Comic Literature Through the Middle Ages

Harvard FAS

Bad puns. Blasphemy. Codpieces. Corpse humor. Cougars. Cuckolds. Fart jokes. Dominant ladies. Funny drunks. Hypocrites. Incredible sex. Over-clever students. Priapic priests. Romance send-ups. Wimpy knights. Wit triumphant. These are some of the ingredients of humor covered in our survey of literature from 1100 to 1650. The ranges include drama, fabliaux, Latin lyrics, Chaucer, Middle Scots poetry, and other genres up to Rabelais and Shakespeare. With the help of Auerbach,…