan,Provençal,andGreek.Germanic culture had itsMinnesängertradition. The songs of courtly love often express unrequited longing for an ideal woman, but there are alsoaubades(dawn farewells by lovers) and humorous ditties.

Following the earliest epic poems, prose tales, and romances, more long poems were crafted—thechansons de gesteof the late 11th and early 12th centuries. These extolled conquests, as inThe Song of Roland(part of theMatter of France) andDigenis Acritas(one of theAcritic songs). The rather differentchivalric romancetradition concerns adventures about marvels, love, and chivalry. They tell of theMatter of Britainand theMatter of Rome.

Political poetrythreads throughout the period from the very earlyArmes Prydein(10th-century Britain) to thegoliardrebels of 12th and 13th centuries, who were church trained clerics unable or unwilling to be employed in the church.

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 supported sea voyages and trading along coasts and rivers, as well aspilgrimagesto such destinations asJerusalem;CanterburyandGlastonburyin England;St. David'sin Wales; andSantiago de Compostelain Spain.Geoffrey Chaucer'sCanterbury Talesbecame popular at the end of the 14th century.

The most prominent authors ofJewishsecular poetry in the Middle Ages wereSolomon ibn GabirolandYehuda Halevi,both of whom were also renowned religious poets.

Women's literature

edit

While it is true that women in the medieval period were never accorded full equality with men, 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 assaintsfrequently published their reflections, revelations, and prayers. Much of what is known aboutwomen in the Middle Agesis known from the works ofnunssuch asClare of Assisi,Bridget of Sweden,andCatherine 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 asJulian of Norwich,Mechthild of Magdeburg,andHildegard of Bingenprovide 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 byMarie de FranceandChristine de Pizancontinue to be studied for their glimpses of medieval society.

Some women were patrons of books and owners of significant book collections. Female book collectors in the fifteenth century includedAlice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk;Cecily Neville, Duchess of York;andLady Margaret Beaufort,Countess of Richmond and Derby. Lady Margaret Beaufort may also have completed translations as a testament to her piety, as Bishop Father John Fisher noted in a sermon dedicated to her after her death.[1]

For modern historical reflection, D.H. Green's (2007) historical work entitled,Women Readers of the Middle Agesexplores literacy and literature in terms of women in medieval society.[2]The book has been reviewed as "a radical reassessment of women's contribution to medieval literary culture."[3]

Allegory

edit
Main article:Allegory in the Middle Ages

While medieval literature makes use of manyliterary devices,allegoryis 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 thePsychomachia(Battle of Souls) byAurelius Clemens Prudentius.Other important examples include theRomance of the Rose,Everyman,Piers Plowman,theRoman de Fauvel,and theDivine Comedy.

Preservation

edit

A recent study has concluded that only about 68 percent of all medieval works have survived to the present day, including fewer than 40 percent ofEnglishworks, around 50 percent ofDutchandFrenchworks, and more than three quarters ofGerman,Icelandic,andIrishworks.[4]

Notable literature of the period

edit
Estimated medieval output of manuscripts in terms of copies[5]

Specific articles

edit

By region or language

edit

By genre

edit

By period

edit

References

edit
  1. ^Niebrzydowski, Sue (2011).Middle-aged Women in the Middle Ages.Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.ISBN978-1-84615-793-6.OCLC774293897.
  2. ^Green, D.H. "Women Readers of the Middle Ages". Cambridge University Press, England.ISBN978-0-52187-9422
  3. ^McDonald, Nicola."Women Readers in the Middle Ages (review)"Archived2016-03-05 at theWayback Machine
  4. ^Bushwick, Sophie (8 March 2022)."How Much Medieval Literature Has Been Lost?".Scientific American.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2022.Retrieved8 March2022.
  5. ^Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries ",The Journal of Economic History,Vol. 69, No. 2 (2009), pp. 409–445 (416, table 1)
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medieval_literature&oldid=1260319809"