Literature & Poetry

English love poems of the Renaissance era by six poets.

How the Courtly Love literary movement affected life in the middle ages

How Eleanor of Aquitaine and Marie de Champagne sponsored and encouraged the Courtly Love literary movement.

An introduction to the Chansons de Geste, or Songs of Deeds, epic poems of medieval France.

The Old English lyric The Dream of the Rood is the earliest English dream poem to be found in written form. The Dream of the Rood was first discovered on the Ruthwell Cross.

OMACL has some of the most important literary works in Classical and Medieval civilization as well as significant historical works.

Georgetown University's Labyrinth website offers this collection of Latin, Old English, Middle English, French, Italian and Spanish texts from the middle ages, plus monographs, journals and reviews.

Useful resource by Beau Harbin organizes online medieval works from across the web alphabetically by author.

Useful resource by Beau Harbin organizes online medieval works from across the web alphabetically by title.

This multimedia course at Pace University provides resources and student papers on Beowulf, Arthurian legends and other literary themes.

Substantial collection of texts, images, bibliographies and more about literature relating to the Robin Hood mythos, provided by the Robbins Library at the University of Rochester.

Clear examination of medieval love poetry includes thought-provoking questions to help students understand and explore the topic. Friendly site by Dr. Paul Brians at Washington State University.

Alexandrine verse is the heroic French verse, used in epic narrative, in tragedy and in the higher comedy. The origins of Alexandrine verse are uncertain, but the term may have derived from 12th-century romances in which Alexander of Macedon was the hero. An article from the 1911 Encyclopedia.

Amis et Amile was an old French romance based on a widespread legend of friendship and sacrifice. An article from the 1911 Encyclopedia.