ENGL 4161

Literature of the Crusades

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

The Crusades occupied brief periods, with events far from most Western writers, but kept a long hold on European historical, religious, and literary imagination. This provides an opportunity to consider how literature responds to ideological and military conflict. Exploring the ideas leading to the Crusades, and some narratives from those directly involved, from the Chanson de Roland to other French and Latin chronicles and poems, the course will consider a wide span of later Middle English literature from romances to the works of Chaucer and his contemporaries in order to reconsider the imprint of the Crusades on the wider English literary tradition. Goals include gaining proficiency in Middle English and its literature, as well as theories of how narrative responds to cultural and ideological crisis.

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (LA-AS)
Satisfies Requirement This course may be used as one of the three pre-1800 courses required of English majors.

Comments Co-meets with ENGL 6161/MEDVL 6161.

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