Friday, November 6, 2015
Medieval literature has been extremely influential to the literature the world has today. For those who do not know, literature of this kind came from the continent of Europe and developed sometime in the middle ages which was one thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire. A medieval author was extremely respected during that age as writers were often seen as very intellectual individuals who possessed much knowledge.
Starting off would be the theological works as these types of literature were the most popular during that era. Since the church was one of the highest entities, it was natural that they had huge influence over literary works. It was because of this that a lot of writers chose to write about religious and philosophical themes.
Some of the most famous theological or religious authors are Thomas Aquinas, Peter Abelard, and Anselm of Canterbury among many others. Saint Thomas Aquinas in particular was extremely famous as a theological author as he had an extremely deep understanding of the Bible and was also a very good writer. Theological works were written mostly by monks and other religious leaders but a few other authors also wrote some religious works as well.
Of course it was not only the theological works that were popular but also the secular ones as well. Sir John Mandeville was an example of an author who wrote in the secular genre with his book the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. The themes of most of these works focused on fiction and some focused on history too.
Other than that, there are also many poets that lived during the medieval time period. One extremely influential poet during the late middle ages would be none other than Geoffrey Chaucer and was one of the most important writers before Shakespeare lived. Some of his works would include the Roman de la rose, and the allegorical Book of the Duchess.
Now the works of the women were actually put into a separate genre since women were not regarded as equal to men so it was rare to have a woman author during that time. Of course in order for their works to be recognized, they rode along with the most popular type of genre which was theological works. They used this medium so that they could spread their ideas.
One of the most notable of all female authors is none other than Julian of Norwich. She was actually a mystic that had a near death experience which allowed her to have visions which became the basis for some of her works like the Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love. She was actually the first woman to have a book published in England.
So for those who are interested in medieval literature, take a look at some of these bits of information. It is good to know about the classics of that era because many modern day books were actually inspired by those old classics. Those old classics are timeless and can be seen even in modern works.
Starting off would be the theological works as these types of literature were the most popular during that era. Since the church was one of the highest entities, it was natural that they had huge influence over literary works. It was because of this that a lot of writers chose to write about religious and philosophical themes.
Some of the most famous theological or religious authors are Thomas Aquinas, Peter Abelard, and Anselm of Canterbury among many others. Saint Thomas Aquinas in particular was extremely famous as a theological author as he had an extremely deep understanding of the Bible and was also a very good writer. Theological works were written mostly by monks and other religious leaders but a few other authors also wrote some religious works as well.
Of course it was not only the theological works that were popular but also the secular ones as well. Sir John Mandeville was an example of an author who wrote in the secular genre with his book the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. The themes of most of these works focused on fiction and some focused on history too.
Other than that, there are also many poets that lived during the medieval time period. One extremely influential poet during the late middle ages would be none other than Geoffrey Chaucer and was one of the most important writers before Shakespeare lived. Some of his works would include the Roman de la rose, and the allegorical Book of the Duchess.
Now the works of the women were actually put into a separate genre since women were not regarded as equal to men so it was rare to have a woman author during that time. Of course in order for their works to be recognized, they rode along with the most popular type of genre which was theological works. They used this medium so that they could spread their ideas.
One of the most notable of all female authors is none other than Julian of Norwich. She was actually a mystic that had a near death experience which allowed her to have visions which became the basis for some of her works like the Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love. She was actually the first woman to have a book published in England.
So for those who are interested in medieval literature, take a look at some of these bits of information. It is good to know about the classics of that era because many modern day books were actually inspired by those old classics. Those old classics are timeless and can be seen even in modern works.