Course Description
Even if you know English, you probably cannot read English written in the Middle Ages. This course will teach students how medieval English
literature, which we rarely study, may be of interest to Japanese people living in the 21st century. Learning about heroes and mysteries, romances,
myths, the supernatural, imaginary creatures, clothing, ways of life, and ways of thinking of the people of the Western Middle Ages allows us to
understand the world in which these stories were told. We hope that students will learn that people can get to know and understand each other through
writing and understanding, transcending time and geographical constraints.
Keywords
Philology, medieval Nordics,
medieval literature, legends,
mythology, history, Old and
Middle English, fantasy
literature, reception research
Course Plan
1) Introduction: What is medieval England?
2) Medieval English literature, comprehension task
3) Authors and readers of medieval English literature
4) Studying medieval English Literature (JRR Tolkien, author of the fantasy work "The Lord of the Rings")
5) "Beowulf," an Old English heroic epic (this lecture will be based on the film "The Hobbit")
6) The discovery and reception of "Beowulf"
7) Solving problems using the tradition of "mystery poetry" by reading Old English rhymes
8) Romance in the early Middle Ages
9) The meaning of English literature in the Early Middle Ages (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)
10) The beginning of the late Middle Ages (and the reasoning behind the periodization of the early and late Middle Ages)
11) Relationship between medieval Norse philology and Norse mythology
12) King Arthur and 21st-century romance
13) The sins and ethics of Sir Gawain, one of the Knights of the Round Table
14) The medieval English romance poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
15) General discussion ("Orfeo," if we have time), course survey
Even in sessions with no quizzes, students will be given a small assignment in the form of a response paper that requires them to summarize what they have learned and
thought about during that session.
