Medievalists.net » Literature http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 19:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 Of Wilderness, Forest, and Garden: An Eco-Theory of Genre in Middle English Literature http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/of-wilderness-forest-and-garden-an-eco-theory-of-genre-in-middle-english-literature/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/of-wilderness-forest-and-garden-an-eco-theory-of-genre-in-middle-english-literature/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2015 05:42:54 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=63010 I posit that the components of the environment play a role in the deployment of the narrative by shaping the characters and influencing the action.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/05/of-wilderness-forest-and-garden-an-eco-theory-of-genre-in-middle-english-literature/feed/ 0 How Well Do You Know the Opening Lines of Medieval Literature? http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/02/how-well-do-you-know-the-opening-lines-of-medieval-literature/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/02/how-well-do-you-know-the-opening-lines-of-medieval-literature/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2015 19:18:48 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62938 Test yourself by trying to pick which famous work of medieval literature these opening lines are from.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/02/how-well-do-you-know-the-opening-lines-of-medieval-literature/feed/ 0 7 Things One Should Know When Dealing with Kings: The Icelander’s Version http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:00:48 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62887 Here is MaryAnn R. Adams’ winning advice on how to deal with Norse kings.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/29/7-things-one-should-know-when-dealing-with-kings-the-icelanders-version/feed/ 0 In Search of Guinevere http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2015 22:51:50 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62851 As a lifelong lover of Arthurian stories, I have always had a love/hate relationship with Guinevere. In some stories, she is the well-mannered and generous ideal queen; in others she is a jealous and spiteful adulteress. How can she be both? When did she change?

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/in-search-of-guinevere/feed/ 0 From the Middle Ages to Modernity: The Intersecting Supernatural Worlds of Melusine and Today’s Popular Culture http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/from-the-middle-ages-to-modernity-the-intersecting-supernatural-worlds-of-melusine-and-todays-popular-culture/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/from-the-middle-ages-to-modernity-the-intersecting-supernatural-worlds-of-melusine-and-todays-popular-culture/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2015 21:09:53 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62849 This work contains many elements common to supernatural tales of its time-shape-shifting, magic fountains and marriages between humans and fairies - yet it is also surprisingly relevant to our own age, whose popular culture is saturated with modem myths and vampire love-stories.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/28/from-the-middle-ages-to-modernity-the-intersecting-supernatural-worlds-of-melusine-and-todays-popular-culture/feed/ 0 The Snow Baby: A Cautionary Tale http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2015 18:32:18 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62704 Most of the time, fabliaux are lighthearted and lusty, but occasionally they stray into dark humour, like 'The Snow Baby'.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/22/the-snow-baby-a-cautionary-tale/feed/ 0 The Quirky Questions of Wynkyn de Worde http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/06/the-quirky-questions-of-wynkyn-de-worde/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/06/the-quirky-questions-of-wynkyn-de-worde/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2015 20:37:41 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62331 From the 'chicken or egg' question to age of a mouse, some of the riddles from England's oldest joke book.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/06/the-quirky-questions-of-wynkyn-de-worde/feed/ 0 Celtic Mythology in the Arthurian Legend http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/celtic-mythology-in-the-arthurian-legend/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/celtic-mythology-in-the-arthurian-legend/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2015 03:57:42 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62177 The aim of this thesis is to find out whether there are some aspects, themes or symbols of the pagan Celtic mythology that appear in the Arthurian legend and if so, what role they play there and to what extent they influence the legend.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/31/celtic-mythology-in-the-arthurian-legend/feed/ 0 The Mythical Ghoul in Arabic Culture http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/the-mythical-ghoul-in-arabic-culture/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/the-mythical-ghoul-in-arabic-culture/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2015 03:57:14 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62162 Though the ghoul has origins as old as the Mesopotamian civilization, Arabs were largely responsible for popularizing it. Because Islam incorporated this being in its doctrine, the ghoul remained a source of fear and mystery in the Arab culture.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/30/the-mythical-ghoul-in-arabic-culture/feed/ 0 Monsters and the Exotic in Early Medieval England http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/28/monsters-and-the-exotic-in-early-medieval-england/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/28/monsters-and-the-exotic-in-early-medieval-england/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:26:56 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62092 The dominant literate culture of early medieval England – male, European, and Christian – often represented itself through comparison to exotic beings and monsters, in traditions developed from native mythologies, and Classical and Biblical sources.

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