11.04.2015

All About The Medieval Author

By Mattie Knight


Medieval literature has been very popular even up until today as many old works have been rewritten and also used in schools as classics. Of course when one would say medieval literature, he would refer to the classic works that would come from the middle ages of Europe. Now if one were a medieval author at that time, there would be four types of genres that one would usually be working on.

During that time, the most popular type of literature that the authors would often work on would be religious works. The reason for this is simply because the church was the biggest entity of influence that the land of Europe. Naturally majority of authors during that time incorporated a lot of religious themes and concepts into their works.

Now if one would read some religious texts, then he would probably find the names of Thomas Aquinas, Peter Abelard, or Anselm of Canterbury. Specifically Saint Thomas Aquinas was known to be the most noteworthy religious writers because not only was he a good writer but he also had a very good understanding of the Bible. He was an extremely intelligent and wise man that had a lot of knowledge when it came to the scriptures.

Other than the theological works, there would also be some secular works as well. Some notable authors in this type of genre would be Sir John Mandeville who wrote the Travels of Sir John Mandeville and also Sir John Mallory. These people focused on other themes that were not focused on religious themes but on fiction, history, and other kinds of themes that were of interest to readers at that time.

Now another genre that was extremely popular among the people would be the allegories that were written by poets. If one knows about the famous William Shakespeare, then he should know about Geoffrey Chaucer as well as Chaucer was the predecessor of the very famous William Shakespeare. He was one of the most famous and influential poets of that time.

Although it was rare for females to be authors, there were a few who were mentioned. Most women during that time concentrated on theological works since that was the most popular kind. There were also a few that excelled in other genres as well.

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.




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