English

Examines a wide variety of medieval literature, ranging from courtly romance to bawdy fabliau to dream-vision, alliterative heroic verse, lyric poetry, verse satire, and drama. Also explores the historical and intellectual contexts of the individual works: the politics and shifting social structures of this period, the way people lived and thought, their culture and customs, and many other aspects of the Middle Ages. Precise course content varies from year to year, but usually includes selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.