Historical Roots of Medieval Literature Battle and Ballad

The powerful works contained in this study form an epic all their own - a literary triumph whose roots lie in the anxieties and aspirations of the societies which gave them birth. Included for study: Celtic fairy tales and nursery rhymes; Irish bardic literature; the Britano-Welsh material (the Mabinogion); the Germanic epic; Latin Christian verse; Angle poetry; the Icelandic Saga; the crusading epic; medieval religious dramas; Academic satire; French and German Chivalric literature; Italian Franciscan revival verse; the social crisis literature of the 14th century; and the despondent verse of the dying Middle Ages.