Module description
Late medieval London was site of ‘a fascinating convergence of cultural influences and institutional discourses’, writes one recent commentator - and much of that convergence happened in the environs of the Strand. Many of the most prominent Middle English poets, such as Langland, Chaucer, Gower, and Hoccleve, worked in London. They were part of a much broader flourishing of textual production involving merchants, artisans, religious figures, dissidents, and the scribes. A study of this multivalent body of materials sheds light both on the material literary productions of London and on the creation of ‘London’ as a concept that would remain so influential down to our own day.
Assessment details
500 word critical commentary (15%); 2,500 word essay (85%)
Educational aims & objectives
This module will attend to all three of these interconnected topics: the later medieval literature about and indebted to London and its institutions, the textual production of the city's scriveners, and the notion of 'London' that resulted from these two. Students will read a range of texts, both literary and non - literary (e.g., petitions, wills, etc.), in Middle English or in translation from the Latin. They will also become acquainted with recent theories of 'place' and its role in literary production.
Teaching pattern
One lecture and one seminar, weekly
Suggested reading list
Ideal preparation for this module would include the following reading: Barbara Hanawalt, Growing Up in Medieval London: The Experience of Childhood in History (Oxford UP, 1993), especially Chapter 2; Ardis Butterfield, ed, Chaucer and the City (Woodbridge: DS Brewer, 1986); and AR Myers, Chaucer’s London: Everyday Life in London 1342-1400 (1972; rpt London: Amberley, 2009).