• Critten Rory

• Critten Rory

The Middle Ages enjoys a privileged position in long histories of love and, in English contexts, the fifteenth century has been afforded special attention. For C. S. Lewis, the period famously marked an important moment of change. Whereas the high Middle Ages had pitted private desires and public duties against each other in the great romances of Lancelot and Tristan, Lewis argued that a revalorization of marriage in the fifteenth century promised happier outcomes. Recent commentators have responded more sceptically; this course offers students an opportunity to enter the debate.

Our focus will fall on the genre of writing in English in which the new philosophy of love is most extensively developed: the love vision. Our readings will trace a growing frustration with traditional expressions of male desire that expresses itself in a new kind of poem trying to encompass women's wants, including the possibility of women's same-sex desire. This course will appeal to students whose interests include historical gender studies and the history of women's writing.

This course will be assessed by an examination in the final week of term. Students will have 90 minutes to write an essay commenting on an extract from one of the texts that we have studied. A running list of the extracts that might be set will be advertised during the semester. A mock exam, advice on writing exam commentaries, and a grading grid will be uploaded to Moodle.

• To introduce students to a group of medieval texts that theorise love
• To enhance students’ close-reading abilities in Middle English

Reading for the course will be posted online (Moodle). A timetable will be announced in week 1.