Medieval Literature: Origins, Characteristics, Representatives and Works

The Medieval literature includes works written in Europe during the Middle Ages . Generally, historians locate this period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance . During this period, in medieval Eastern Europe the Byzantines continued to produce Greek literature, which included poetry, prose and drama.

The same thing happened with Latin creative literature in Western Europe. However, in the Middle Ages (around 1000-1500), creative medieval literature flourished mainly in vernacular languages; that is, in the native languages ​​of Europe. The most famous medieval genre is the heroic legend, composed in prose or narrative poetry.

The divine comedy, by Dante Alighieri, outstanding work of medieval literature

On the other hand, lyric poetry and drama thrived mainly in the Late Medieval period, or Late Middle Ages. Liturgical literary works were written, mostly in Latin; This was the main transcultural language at that time, and it was used by the Church and the academic world.

The literary culture that flourished in the medieval era was far ahead of the times. It was developed in several different languages ​​(Latin, French, English, Italian, German, Spanish). This literature contributed greatly and had a lasting influence on modern fiction.

origins

In general, the period of European history known as the Middle Ages or medieval times extends from the collapse of Roman civilization (fifth century) to the Renaissance; that is, until between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries.

This long period was marked by the conversion to Christianity, the conquests, the Crusades and cultural innovation. All this dramatically influenced the literature that emerged, leaving a rich textual legacy.

However, during the height of the Roman Empire its citizens had produced a large amount of literature, both Christian and secular. This influence never really diminished later.

The decline of Rome led to the fragmentation of Europe. New national states were formed and the vernacular languages, such as English, German, French and Spanish, finally took on separate identities.

Now, some of the earliest forms of medieval poetry date from the late seventh century, when they began to be recorded in writing.

However, the beginning of medieval literature itself does not have a clear date. It is difficult to trace the roots of medieval literature, or the name of certain authors, due to the lack of a central movement.

However, it is known that at the beginning of the era bards, minstrels and troubadours transmitted most of the stories in oral tradition, and only a small number of literary works were preserved in time.

Characteristics of medieval literature

Prose

One of the main cultural forces in medieval Europe was chivalry. This ethical perspective emphasized piety, loyalty to the lord, devotion to the proper lady and courteous and honorable behavior in general.

Chivalry, which emerged in France, was perceived as the collection of values and required behaviors for Christian integrity. Chivalric ideals permeated the prose of the later medieval period.

The heroic legends, although many other types of stories were told. Among them are fairy tales, hagiographies (biographies of saints) and Christian allegories. There were also reworkings of classical mythology and satire.

Lyric poetry

The most famous theme of medieval lyric poetry is"courtly love". In these verses the man expresses his love for a lady in the chivalrous style, often lamenting his indifference.

In addition, medieval writers explored many of the themes of ancient poetry. These include religious devotion, praise, lamentation, moral instruction, satirical observation and philosophical reflections.

Many works were produced in the academic languages ​​(Greek in the east and Latin in the west). However, the most famous lyric poetry was written mainly in the vernacular languages ​​of Western Europe.

Following the patterns of antiquity, medieval lyric poetry was often composed in the form of songs.

Ministriles, goliards and troubadours

The minstrels were a popular source of entertainment throughout the Middle Ages. They were wandering singer poets, typically of low socioeconomic status, who performed relatively simple works.

In the Later Medieval period (around 1000-1500), the minstrels joined the goliards and the troubadours.

The first were rebellious university students, many of them clerics, who specialized in poetry celebrating sensual pleasures and satirizing the Church. Meanwhile, the troubadours were composers of refined artistic poetry, typically from medium to high socioeconomic level.

The troubadour movement originated in the south of France, from where it spread through western Europe, especially to the north of France and Germany.

Drama

For the most part, Western medieval drama was limited to the Later Medieval period. These works originated as part of the Church ceremony, and were recreations of biblical events or the lives of the saints.

These representations of mystery and miracles were composed in Latin, and had a serious tone. Over time, they began to take place outside the church. In these representations professional or part-time actors took part, and they were carried out in permanent stadiums or ambulatory wagons, and in vernacular languages.

Without immediate religious supervision, the actors responded to popular tastes by incorporating non-religious material. Then comic scenes and independent secondary stories were added.

In this way the secular drama arose within the shell of the sacred drama. Experimentation with the sacred drama outside the Church also gave rise to the"moral game".

This was a third major type of Western medieval theater, where the abstract forces of good and evil (personified by the actors) force the main character to choose between them.

Representatives and works

In the High Middle Ages, when the Roman Empire collapsed, the new power of Christianity inspired Augustine (in North Africa) and Pope Gregory the Great (Italy). Both wrote new books in Latin on Christian philosophy.

In Constantinople, Procopius wrote in Greek about the conquests of Justinian, and almost at the same time Cassiodorus in Italy wrote his History of the Goths .

On the other hand, in France Gregorio de Tours wrote History of the Franks, and in Spain Isidoro of Seville wrote History of the Goths , suevos and vandals, as well as a book about the origins of the words called Etymologies .

After the establishment of the Islamic Empire in the year 600 d. C., most of the writers were in the universities. Very few people in Europe had time to read books or write them.

Although Charlemagne's empire moved a great deal of wealth from southern Europe to the north, books were very expensive. The scribes had to write them by hand and this took a long time.

Little by little, Europe began to enrich itself with trade, and more Europeans had time to learn to read and write.

Below are some works of medieval literature after 1000 AD.

Beowulf

It is a heroic poem that appeared printed after 1815. It is preserved in a single manuscript of around 1000 AD. C. It is considered the greatest achievement of ancient English literature and the first European vernacular epic.

These are events from the early 6th century and it is believed that it was composed between 700 and 750. Originally it had no title, but later it was named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf for his exploits and character.

There is no evidence of a historical Beowulf. However, some characters, places and events of the poem can be verified historically.

The Divine Comedy

Written by Dante Alighieri In the fourteenth century, this Italian poem describes his descent to hell, his ascent to Mount Purgatory, the encounter with his beloved Beatrice and, finally, his arrival in heaven. The text is an allegory of human redemption.

Decameron

The Decameron is considered the masterpiece of Giovanni Boccaccio, and is the perfect example of the prose of medieval Italian literature. It was written between 1351 and 1353.

It is about one hundred stories told by ten young noble men and women in a rural village outside the city of Florence. These young people seek to escape the ravages of the Black Death.

The Canterbury Tales

This text was written between 1387 and 1400. The format and many of the individual stories in the Canterbury Tales they were inspired by the Decameron of Boccaccio.

However, this work of medieval English literature is unique in its inclusion of characters who are true to life and represent all social classes of the time of its writer, Geoffrey Chaucer.

The Song of Mio Cid

Also called Poem of Mio Cid , this epic poem is from the middle of the 12th century. It is considered one of the great epic poems of medieval literature and one of the masterpieces of Spanish literature.

The poem speaks of the fall of royal favor and the eventual claim of the eleventh century Castilian military and noble leader, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043-1099), popularly known as El Cid, who became Spain's national hero.

The original manuscript of the poem has been lost. The first existing copy, called Poem of the Cid , dates from 1307. It is believed that the poem was composed on a date around 1140.

References

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