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
Norton Anthology of World Literature
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