Adapting Medieval Literature

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

What relevance can medieval texts, written hundreds of years ago, have for us today? Why should we still be reading them? A consideration of a range of medieval English literature reveals representations that not only affirm but also challenge traditional power hierarchies and views on gender, sexuality, ableism, and race. Engagement with these texts help us understand the ways the legacies from this period continue to influence us today, even as we have developed more liberatory ideas. Popular culture has increasingly turned to the medieval period for inspiration, as evidenced by recent films such as “Catherine, Called Birdy”, or the adaption of medieval texts, as in “The Green Knight”. In this course we will read primary medieval texts and secondary sources to understand how literary works respond to their historical context. Students will produce an adaptation of a medieval literary text that reimagines it in our contemporary context. (This course fulfils the pre-1800 literature requirement for the English major.)