| Description |
In both Old and Middle English writings, monsters abound. They are adopted from classical sources, from travellers' tales, from biblical and apocryphal writings, and from bestiaries. As 'unnatural' creatures, monsters may be symbols of evil, or portents of terrifying events to come. They may be objects of fear but also of curiosity, adding exotic or even comical touches to medieval texts, especially when they stimulated the imaginations of scribes illustrating medieval manuscripts. This course will examine a range of monsters from across the medieval period, exploring their roles as antagonists, prophetic signs, agents of divine wrath, symbols of the heathen -- but above all, as the 'high point' of many a medieval narrative. 18.2 Introduction: what is monstrous?
25.2 Anglo-Saxon monsters: Grendel and his Mum
3.3 Anglo-Saxon monsters: the Dragon and his hoard
10.3 More man-eating monsters: Matthew and the Mermedonians in Andreas
17.3 Anglo-Saxon monsters: Wolves and Sea-Wolves in the Life of St Edmund
24.3 The ultimate monster: Satan in Genesis B
31.3 Green Monsters: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
7.4 Monster in human form: Sir Gowther
21.4 Monstrous women: Melusine
28.4 Monstrous women: Medea
5.5 Monstrous anti-Semitism: Chaucer's Prioress's Tale
12.5 The monster in Mandeville: travellers' tales
19.5 The monster in Mandeville 2
26.5 The monstrous and the less so: medieval bestiaries |