Curated OER
Western Medieval European Poetry and Literature
One of the Common Core standards requires learners to make connections between literature or media of the past and the present. Provided here, are key elements found in medieval poetry and literature that are connected to several more...
Curated OER
Exploring Arthurian Legend
Learners investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into the...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension/Valentine's Day
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students learn facts about Valentine's Day by reading a one page story. Students then answer 6 questions.
Curated OER
Mythology Study Guide
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 20 short answer and essay questions about noteworthy myths. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Ballad Blast
Students write epic poems, songs, or ballads to describe adventures of their own. They discover that storytellers often told stories as epic poems, songs, or ballads. They share and discuss some of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.
Curated OER
A Worthy Knight- A Code of Conduct Lesson
Young scholars analyze and define the qualities of chivalry by comparing and contrasting the character of knights presented in the selected resources. They define and defend their own personal code of conduct. Students also create a...
University of Chicago
University of Chicago Library: Le Roman De La Rose (The Romance of the Rose)
Find a description of a medieval poem about courtly love, and view the digital manuscript of the poem.
University of Florida
King Arthur in Medieval Sources: A Partial Bibliography
This list of medieval Arthurian texts in translation includes anthologies, pre-12th century texts, 12th century texts and later romances, cyclical works, and films.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Is Romance Dead?
As an introduction to the medieval romances, students compare and contrast the medieval rules of courtly love to the modern "rules" of courtship and romance. Students write a compare/contrast essay after group work and class discussion.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: Saracens and Racial Otherness in Middle English Romance
This article considers how 'Saracen' characters are portrayed in Middle English romances, and what these texts can reveal about ideas of Otherness in this period.
Harvard University
The Harvard Chaucer Page: English Romance
A survey of Geoffrey Chaucer's work, which was much influenced by romance, the dominant mode of secular fictional narrative in his time.
Other
Medieval Library: "Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart"
Text of medieval romance "Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart," by Chretien DeTroyes, in English. Translation based on the 1914 work of W. W. Comfort. Bibliography and suggested readings also supplied.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Literary Term: Romance
These two paragraphs describe the medieval narrative romance, contrasting it with the epic.
Bibliomania
Bibliomania: "Ivanhoe"
Full text of Sir Walter Scott's medieval romance and swaschbuckler Ivanhoe (1819)
BBC
Bbc: Who Was Sir Guy of Warwick?
Discusses Sir Guy of Warwick as part of a local history page provided by the BBC. Discusses the plot of the legend as well as its genre of Ancestral Romance.
New Advent
Catholic Encyclopedia: Jean Clopinel De Meun
An encyclopedia article about the second author of the Romance of the Rose, Jean Clopines de Meun (or Meung). The article focuses on classical and medieval sources. Please note that "The Catholic Encyclopedia" is a historic reference...
Harvard University
The Harvard Chaucer Page: "The Tale of Gamelyn"
Full text of the Middle English 14th century verse romance, "The Tale of Gamelyn," which was popular during Chaucer's lifetime.
University of Toronto (Canada)
University of Toronto: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Read the original Middle English. Within the text is also a modern English prose translation.
Luminarium
Luminarium: Sir Thomas Malory
In addition to providing both Modern English and Middle English texts of Malory's "Morte d'Arthur, Luminarium provides several biographies, and essays on Malory and his works.
Other
Pace University: Sir Gawain Room
This site from Pace University provides extremely easy-to-follow summary of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," along with some brief background information.
University of Virginia
University of Virginia: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The University of Virginia provides the full text of the Middle English narrative poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Later Transition English Middle English Lyrics
A discussion of middle English lyrics, examining both religious and secular lyrics with examples. Excerpt from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.
Luminarium
Luminarium: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
This site provides a detailed overview of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Content includes an introduction to the text, three versions of the full text, numerous essays and articles which explore the text, and other resources.
Other
Pace University: "Sir Gawain" Summary
Basic summary of the epic poem "Sir Gawain and the Green knight."