Medieval Literature

What ideas led to the chivalric ideal? Was St. Augustine a Platonist? Why exactly should children not read Chaucer's The Miller's Tale? Is Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as violent as the movies make it seem?

The more distance is established between the Middle Ages and our own, the more mysterious they become. It's easy to think the world then was more earthy, more full of life, more dark, more violent, more perverse than the world today, or maybe even more Christian, closer to the reality of things, a better place to raise kids.

Why is it so easy to transpose a mythic or legendary status on former historical periods? in particular, why the Medieval period? They aren't called (inaccurately) the Dark Ages because we don't know anything about them—why do we treat them as if they are? Is it because so much of the literature reflects a mystical or fantastical imagination? Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Mabinogian are all highly symbolic and wrapped in chimerical invention, and the common response is to assume the Middle Ages themselves were similarly cloaked.

While some crazy historian might try to actually affirm that they were, the truth is a bit more reassuring, if more mundane. People haven't changed a whole lot since the days of knights and castles and Crusades; just as we are better able to apprehend certain truths when they're presented in fairy tale terms, so too the Medieval writers understood their readers (or hearers) needed something more material to grasp if they were going to get the spiritual and philosophical truths behind the pretense.

Dante wrote his Divine Comedy with four levels of interpretation in mind—the literal, the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical. Any great work of literature can obviously be enjoyed at face value—how the author uses the language, how he presents a scene and conveys a sense of characterization, etc. This is the level on which nearly everyone can enjoy literature.

The allegorical level is that which presents a hidden truth in plain language. For instance, Dante might be writing about a forest, but that forest represents the author's own spiritual confusion at the time of writing. The moral interpretive level is a jump back to the obvious; writers need to be sure to include direct moral exhortation and reproof for the benefit of their audience.

Modern writers still have one or all of these interpretive levels in mind when composing their work (except, perhaps, the author of a text message, especially if that author happens to be a teenager). Dante's final (and for him, most important) interpretive consideration has fallen largely out of use; some theorize the anagogical mode was never successfully employed. Readers of the Bible and the Divine Comedy would have to disagree—the anagogical mode is acheived when even the literal elements of the story are such that spiritual or divine truths are expressed. Easy to confuse with the allegorical, the anagogical mode is distinct and extremely difficult to manage, even for most great writers.

Medieval audiences would have understood all these forces at work in the composition of any work, especially the Classically educated who were most likely to be reading anything at all. If we transpose our own modern and postmodern sensibilities on Medieval literature, it will seem boring, weird, slightly insane, perhaps even heretical.

If, however, we learn to read Medieval literature as its original audience would have, we'll discover one of the most vibrant and fascinating eras in the history of the written word. Because its authors didn't feel like they needed to make everything they wrote "entertaining," it often became so on its own due to the passion and clarity of expression with which they wrote. It also made everything they wrote something apprehendable and worthy of contemplation, a trait sadly lacking in much modern fare.

Our Medieval literature section is a little smaller than we'd like. Partly, this is because many Medieval texts are hard to come by. Partly, too, it's because by comparison much more was written in the centuries following the Renaissance (which signaled the end of the Middle Ages) than in the centuries before. At least, that we know of. Bear with us as we expand our selection, and in the meantime experience the grandeur of Medieval literature, not as we think or assume it must have been, but as it really was.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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120 Items found Print
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Alfred the Great
by Asser
from Penguin Classics
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Annotated Arabian Nights
by Paulo Lemos Horta (editor), translated by Yasmine Seale
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$45.00
Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works
Oxford World's Classics
by Anselm, edited and introduction by Brian Davies and Gillian Evans
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95
Anthology of Medieval Literature
by Rebecca Berg Manor, ed.
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95
Arabian Nights
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Arabian Nights I
Signet Classics
by Richard Burton (Translator), Jack Zipes (Adapter)
from Signet Classics
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.95
Arabian Nights II
Signet Classics
by Anonymous, Sir Richard Burton (Translator), Jack Zipes (Adapter)
from Signet Classics
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.95
Ascent of Mount Carmel
by St. John of the Cross
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.95
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$16.00
Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Peter Grybauskas
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Seamus Heaney)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.95
Beowulf
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous, translated by R. K. Gordon
from Dover Publications
Medieval Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Burton Raffel
from Signet Classics
for 10th grade-adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Beowulf the Warrior - MP Curriculum Package
by David M. Wright, Ian Serraillier
from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$35.88
Beowulf the Warrior - Student Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Beowulf the Warrior - Teacher Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.95
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
by Anonymous (translation by J. R. R. Tolkien)
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$30.00
Canterbury Quintet
by Geoffrey Chaucer
from Little Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Nevill Coghill)
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetry for 8th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.35
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Kolve V.A. & Glending Olson)
2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.90 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Peter Beidler)
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.09
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by David Wright
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.61
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by Donald Howard
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.91
Chronicles
by Jean Froissart
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Chronicles of the Crusades
by Jean de Joinville and Geoffrey of Villehardouin
from Penguin Classics
for Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
City of God
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translated by Henry Bettenson)
from Penguin Classics
Ancient/Medieval Theology for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
City of God
by St. Augustine, translated by Marcus Dods
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$26.00
City of God
by St. Augustine (translation by Marcus Dods)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
City of God (abridged)
by St. Augustine
Abridged from Image
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00
Condition of Creatures
by Georgia Ronan Crampton
from Yale University Press
for Adult
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (introduction & translation by R.S. Pine-Coffin)
from Penguin Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$10.00
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by John K. Ryan)
from Image
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Maria Boulding)
from Vintage Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Garry Wills)
from Penguin Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Confessions of Saint Augustine
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Sarah Ruden)
from Modern Library
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Confessions of St. Augustine
by St. Augustine (translation by Philip Burton)
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.60
Confessions of St. Augustine
by Saint Augustine (translation by Henry Chadwick)
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.95
Consolation of Philosophy
by Ancius Boethius
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Dante's Inferno
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Dante's Paradise
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Dante's Purgatory
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio
Revised from Penguin Classics
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Discarded Image
by C. S. Lewis
from Cambridge University
Medieval and Renaissance Lit Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri (translation by John Ciardi)
from New American Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick
Reprint from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$28.00
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$35.00
Divine Comedy - Anthony Esolen Trilogy
by Dante, translated by Anthony Esolen
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy - Dorothy Sayers trilogy
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers and Barbara Reynolds
from Penguin Putnam
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$42.50
Divine Comedy I
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Divine Comedy II
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Divine Comedy III
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers & Barbara Reynolds
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Divine Comedy Volume 1: Inferno
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robert Pinsky
Revised from Farrar & Rinehart
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Divine Comedy Volume 2: Purgatory
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Divine Comedy Volume 3: Paradise
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
Revised from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Penguin Classics
by Bede (translation by Leo Sherley-Price)
from Penguin Classics
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
by Bede (edited by Judith McClure & Roger Collins)
from Oxford University
Church History for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.95
Everyman and Other Miracle and Morality Plays
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous
from Dover Publications
Medieval Drama for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 $1.50 (7 in stock)
Everyman: A Morality Play
by Anonymous
from Samuel French
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$1.00 (10 in stock)
Five Sons of King Pandu
by Elizabeth Seeger
from William R. Scott Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Greenleaf Guide to Medieval Literature
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
History of the Kings of Britain
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey of Monmouth
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fairy Tale for 10th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Dover Publications
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Penguin Classics
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempis
from Hendrickson Publishers
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis
from Whitaker House
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Inferno
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
Bantam Classic Ed from Bantam Books
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Inferno
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.95
La Vita Nuova
by Dante Alighieri
from Dover Publications
Medieval Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$3.00 $1.50 (1 in stock)
Lais of Marie de France
by Marie de France, translated with an introduction by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby
2nd edition from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00
Le Morte d'Arthur
Signet Classics
by Sir Thomas Mallory
from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.95
Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
by J.R.R Tolkien, Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Reprint from Mariner Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.95
Letters of Abelard and Heloise
by Peter Abelard, Heloise
Revised from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Death of Cormac the Skald
by W. G. Collingwood
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
$7.99
Life of King Alfred
by Asser
from Living Book Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.99
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Jeffrey Gantz
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Mabinogion
by Anonymous, Translated by Sioned Davies
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.95
On Christian Doctrine
by St. Augustine
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.95
On Christian Teaching
by St. Augustine
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.95
On the Incarnation
by Athanasius
from St. Vladimir's
Ancient/Medieval Theology for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Our Faith: Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions
by CRC Publications
from CRC Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Creeds, Confessions & Catechisms (Location: XTH-CREED)
$10.00
Paradiso
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.95
Paradiso - Reader's Guide
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.95
Piers the Ploughman
by William Langland
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Portable Dante
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Mark Musa
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.00
Purgatorio
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.95
Purgatorio - Reader's Guide
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.95
Revelations of Divine Love
by Julian of Norwich, translated by Elizabeth Spearing, introduction and notes by A.C. Spearing
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.00
Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (abridged)
by Sir Thomas Mallory, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Romance of Tristan and Iseult
by Hilaire Belloc
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.95
Rule of St Benedict
by St. Benedict & Timothy Fry, editor
from Penguin Classics
Devotional Material for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.00
Saga of the Volsungs
by Anonymous, Jesse L. Byock
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Selected Canterbury Tales
Dover Thrift Editions
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by J. U. Nicolson)
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.25 $2.13 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Jessie Weston
2nd edition from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$4.95 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by W. S. Merwin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Burton Raffel
Reprint from Signet Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous, translated by Brian Stone
from Penguin Classics
for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.00
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous (translation by Simon Armitage)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.95
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