Favorite Literature Choices for Middle Ages/Renaissance/

[kloumc]

I'm putting together a history/literature study group for upper junior high and early high school students. We will be focusing on the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation. What have been your students' favorite literature selections to go with these time periods?

[Lori D.]

Our DSs top favorites from that time period:

1. Beowulf (Heaney translation -- the illustrated edition is very nice)
2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (we loved the Tolkien translation; others prefer the more modern translation by Raffel)
3. Macbeth (as a go-along, check out the Parallel Shakespeare student workbook and teacher guide -- geared for middle school/early high school)

If you have time, also do a Shakespeare comedy -- perhaps Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, or Much Ado About Nothing.

I would also recommend several of the Canterbury Tales from the adaptation by Geraldine McCaughrean -- the Knight's Tale, the Nun's Priest's Tale, and the Pardoner's Tale are all quite good and worthy of discussion.

For a King Arthur work, you'd probably want to pass on Mallory's long and difficult Morte d'Arthur, but what about The Sword in the Stone by White, or one of the versions by Howard Pyle or Roger Lancelyn Green? (I would avoid The Once and Future King by White, of which The Sword in the Stone is the first of four parts -- it is very long, and there are scenes and themes in the other three sections which may cause you a problem with the parents of the co-op students.)

We unexpectedly very much enjoyed the excerpts of Thomas More's Utopia in our Norton Anthology of English Literature -- though it may be a little advanced for middle schoolers. What about the essay "A Modest Proposal" or excerpts from Gulliver's Travels, both by Jonathon Swift? Or excerpts from Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes? Here is a nice, easy retelling of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, with interesting illustrations.


Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings is a wonderful study, covering the 3 books of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all heavily influenced by author JRR Tolkien's studies on medieval literature. The LLftLotR study shows the heavy Beowulf and Icelandic/northern epic influence on the culture of Rohan (book 2 of LotR), and the King Arthur/medieval knight and chivalry influence on the Gondor (and even Elven) culture (book 3 of LotR).


And here is a recent past thread ("Reading List for 10th grade (Medieval/Early Renaissance") with medieval ideas, while this thread ("Medieval book recommendations for a 10th grade boy") had both classic and "for fun" medieval to renaissance reading ideas.


Have a great co-op! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[kloumc]

Lori D. you are the best! Thank you for these recommendations and for the insightful comments. This isn't the first time you've come to my aide. You are a fount of wisdom and experience. Thanks for taking the time to help.

 

With much gratitude!

[Beth in Mint Hill]

Our DSs top favorites from that time period:

 

....For a King Arthur work, you'd probably want to pass on Mallory's long and difficult Morte d'Arthur, but what about The Sword in the Stone by White, or one of the versions by Howard Pyle or Roger Lancelyn Green? ....

 

 

Howard Pyle is my favorite of those above--oh, the wonderful drawings!

But what about reading one or two of the 12th century Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes. He wasn't the first to tell of King Arthur, of course, but he is considered my many the "Father of the Arthurian Romance" because he wove the stories into the genre that became so popular. And he wrote the first story of the Grail quest, which is very different than the popular versions. It mysteriously ends in mid-sentence and leaves one hanging. They think he died before being able to finish it. If you have mature students they will be fascinated by Chretien. The stories are very entertaining; the first one, Erec & Enide is a great antidote for the courtly love 'syndrome' since it extols Christian marriage and is quite a tale!

 

And for a bit of fascinating medieval history read The Last Duel by Eric Jager. It is a true story of the last "judicial" duel ordered by the French. It happened at the tale end of the Middle Ages, but is such a classic story! If you want to read something short, entertaining, and yet full of authentic detail, its the one.

 

I have lots of great books on medieval history. But I will just mention two recent histories that are superb:

The Forge of Christendom by Tom Holland

It tells a fascinating story about the Walk to Cannossa & the Investiture conflict between the Pope and German King Henry iv.

Agincourtby Juliet Barker

You will like this one if you want to know more about what make Henry V so great and more details about the history of the Battle of Agincourt.

 

Bonum studium!