Halleck's New English Literature. Reuben Post Halleck
An account of the history of this period may be found in either Gardiner[40], Green, Lingard, Walker, or Cheney. Volumes II. and III. of the Political History of England, edited by Hunt (Longmans), give the history in greater detail. For the social side, consult Traill, I. and II. See also Rogers's Six Centuries of Work and Wages. Freeman's William the Conqueror, Green's Henry II., and Tout's Edward I. (Twelve English Statesmen Series) are short and interesting. Kingsley's Hereward the Wake deals with the times of William the Conqueror and Scott's Ivanhoe with those of Richard the Lion-Hearted. Archer and Kingsford's The Story of the Crusades, Cutt's Parish Priests and their People in the Middle Ages in England, and Jusserand's English Wayfaring Life in the fourteenth Century are good works.
LITERARY
Cambridge History of English Literature, Vols. I. and II.
Bradley's Making of English.
Schofield's English Literature from the Conquest to Chaucer.
Ker's Epic and Romance.
Saintsbury's The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory.
Lawrence's Medieval Story (excellent).
Weston's The Romance Cycle of Charlemagne and his Peers.
Weston's King Arthur and his Knights.
Maynadier's The Arthur of the English Poets.
Nutt's The Legends of the Holy Grail.
Jusserand's Piers Plowman.
Warren's Langland's Vision of Piers the Plowman, Done into Modern Prose.
Savage's Old English Libraries.
Schofield's Chivalry in English Literature.
Snell's The Age of Chaucer.
Root's The Poetry of Chaucer.
Tuckwell's Chaucer (96 pp.).
Pollard's Chaucer (142 pp.).
Legouis's Chaucer.
Coulton's Chaucer and his England.
Lowell's My Study Windows contains one of the best essays ever written on Chaucer.
Mackail's The Springs of Helicon (Chaucer).
SUGGESTED READINGS WITH QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Romances.—The student will be interested in reading from Lawrence's Medieval Story, Chapters III., The Song of Roland; IV., The Arthurian Romances; V., The Legend of the Holy Grail; VI., The History of Reynard the Fox. Butler's The Song of Roland (Riverside Literature Series) is an English prose translation of a popular story from the Charlemagne cycle. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight has been retold in modern English prose by J.L. Weston (London: David Nutt). A long metrical selection from this romance is given in Bronson.[41] I., 83–100, in Oxford Treasury, I., 60–81, and a prose selection in Century, 1000–1022.
Stories from the Arthurian cycle may he found in Newell's King Arthur and the Table Round. See also Maynadier's The Arthur of the English Poets, and Tennyson's The Idylls of the King.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is translated in Giles's Six Old English Chronicles (Bohn Library).
Selections from Layamon's Brut may be found in Bronson, I.; P. & S.; and Manly, I.
What were the chief subjects of the cycles of Romance? Were they mostly of English or French origin? What new elements appear, not found in Beowulf? Which of these cycles has the most interest for English readers? How does this cycle still influence twentieth-century ideals? In what respect is the romance of Gawayne like a sermon?
What Shakespearean characters does Geoffrey of Monmouth introduce? How is Layamon's Brut related to Geoffrey's chronicle? Point out a likeness between the Brut and the work of a Victorian poet.
Ormulum, Lyrics, and Robert Manning of Brunne.—Selections may be found in P. & S.; Bronson, I.; Oxford (lyrics, pp. 1–10); Manly, I.; Morris's Specimens of Early English. Among the lyrics, read specially, "Sumer is i-cumen in," "Alysoun," "Lenten ys come with love to toune," and "Blow, Northern Wind."
What was the purpose of the Ormulum? What is its subject matter? Does it show much French influence?
What new appreciation of nature do the thirteenth-century lyrics show?
Point out at least twelve definite concrete references to nature in
"Lenten ys come with love to toune." How many such references are
there in the Cuckoo Song?
What difference do you note between the form of Robert Manning of Brunne's Handling Synne and Anglo-Saxon poetry? Can you find an increasing number of words of French derivation in his work?
Prose.—Manly's English Prose, Morris's Specimens of Early English, Parts I. and II., Chambers, I., Craik, I., contain specimens of the best prose, including Mandeville and Wycliffe. Mandeville's Travels may be found in modern English in Cassell's National Library (15¢). Bosworth and Waring's edition of the Gospels contains the Anglo-Saxon text, together with the translations of Wycliffe and Tyndale. No. 107 of Maynard's English Classics contains selections from both Wycliffe's Bible and Mandeville's Travels.
What is the subject matter of the Ancren Riwle? What is the keynote of the work? Mention some words of French origin found in it. What is the character of Mandeville's Travels? Why was it so popular?
In what does Wycliffe's literary importance consist? Compare some verses of his translation of the Bible with the 1611 version.
Piers Plowman and Gower.—Selections are given in P. & S.; Bronson, I.; Ward, I.; Chambers, I.; and Manly, I. Skeat has edited a small edition of Piers the Plowman ("B" text) and also a larger edition, entitled The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, in Three Parallel Texts. G.C. Macaulay has a good volume of selections from Gower's Confessio Amantis.
What is the difference between the form of the verse in Piers Plowman and Handling Synne? Who is Piers? Who are some of the other characters in the poem? What type of life is specially described? In what sort of work are the laborers engaged? Why may the author of Piers Plowman be called a reformer?
Why was Gower undecided in what language to write? What is the subject matter of the Confessio Amantis?
Chaucer.—Read the Prologue and if possible also the Knightes Tale (Liddell's, or Morris-Skeat's, or Van Dyke's, or Mather's edition). Good selections may be found in Bronson, I.; Ward, I.; P. and S., and Oxford Treasury, I. Skeat's Complete Works, 6 vols., is the best edition. Skeat's Oxford Chaucer in one volume has the same text. The Globe Edition of Chaucer, edited by Pollard, is also a satisfactory single volume edition. Root's The Poetry of Chaucer, 292 pp., is a good reference work in connection with the actual study of the poetry.
Give a clear-cut description of the six of Chaucer's pilgrims that impress you most strongly. How has the Prologue added to our knowledge of life in the fourteenth century? Give examples of Chaucer's vivid pictures. What specimens of his humor does the Prologue contain? Do any of Chaucer's lines in the Prologue show that the Reformation spirit was in the air, or did Wycliffe and Langland alone among contemporary authors afford evidence of this spirit? Compare Chaucer's verse with Langland's in point of subject matter. What qualities in Chaucer save him from the charge of cynicism when he alludes to human faults? Does the Prologue attempt to portray any of the nobler sides of human nature? Is the Prologue