Course Description
An introduction to the literature of medieval Wales (approximately 500-1500 CE). Historical, religious, heroic, and prophetic texts in prose and verse will be read in translation from Welsh and Latin.
Athena Title
LIT MED WALES
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students, having read a substantial body of literature, will be able to discuss the assigned works (orally and in writing) with critical appreciation of both their artistry and the socio-cultural contexts in which they were composed, to reread them with pleasure, to read and enjoy other works from the period and culture, and to appreciate their influences on later works in Wales, England, and other world literatures.
Topical Outline
The specific texts read will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The literature will be read in translation outside of class and discussed in class, examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and circumstances of their composition. Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of tests and of out-of-class papers. A possible set of texts might include the poetry of Taliesin and Aeirin, Llywarch Hen, the Poets of the Princes, and the Poets of the Gentry; works by Gildas, Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Gerald of Wales; the Mabinogion; and saints' lives.