Admission requirements
Completion of Philology 1 or comparable course.
Description
This course offers a survey of Middle English literature that provides fascinating insight into the literature of the later English Middle Ages and the complex (often conflicted) world that nurtured it. The course elaborates on Philology 1 (which is why Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales will not be dealt with). In combination with background literature, we will read and study a representative selection of Middle English literature: lyrical poetry, titillating fabliau, serious religious instruction, highbrow allegory, exciting romance. Texts will be read in the original Middle English with the help of marginal glosses. We will also explore some of the most exciting and important debates surrounding Middle English literature. After a short lecture on the cultural and historical context of the text(s) read for that week, we will discuss our translations, new insights, and interpretations of the assigned readings in a seminar-style setting.
Course objectives
The student acquires:
Proficiency in translating Middle English in various dialects
*Abilities in interpreting representative texts from the various genres of medieval literature in their cultural-historical contextAbilities in interpreting key debates in the field of Middle English literature
Skills in oral discussion and written analysis
Practice working with secondary sources
Successful completion of the course will enable the student to write a B.A. thesis on a Middle English subject and to follow a course in Middle English at the M.A. level.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA English website
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Course Load: 280 hours
hours spent attending the seminar: 26
time for studying the compulsory literature in preparation for the seminars and writing the assignments: 234 hours
time to prepare for the final exam: 20 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
1) Two assignments
2) Five in-class critical reflections
3) An essay
4) A final exam
Weighing
Element 1) 20%
Element 2) 5%
Element 3) 25%
Element 4) 50%
Resit
When the final grade is 5.49 or lower, one or more of the elements (elements 1, 3 or 4) will have to be retaken during the resit period. There is no resit for the in-class critical reflections (element 2).
Exam review
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Attendance
Attendance is compulsory. Missing more than three tutorials means that students will be excluded from taking the exam (or essay or other assignments) and resits. Consequently, the course cannot be completed during that particular academic year. Unauthorized absence also applies to being unprepared and/or not bringing the relevant course materials to class.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
providing students with assignments
providing students with additional reading materials
providing students with extra information and a sample of the exam
essay and assignment submission and feedback
Reading list
*Course reader
Elaine Treharne, ed., Old and Middle English c. 890 – c. 1400: An Anthology, Third Edition, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
The Riverside Chaucer, ed. Larry D. Benson, Oxford University Press paperback, 1988 or later editions.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, 2006, Volume I or Volume A.
Supplementary background material via Blackboard.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Students other than BA English language and culture studies need permission from the coordinator of studies before enrolling.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for questions.
Remarks
Students are expected to be prepared right from week 1. The work for week 1 is to be found in Blackboard.