SCSU Hilton C. Buley Library: English Literature: Old English & Late Medieval Periods

Old English

Old English
General name for the range of dialects spoken by Germanic settlers in England between the 5th and 12th centuries AD, also known as Anglo-Saxon.
The Exeter Book
Copied around 940, the Exeter Book contains some of the most important works of Old English poetry....
Beowulf
Generally agreed to be the finest example of OLD ENGLISH literature, Beowulf , a poem of 3,182 lines, survives in a single manuscript...

Middle English
Period of the English language from about 1050 to 1550. The language and literature of the period is marked by increasing influence...
Caxton, William (1422?-1491
Caxton was born to prosperous parents, who apprenticed him to Robert Large, a successful silk mercer who became...
Chaucer, Geoffrey (c. 1340 - 1400)
English poet. The Canterbury Tales , a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, reveals his..
Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100–54)
A chronicler of the early history of Britain, including the semi-legendary stories of King Arthur.
Langland, William (1332–1400)
Putative author of Piers Plowman. He was born probably at Ledbury near the Welsh marshes and may have gone to school at Great Malvern Priory
Malory, [Sir] Thomas (1410?-1471)
The legend of King Arthur remains alive in English literature today largely because of the work of Malory, who shaped it into what is sometimes seen as the first novel...
More, Sir Thomas (1478 - 1535)
Born in London on 7 February 1478, and executed on Tower Hill in the same city on 6 July 1535. He was the sole surviving son of Sir...
Mysteries & Morality Plays
English medieval drama is today the subject of an enthusiastic scholarly and popular revival...