ENGLISH 4270: MEDIEVAL ENGLISH
LITERATURE
F. GRADY 63
455 LUCAS MW
fgrady@umsl.edu/516-5592 (sec.
E01, #51276)
M
2:30-4:30,W 2-4,
and by appointment
In this
course we will read widely in the poetry and prose of later medieval
The literature of the middle ages has the
often annoying quality of seeming simultaneously foreign and familiar, since in
the period the basic structures (and basic problems) of contemporary Western
culture were in the making; appreciating and understanding medieval texts thus
requires some intellectual agility and an open mind. Think about the reading and be prepared to
discuss it: what happens in it (and to whom), what it assumes that you know
(about the world, about how people ought to behave, and about how they actually
do), what it thinks is important and interesting and why (I strongly recommend
a reading or rereading of the Old Testament Book of Genesis and one or two of
the New Testament Gospels--Matthew or Luke, and John--as background to some of
the religious texts we’ll be studying).
Requirements: two 4-5
page papers (20% each), midterm (20%), final (20%),
class grade (quizzes, participation in discussion, attendance, and one or two
brief oral presentations, 20%). Perfect attendance and timely submission of
assignments is of course expected; missed quizzes may not be made up and more
than five absences will certainly have an adverse effect on your grade. (I will
attempt to use the new Early Alert System when appropriate.)
You
will have multiple opportunities to submit the two papers, and I will make
available a (non-exhaustive) list of possible topics several days in advance of
each due date. (Note: you must
submit an essay by the second due date, 10/27.) Undergraduate students are not
required to employ secondary sources, nor are they prohibited from doing so;
bear in mind that the most convenient resource regarding the essays is
generally standing at the front of the classroom . Be advised also that I take the issue of
academic dishonesty very seriously; plagiarism on papers will generally mean an
instant F for the assignment and likely disciplinary action by the university.
Please refer to the English Department’s plagiarism handout for further details,
and please please please
ask me if you have any questions.
Course
documents and assignments will be posted on mygateway.umsl.edu, but the main
course page will be located at www.umsl.edu/~gradyf/4270f06syll.htm,
which can also be reached through my home
page (www.umsl.edu/~gradyf).
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Kempe, M. The Book of Margery Kempe. Trans. Lynne
Staley. Norton Critical Edition. W.W. Norton, 2001.
Langland, W. Piers Plowman. Trans. E. Talbot Donaldson. W.W. Norton, 1990.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte D'Arthur. Ed. Janet Cowen. 2 vols. Penguin, 1986.
Mandeville, Sir John. The Travels of Sir John
Mandeville. Trans. C.W.R.D.
Moseley. Penguin,1983.
Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl. Trans. Marie Borroff. W.W. Norton, 2001.
Some useful readings will also be placed on
reserve in the library.
Tentative SYLLABUS:
M AUG 21 Introduction; thinking about the
middle ages
W AUG 23 The Travels of Sir John Mandeville: Pilgrimage
(chs. 1-14, pp. 43-104)
M AUG 28 Mandeville’s Travels: Here Be Monsters (chs. 15-26, pp. 104-60)
W AUG 30 Mandeville’s Travels: Geotheologicopolitics
(chs. 27-34, pp. 160-90)
M SEP 4 LABOR DAY—NO CLASS
W SEP 6 Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur:
Foundations (Preface, Books 1 & 3 [I. 3-59, 92-116])
M SEP 11 Malory: The Tale of Gareth (Book 7 [I.
231-302])
W SEP 13
Malory: The Grail Quest I (Books 11, 13, 15 [II. 188-214, 238-74,
291-300]
M SEP 18 Malory: The Grail Quest II (Books 16
& 17 [II. 301-72])
W SEP 20 Malory: Lancelot and Guenevere: Lusty Deeds (Book 18 [II.373-426])
M SEP 25 Malory: Lancelot and Guenevere: Tears (Book 19 [II. 427-55])
W SEP 27
Malory: The Beginning of the End (Book 20 [II.456-504])
F SEP 29 First essay due date
M OCT 2 Malory: Everybody Dies, Maybe (Book 21
[II. 505-532])
W OCT 4 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: “in their
first age…still”
M OCT 9 SGGK
(cont.)
W OCT 11
M OCT 16 MIDTERM
W OCT 18 Pearl: Flawless
M OCT 23 Pearl
(cont.); Langland, Piers Plowman,
Prologue and Passus 1 (pp. 1-14)
W OCT 25 Piers Plowman: Money Makes the World Go ‘Round (Passus
2-4, pp. 15-39)
F OCT 27 Second essay due date
M OCT 30 Piers Plowman: The Seven Deadly Sins (Passus 5 & 6,
pp. 39-70)
W NOV 1 Piers Plowman: The Tearing of the Pardon
(Passus 7-9, pp. 70-87)
M NOV 6 Piers Plowman: The Inner Journey (Passus 11-14, pp. 104-58)
W NOV 8 St. Erkenwald:
The Salvation of the Heathen (xerox)
M NOV 13 Piers
Plowman: Antichrist (Passus 18-20, pp. 200-241)
W NOV 15 Piers
Plowman (concl.)
F NOV 17 Third essay due date
a brief guide to quoting from the text
M NOV 20 / W NOV 23
Thanksgiving Break: No Class
M NOV 27 The Book Of Margery Kempe:
Prologue and chs.
1-25 (pp. 3-44)
W NOV 29 The Book Of Margery Kempe:
Chs. 26-43 (pp. 44-76)
M DEC 4 The Book Of Margery Kempe:
Chs. 44-55 (pp.76-101), 58-59 (105-08), 61-63 (109-115),
75-81 (130-44)
W DEC 6 Conclusion, or “many marvels that I
have not spoken of”
F DEC 8
Fourth essay due date
M DEC 11
Final Exam 5:30-7:30 PM
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations
in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability
Access Services Office in 144 Millennium Student Center at 516-6554 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are arranged in a
timely fashion.
