Medieval - Old & Middle English - Middle Ages
(1350-1485) The Medieval period of literature featured the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, Margary Kempe, Sir Gawain, Everyman, Julian of Norwich, and many other writers. Read more about Medieval, Middle English and Old English.
Literature - Medieval - A History of English Literature
Read more about the Medieval Period in "A History of English Literature," by Robert Huntington Fletcher.
Going Medieval
The term "medieval" comes from the Latin meaning "middle age." The term medieval (originally spelled mediaeval) wasn't introduced into English until the 19th century, a time when there was heightened interest in the art, history and though of the Middle Ages.
Literature in Time - Literary Periods
Find a brief overview of periods in literature.
Medieval Period - Where Did it All Begin?
The term "medieval" comes from the Latin meaning "middle age." The term medieval (originally spelled mediaeval) wasn't introduced into English until the 19th century, a time when there was heightened interest in the art, history and though of the Middle Ages.
William Caxton & The Introduction of Printing
Robert Huntington Fletcher writes: "Malory's book is the first great English classic which was given to the world in print instead of written manuscript; for it was shortly after Malory's death that the printing press was brought to England by William Caxton." Read more about William Caxton in "A History of English Literature."
Medieval English Literature -- History Books
If you are studying the history of Medieval English Literature, here are resources that include chronologies, full bibliographies, details about important literary texts, historical information about the period and reception of works of literature, and more. Read more about the history of Medieval English Literature.
King Arthur
King Arthur appears in the literature of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Marie de France, Sir Thomas Malory, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Mark Twain. But, who was he? Who was his queen? And what about the other figures of Arthurian myth and legend: Gawain, Lancelot, Merlin, and Modred?
Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues
"The aim of the 'Corpus' is to publish the extant catalogues of British medieval libraries, in 17 volumes."
Literature of the French Middle Ages
This site offers a list of links and resources related to poetry, theater, and other works of Medieval French LIterature.
Giovanni Boccaccio
GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO (1313-1375), Italian author, whose Decameron is one of the classics of literature, was born in 1313, as we know from a letter of Petrarch, in which that poet, who was born in 1304, calls himself the senior of his friend by nine years.