Statuta civitatis mutine reformata 1420 1485

Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

in the 14th, 15th or 16th century, depending on country). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich 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.

Languages

Outside of Europe, medieval literature was written in Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, Japanese, Chinese, and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

, among many other languages. In Western Europe, Latin was the common language for medieval writing, since

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

was the language of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, which dominated Western and

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...

, 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. In

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

, the influence of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

made

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

the dominant written languages. In Europe the common people used their respective

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

s. A few examples, such as the Old English ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...

'', the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

'' Nibelungenlied'', the

Medieval Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman c ...

'' Digenis Acritas'', the Old East Slavic '' Tale of Igor's Campaign'', and the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

'' Chanson de Roland'', are well known to this day. Although the extant versions of these epics are generally considered the works of individual (but

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

) poets, there is no doubt that they are based on their peoples' older oral traditions.

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

ic traditions have survived in the

lais Lais or Laïs may refer to one of the following: Places * Lais, Indonesia, a district in the Musi Banyuasin Regency in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia * Lais River in Arjeplog Municipality, Sweden * Lais (barony), a former barony and castle near ...

Marie de France Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...

, the '' Mabinogion'' and the Arthurian cycles. Another host of vernacular literature has survived in the Old Norse literature and more specifically in the saga literature of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Anonymity

A notable amount of medieval literature is

. This is not only due to the lack of documents from a period, but also due to an interpretation of the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

's role that differs considerably from the

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

interpretation of the term in use today. Medieval authors often deeply respected the classical writers and the Church Fathers and 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 an '' auctor'' instead. 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

Religious

Theological works were the dominant form of literature typically found in libraries during the Middle Ages.

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

clerics were the intellectual center of society in the Middle Ages, and it is their literature that was produced in the greatest quantity. Countless

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s survive from this time period (both liturgical and paraliturgical). The liturgy itself was not in fixed form, and numerous competing missals set out individual conceptions of the order of the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

. Religious scholars such as Anselm of Canterbury,

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

, and Pierre Abélard wrote lengthy

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Som ...

treatises, often attempting to reconcile the teachings of the Greek and Roman pagan authors with the doctrines of the Church.

Hagiographies A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

, or "lives of the saints", were also frequently written, as an encouragement to the devout and a warning to others. The '' Golden Legend'' of Jacobus de Voragine reached such popularity that, in its time, it was reportedly read more often than the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christiani ...

was a prolific poet, and his

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

followers frequently wrote poetry themselves as an expression of their piety. '' Dies Irae'' and ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

'' are 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 the mystery plays: growing out of simple tableaux re-enactments of a single Biblical scene, each mystery play became its village's expression of the key events in the

. The text of these plays was often controlled by local

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s, and mystery plays would be performed regularly on set feast-days, often lasting all day long and into the night. During the Middle Ages, the Jewish population of Europe also produced a number of outstanding writers.

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

, born in Cordoba, Spain, and

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...

, born in

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, are two of the best-known and most influential of these Jewish authors.

Secular

Secular literature in this period was not produced in equal quantity as religious literature. The earliest tales are based on oral traditions: the British '' Y Gododdin'' and '' Preiddeu Annwfn'', along with the Germanic ''

'' and '' Nibelungenlied''. They relate to myths or certain 6th-century events, but the surviving manuscripts date from centuries later—''Y Gododdin'' from the late 13th century, ''Preiddu Annwfn'' from the early 14th century, ''Beowulf'' from c. 1000, and the ''Nibelungenlied'' from the 13th century. The makers and performers were '' bards'' (British/Welsh) and ''

scop A ( or ) was a poet as represented in Old English literature#Poetry, Old English poetry. The scop is the Old English counterpart of the Old Norse ', with the important difference that "skald" was applied to historical persons, and scop is used ...

s'' (Germanic), elite professionals attached to royal or noble courts to praise the heroes of legendary history. Prose tales first emerged in Britain: the intricate Four Branches of the ''Mabinogi'' about princely families, notably anti-war in theme, and the romantic adventure '' Culhwch and Olwen''. (The ''Mabinogi'' is not the same as the '' Mabinogion'', a collection of disconnected prose tales, which does, however, include both the ''Mabinogi'' and ''Culhwch and Olwen''.) These works were compiled from earlier oral tradition c. 1100. At about the same time a new poetry of " courtly love" became fashionable in Europe. Traveling singers—

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

s and trouvères—made a living from their love songs in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Spanish,

Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

, and

. Germanic culture had its Minnesänger tradition. The songs of courtly love often express unrequited longing for an ideal woman, but there are also aubades (dawn farewells by lovers) and humorous ditties. Following the earliest epic poems, prose tales, and romances, more long poems were crafted—the '' chansons de geste'' of the late 11th and early 12th centuries. These extolled conquests, as in ''

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century '' chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It i ...

'' (part of the Matter of France) and '' Digenis Acritas'' (one of the Acritic songs). The rather different

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalr ...

tradition concerns adventures about marvels, love, and chivalry. They tell of the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

and the Matter of Rome. Political poetry threads throughout the period from the very early '' Armes Prydein'' (10th-century Britain) to the goliard rebels 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 as

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s to such destinations as

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

;

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonb ...

in England; St. David's in Wales; and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Geoffrey Chaucer's '' Canterbury Tales'' became popular at the end of the 14th century. The most prominent authors of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

secular poetry in the Middle Ages were Solomon ibn Gabirol and Yehuda Halevi, both of whom were also renowned religious poets.

Women's literature

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 as saints frequently published their reflections, revelations, and prayers. Much of what is known about women in the Middle Ages is known from the works of nuns such as Clare of Assisi, Bridget of Sweden, and

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena ( Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

. Frequently, however, the religious perspectives of women were held to be unorthodox by those in power, and the mystical visions of such authors as Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Hildegard of Bingen provide 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 by

and

Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan or Pisan (), born Cristina da Pizzano (September 1364 – c. 1430), was an Italian poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Christine de Pizan served as a court writer in medieval Franc ...

continue 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 included Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk; Cecily Neville, Duchess of York; and Lady 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. For modern historical reflection, D.H. Green's (2007) historical work entitled, ''Women Readers of the Middle Ages'' explores literacy and literature in terms of women in medieval society. The book has been reviewed as "a radical reassessment of women's contribution to medieval literary culture."

Allegory

While medieval literature makes use of many

literary device A narrative technique (known for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device, or fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want —in other words, a stra ...

s, allegory is 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 the '' Psychomachia'' (''Battle of Souls'') by

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some tim ...

. Other important examples include the '' Romance of the Rose'', ''

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

'', '' Piers Plowman'', the ''

Roman de Fauvel The ''Roman de Fauvel'' is a 14th-century French allegorical verse romance of satirical bent, generally attributed to , a clerk at the French royal chancery. The original narrative of 3,280 octosyllabics is divided into two books, dated to 1310 ...

'', and the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

''.

Preservation

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 of English works, around 50 percent of Dutch and

works, and more than three quarters of German, Icelandic, and Irish works.

Notable literature of the period

*'' Alexiad'', Anna Comnena *''

'',

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

author *'' Caedmon's Hymn'' *''

Cantigas de Santa Maria The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' (, ; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile ''El Sabio'' (1221–1284). Traditionally, they a ...

'', Galician *''

The Book of the City of Ladies ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' or ''Le Livre de la Cité des Dames'' (finished by 1405), is perhaps Christine de Pizan's most famous literary work, and it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to compo ...

'',

*''

Book of the Civilized Man ''Book of the Civilized Man'' ( la, Urbanus Magnus Danielis Becclesiensis, also known as ''Liber Urbani'', ''Urbanus Magnus'', or ''Civilized Man''), by Daniel of Beccles, is believed to be the first English courtesy book (or book of manners), da ...

'',

Daniel of Beccles ''Book of the Civilized Man'' ( la, Urbanus Magnus Danielis Becclesiensis, also known as ''Liber Urbani'', ''Urbanus Magnus'', or ''Civilized Man''), by Daniel of Beccles, is believed to be the first English courtesy book (or book of manners), da ...

*'' The Book of Good Love'', Juan Ruiz *'' The Book of Margery Kempe'', Margery Kempe *'' Brut'', Layamon *'' Brut'', Wace *'' The Canterbury Tales'', Geoffrey Chaucer *'' Consolation of Philosophy'',

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, '' magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the t ...

*'' David of Sassoun'', anonymous

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

n author *'' Decameron'',

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...

*''The Dialogue'',

*'' Digenis Acritas'',

Greek author *'' The Diseases of Women'', Trotula of Salerno *''

La divina commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' (''The Divine Comedy''),

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

*'' Dukus Horant'', the first extended work in Yiddish. *'' Elder Edda'', various

ic authors *''

Das fließende Licht der Gottheit Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombian ...

'', Mechthild of Magdeburg *'' First Grammatical Treatise'', 12th-century work on Old Norse phonology *'' Gesta Danorum'', Saxo Grammaticus *''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

'',

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

*''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...

'' (''The Ecclesiastical History of the English People''), the Venerable

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...

*'' Holy Cross Sermons'', anonymous Polish author *''

The Knight in the Panther Skin ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' ( ka, ვეფხისტყაოსანი, tr literally "the one with the skin of a tiger") is a Georgian medieval epic poem, written in the 12th or 13th century by Georgia's national poet Shota Rustav ...

'', Shota Rustaveli *'' The Lais of Marie de France'',

*''

The Letters of Abelard and Heloise ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' *''

Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio Don Juan Manuel's ''Tales of Count Lucanor'', in Spanish ''Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio'' (''Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio''), also commonly known as ''El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio'', or '' ...

'' (''Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio''), Don Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena *''

Ludus de Antichristo The ''Ludus de Antichristo'' (Play About the Antichrist) is a liturgical-oriented drama from the 12th century whose original author is unknown. Its origins are almost certainly from southern Germany, likely a product of the Benedictine monastery ...

'', anonymous German author *'' Mabinogion'', various

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

authors *'' Metrical Dindshenchas'', Irish onomastic poems *'' Il milione'' (''The Travels of Marco Polo''), Marco Polo *'' Le Morte d'Arthur'', Sir Thomas Malory *'' Nibelungenlied'', anonymous German author *'' Njál's saga'', anonymous

ic author *'' Parzival'', Wolfram von Eschenbach *'' Piers Plowman'', William Langland *'' Poem of the Cid'', anonymous Spanish author *'' Proslogium'', Anselm of Canterbury *''

Queste del Saint Graal '' Septimus Heap'' is a series of fantasy novels featuring a protagonist of the same name written by English author Angie Sage. In all, it features seven novels, entitled '' Magyk'', ''Flyte'', ''Physik'', ''Queste'', '' Syren'', ''Darke'', an ...

'' (''The Quest of the Holy Grail''), anonymous

author *''

Revelations of Divine Love ''Revelations of Divine Love'' is a medieval book of Christian mystical devotions. It was written between the 14th and 15th centuries by Julian of Norwich, about whom almost nothing is known. It is the earliest surviving example of a book in ...

'', Julian of Norwich *''Le Roman de Perceforest'' *'' Roman de la Rose'', Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun *'' Sadko'', anonymous Russian author *'' Scivias'', Hildegard of Bingen *'' Sic et Non'', Abelard *'' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', anonymous English author *''

'', anonymous

author *'' Spiritual Exercises'', Gertrude the Great *'' Summa Theologiae'',

*'' Táin Bó Cúailnge'', anonymous Irish author *'' The Tale of Igor's Campaign'', anonymous Russian author *''

Tirant lo Blanc ''Tirant lo Blanch'' ( ; modern spelling: ''Tirant lo Blanc'') is a chivalric romance written by the Valencian knight Joanot Martorell, finished posthumously by his friend Martí Joan de Galba and published in the city of Valencia in 1490 as an ...

'', Joanot Martorell *'' The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', John Mandeville *'' Tristan'', Thomas d'Angleterre *'' Tristan'', Béroul *'' Tristan'', Gottfried von Strassburg *''

Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in '' rime royale'' ...

'', Geoffrey Chaucer *'' Waltharius'' *''

Younger Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...

'',

*'' Yvain: The Knight of the Lion'',

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

Specific articles

By region or language

* Anglo-Norman literature *

Classical Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived fro ...

* Medieval Armenian literature * Medieval Bosnian literature * Old Breton literature *

Byzantine literature Byzantine literature is the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders.Encyclopædia Britannica - "Greek literature: Byzantine literature" It forms the second period in th ...

Medieval Bulgarian literature Medieval Bulgarian literature is Bulgarian literature in the Middle Ages. With the Bulgarian Empire welcoming the disciples of Cyril and Methodius after they were expelled from Great Moravia, the country became a centre of rich literary activity d ...

Medieval Catalan literature In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

* Medieval Croatian literature * Old and Middle Dutch literature *

Old English literature Old English literature refers to poetry and prose written in Old English in early medieval England, from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066, a period often termed Anglo-Saxon England. The 7th-century work '' Cæd ...

* Middle English literature *

Early English Jewish literature Jewish writers in England during the pre-expulsion period of the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries produced different kinds of writing in Hebrew. Many were Tosafists; others wrote legal material, and some wrote liturgical poetry and lite ...

* Medieval French literature * Sicilian School * Old High German literature * Middle High German literature * Medieval Georgian literature *

Medieval Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was ...

* Icelandic literature * Medieval Irish literature * Medieval Italian literature *

Medieval Latin literature Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...

Latin translations of the 12th century Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in western Europe at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, w ...

* Occitan literature * Old Norse literature * Pahlavi literature * Medieval Persian literature * Medieval Portuguese literature * Medieval Serbian literature * Medieval Scottish literature * Medieval Spanish literature * Medieval Welsh literature

By genre

* Medieval poetry * Medieval drama * Medieval allegory * Medieval mysticism *

Fabliau A ''fabliau'' (; plural ''fabliaux'') is a comic, often anonymous tale written by jongleurs in northeast France between c. 1150 and 1400. They are generally characterized by sexual and scatological obscenity, and by a set of contrary attitude ...

* Medieval travel literature * Arthurian literature * Alexander romances * Chanson de geste *

Chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalr ...

* Eddic poetry * Skaldic poetry * Alliterative verse * Miracle plays * Morality plays *

Mystery plays Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...

* Passion plays

By period

* Early Medieval literature (6th to 9th centuries) *

10th century in literature This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in the 10th century. __TOC__ Works Authors See also * 10th century in poetry * 11th century in literature * Early Medieval literature * Golden age of Jewish culture in Sp ...

11th century in literature This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in the 11th century. __TOC__ Events *c. 1000–1025 – The only surviving manuscript of ''Beowulf'' is written. *1007 – The Book of Kells is probably stolen from the Abbey o ...

* 12th century in literature * 13th century in literature *

14th century in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 14th century. __TOC__ Events *1323 – The name '' Pléiade'' is adopted by a group of fourteen poets (seven men and seven women) in Toulouse. *1324: 3 May (Holy ...

References

External links

The Medieval and Classical Literature LibraryThe Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval StudiesMedieval and Renaissance manuscripts, Vulgates, Books of Hours, Medicinal Texts and more, 12 - 17th century, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont LibrariesLuminarium: Anthology of Middle English LiteratureMedieval Nordic Literature
at the Icelandic Saga Database {{Authority control 03

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...