Old and Middle English Texts

The concept of man in the early Middle Ages was determined by two major forces: the clerical and the social. Both enforced a number of hegemonic beliefs about economy, faith and gender. These beliefs threatened with public shame and divine retribution when someone diverged from these norms. The human individual and his/her actions were conceived as being determined by outer forces such as fate, God, and society. Old and Middle English texts strongly reflect such a world-view. Works like Beowulf, Judith or the hagiographical Juliana emphasize the congruence between the individual's behaviour and proper social and religious conduct, while later texts increasingly show the tension resulting from these forces. Thus, The Owl and the Nightingale offers a debate on proper and improper behaviour, and The Book of Margery Kempe relates a 15th-century woman’s spiritual visions and the social conflicts her extrovert belief causes. Finally, Malory's Le Morte Darthur dwells on the inevitable failure of a social order in which private business begins to invade the public sphere. This course surveys a selection of relevant texts from late Old and early Middle English, tracing the concept of man in both heroic and religious contexts. We will look at the degree to which either force as represented in those texts determines the image and sanctioned behaviour of the individual. The relevant texts and their modern English translations will be provided on moodle, and participants should be willing to engage with the somewhat challenging medieval texts. Several sesssions will be devoted to each of the following two texts, which will therefore be read in their entirety: The book of Margery Kempe and the play Mankind. I suggest the following editions: The Book of Margery Kempe. Translated & edited by Lynn Staley. A Norton Critical edition. 2001. Everyman and Mankind. Edited by Douglas Bruster and Eric Rasmussen. Arden Early Modern Drama/Methuen. 2009. Seminar für Anglistik 2 LP: regular participation, regular writing tasks on the texts & moodle contributions, short oral presentation (Impulsreferat) 3 LP (new BA): regular participation, regular writing tasks on the texts & moodle contributions, short oral presentation (Impulsreferat) 3 LP Modulabschluss (new BA): regular participation, regular writing tasks on the texts & moodle contributions, term paper(3500-4500 words) 5 LP: regular participation, regular writing tasks on the texts & moodle contributions, final exam 60 min 7 LP: regular participation, regular writing tasks on the texts, term paper (3500-4500 words) Universität Siegen WiSe 2012/13 M.A. Budde Larissa M.A