Book excerpt: Featuring twenty major works of European poetry over a period of a thousand years, this collection charts the development of verse from the fall of the Roman Empire to the birth of the Renaissance. Contrary to popular belief, the poetry of the Dark Ages enjoyed a pioneering development, exploring new metres and complex imagery. Throughout the Middle Ages, poetry adopted numerous forms across the continent, from the epic greatness of the ‘chanson de geste’ to the sublime lyrical qualities of love poetry. This eBook provides a rich sample of medieval poetry; from the earliest dawn of English literature to the unparalleled brilliance of Dante; from the courtly adventures of Arthurian legend to the stirring lays of the Vikings; from the Eastern magic of Georgia to the ribald genius of Chaucer; this collection will immerse you in the perilous, amusing and tantalising world of the Middle Ages. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to the poets’ lives and works * Concise introductions to the works * Most of the poems appear with their original medieval texts, as well as an English translation — ideal for students * Images of how the original manuscripts first appeared, giving your eReader a taste of the medieval texts * Excellent formatting of the poems * Easily locate the sections you want to read * Features three critical works on the development of medieval literature * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to see our wide range of poet titles CONTENTS: Medieval Poetry Hymn by Cædmon (7th century) Christ II by Cynewulf (8th century) (Tr. Raymond Wilson Chambers) Beowulf (c.1000) (Tr. William Morris) The Song of Roland (c. 1050) (Tr. C. K. Moncreiff) The Poem of the Cid (c. 1140) (Tr. Robert Southey) Chronicle of the Norman Conquest from ‘Roman de Rou’ by Wace (c. 1170) (Tr. Edgar Taylor) Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes (c. 1180) (Tr. William Wistar Comfort) Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach (c. 1210) (Tr. Jessie Weston) The Troubadours (1100-1350) by H. J. Chaytor The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli (c. 1190) (Tr. Marjory Wardrop) The Song of the Nibelungs (c. 1200) (Tr. Daniel Bussier Shumway) Lays of Marie de France (c. 1210) (Tr. Eugene Mason) The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris [PARTIAL TRANSLATION] (c. 1230) (Tr. Geoffrey Chaucer) Poetic Edda (c. 13th century) (Tr. Benjamin Thorpe) Wine, Women and Song: Mediæval Latin Students’ Songs (c. 13th century) (Tr. John Addington Symonds) The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1320) (Tr. H. F. Cary) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (c. 1375) (Tr. Jessie Weston) Sonnets by Francesco Petrarca (c. 1374) (Tr. Thomas Campbell) Piers Plowman by William Langland (c. 1380) Edited by Thomas Wright The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1400) The Criticism The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory by George Saintsbury Medieval English Literature by W. P. Ker Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature by W. P. Ker Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of poetry titles or buy the entire Delphi Poets Series as a Super Set