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British Library: Discovering Literature: Julian of Norwich
Familiarize yourself with the life and works of Julian of Norwich. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, links to related articles, and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Bede
Familiarize yourself with the life and works of Bede. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, and links to related articles, collection items, and works.
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British Library: 20th Century: Creative Activities
Channel your creativity with these writing activities.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: What Is the Owl and the Nightingale About?
"The Owl and the Nightingale" is one of the earliest substantial texts to be written in Middle English. Read an overview of this poem and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: The Canterbury Tales
Read an overview of "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer and view additional resources such as articles, collection items, and teacher resources.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Middle English
This article explains how Middle English developed from Old English, changing its grammar, pronunciation, and spelling, and borrowing words from French and Latin.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Old English
This article charts the evolution of Old English through the 700 years during which it was written and spoken.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Language and Voice
From the development of Old and Middle English to the innovations of William Caxton and the printing press: explore language and voice in the medieval period.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: The Book of the City of Ladies
Read an overview of the poem "The Book of the City of Ladies" by Christine de Pizan and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Read an overview of the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Piers Plowman
Read an overview of the poem "Piers Plowman" by William Langland (possibly) and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Le Morte Darthur
Read an overview of the poem "Le Morte Darthur" by Thomas Malory and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Beowulf
Read an overview of the Old English poem "Beowulf" and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Piers Plowman: An Introduction
This article introduces the questions of penance and obligation that are at the heart of Piers Plowman and shows how the work's fierce satire and commitment to justice have influenced English literature, from multimedia reimaginings to...
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Collection Items
Discover a wealth of literary manuscripts and early print editions from the medieval period.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: William Caxton and the Introduction of Printing to England
This article explains how William Caxton brought the printing press to England and published printed versions of works by writers including Chaucer, Malory, Gower, Cicero, and Virgil.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: A Close Reading of Chaucer's 'The Merchant's Prologue and Tale'
This article introduces 'The Merchant's Prologue and Tale', exploring the way in which it combines literary genres and traditions, and refuses to give the reader a clear moral or message.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: The Makars: Medieval Scottish Poetry
From morality to migraines: this article analyses key concerns in the late medieval poetry of Robert Henryson and William Dunbar.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Experiencing Medieval Literature
This article explains how 'illiterate' individuals encountered literary texts and traditions through textiles, wall paintings, sculptures, and listening to works read aloud in the Middle Ages.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: The Earliest World History in English
This article considers what we can learn from the Old English Orosius about the Anglo-Saxons and their relationship to the wider world.
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British Library: Ireland: Propaganda and Plantations
A six-part site that relates the method England used to take over Ireland throughout the 16th century.
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British Library:dreamers and Dissenters: Filth and Fever
A brief account of British history where learners examine the causes and effects of filth and fever during the Victorian era in England.
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British Library: John Keats (1795 1821)
A biographical note about John Keats, with links to information about several of his most famous poems ("Hyperion" and "Ode to a Nightingale," among them).
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British Library: Virtual Reference Library
This site provides links to several on-line dictionaries. Students may desire to consult a few dictionary definitions of their focus term prior to beginning a definition essay.