Mediaeval-Muse’s Global Medieval Lit Starter Pack
So… I occasionally teach medieval lit, and in the past few years, my school’s program has made our medieval studies classes more global. As a result, I’ve gotten to teach some cool things from the middle ages that aren’t from England. I figured I’d put some good starters (mostly poetry) in a list if anyone is interested. I can recommend much more global lit (Chronicles, prose, religious tracts, etc), but these, I think, are the easiest to get a hold of - mostly thanks to Penguin Classics. Note: I limit “medieval” to the 6th-16th centuries, though I acknowledge that designation is problematic because what does “medieval” mean anyway?
Ireland The Tain, trans. Thomas Kinsella Early Irish Myths and Sagas, Penguin Ed.
Wales The Mabinogian, trans. Sioned Davies
Scotland The Complete Works of Robert Henryson, TEAMS ed.
Anglo-Norman/France The Lais of Marie de France, Penguin Ed. The Song of Roland, Penguin Ed. Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes, Penguin Ed.
Spain The Song of the Cid, Penguin ed.
Germany Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg The Niebelungenlied, Penguin ed.
Scandinavia/Iceland The Sagas of the Icelanders, Penguin ed. The Volsunga Saga, Penguin ed. Italy The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, trans. Allen Mandelbaum The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio Orlando Furioso, by Ludovico Ariosto Russia The Song of Igor’s Campaign, trans. Vladimir Nabokov
Persia/Islamic Empire Vis and Ramin, by Fakhraddin Gorgani, Penguin ed. Shahnameh, by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Penguin ed. The Arabian Nights, Penguin ed. (3 vols) Islamic Mystical Poetry, Penguin ed. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Oxford ed. Turkey The Book of Dede Korkut, trans. Faruk Sumer et. al. India Songs of Kabir, Penguin ed. Mirabai: the Ecstatic Poems, trans. Robert Bly Japan The Tale of Genji, Penguin Deluxe ed. The Confessions of Lady Nijo, trans. Karen Brazell The Pillow Book, by Sei Shonagon The Tales of Ise, Penguin ed.
China Tang Dynasty Poetry, trans. Red Pine The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, trans. Red Pine The Selected Poems of Tao Chien, Penguin ed.
Korea The Story of Hong Gildong, Penguin ed.
Mali Sunjata: A West African Epic, by Djanka Tassey Conde, trans. David C. Conrad
General Anthologies
Norton Anthology of World Literature
