ENG255 / HUM241

Two of the three earliest medieval romances were Troy stories: the massive Roman de Troie by Benoit de Ste. Maure and the anonymous Eneas, a retelling of the Latin Aeneid with an added happy ending. These two 12th century Troy romances were narrated in Anglo-Norman, the vernacular language of the rulers of France and Britain, who traced their history back to Brutus, descendant of Aeneas.

Passion, war, exotic places and politics were always at the heart of the Trojan story, and these medieval retellings followed in that tradition. History was an important factor in the renewed popularity of Troy, which medieval Europeans considered a real place, from which real people had fled to found the Roman Empire.

It is possible that the crusades also contributed to interest in Troy, since crusaders were traveling into the Near East and visiting cities such as Constantinople, only a few miles from the ancient site of Troy. Certainly, there are many description of eastern "wonders" in both the Troie and the Eneas.

The retelling of the Eneas made one radical departure from the ancient Troy tradition of lawless passion leading to war. The author of the Eneas added a final section onto the Aeneid, in which love, leading to marriage, finally became a positive force for good. Love was actually rather new to the Troy tradition, and part of the literary celebration of love, courtly and otherwise, that became a hallmark of medieval literature.

If you are a student in Myths and Stories of the Trojan War, the links in the yellow bar go to course-related sites. Visitors are welcome, except to the forum, which is only for students currently registered in Myths and Stories of the Trojan War.  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Andreas Capellanus: The Art of Courtly Love, Book Two: On the Rules of Love
• Backgrounds to Romance: Courtly Love: A hyperlinked essay by Dr. Schwartz. Useful links and delightful images.
• Fantasies of Troy: Classical Tales and the Social Imaginary in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
  Ed. Alan Shepard and Stephen D. Powell. This site gives the contents of the book and other interesting information and ordering information.
• Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournaments Resource Library: An interesting collection of materials ranging from essays on chivalry to armor for sale, developed by medieval buffs and members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
• Medieval Cosmology: Includes a great diagram of the universe at that time.
• The Medieval Siege: Theme and Image in Middle English Romance by Malcolm Hebron. This page from the publisher gives the contents and a brief overview of the book. Naturally Troy is an important element in such a study.
• New Troy: Fantasies of Empire in the Late Middle Ages by Sylvia Federico. This book explains how Troy became an important element in British historiography of the 14th century.
• Study Guide for Ovid: The Art of Love: Prepared by Professor Paul Brians of Washington State University. Notes for the translation by Rolfe Humphries of selections from the Amores and the Ars Amatoria. Ovid's Art of Love was the main source of Medieval European thinking about love.
• Translatio Studii et Imperii: A hyperlinked essay by Dr. Schwartz that deals with the connections between classical antiquity and the twelfth century in Europe.

ETEXTS

• Amores [Ovid]: Translated by Christopher Marlowe; a major text in the ancient tradition of the passion of love.
• "The literature of Antiquity: Troy, King Alisaunder, Richard Cœur de Lion." From The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume I. From the Beginnings to the Cycles of Romance. Metrical Romances, 1200–1500.  
• Love Destroys Achillès in Benoit de Sainte Maure's Roman de Troie: A synopsis of how Achilles is destroyed by love in the twelfth century Roman de Troie by Benoit de Ste. Maure.
• Love Redeems Eneas: A synopsis of the new love story added to the end of the Aeneid in the twelfth century Eneas romance.
• TROY BOOK: INTRODUCTION; Edited by Robert R. Edwards Originally Published in John Lydgate Troy Book: Selections Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 1998; this links to the entire etext of Lydgate's Troybook.
• Troy and Troad: an article from The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica;  old, but scholarly and interesting material and bibliography about Troy legends and facts  through the ages,

   

   

MEDIEVAL ARTS, FILMS AND MUSIC

• Medieval Music and Arts Foundation: areas include: Early Music FAQ; World Traditional Music; T. M. Mc Comb's Music Column; and So you liked CHANT...

MEDIEVAL SEARCH ENGINE

• Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index: This site indexes by subjects, topic, journals and essays.

METASITES

• Internet Resources for Medieval Studies: A valuable, extensive list of links.
• The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies: This metasite is sponsored by Georgetown University and can lead one to just about every medieval source on the web. Its home page is attractive and well organized, but, like Perseus, the classical metasite, it can be confusing for a non-specialist just entering its maze. It is interesting to browse, but there are easier ways for a beginner to locate medieval information on the web.
• Medieval and Renaissance Fact and Fiction: A mixture of scholarly sites and sites of interest to people who recreate the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism. A good selection of Art sites. Fun to explore; some links will be more reliable than others, from a scholarly point of view. Worth visiting to see what pleasure people can take in studying and recreating the past.
• Netserf: A delightful site. Clear, easy to use, all sorts of links, organized with attractive images to guide the casual browser or the serious scholar. Includes everything from Franciscan clip art to serious articles about matters medieval. Maintained by the Catholic University of America History Department. Definitely worth a visit.
• On-Line Reference Book for Medieval Studies (ORB): Includes: The ORB Encyclopedia (an index of useful, original essays, arranged by chronology and topic); The ORB Library Connection (medieval etexts); The ORB Reference Shelf, lists of other useful sites; and a section on Medieval Studies for the Non-specialist (includes Media and Popular Culture, even a few cartoons). ORB also includes a search engine for its extensive files.
• Research Activities of the Medieval Institute: From the Medieval Institute of Western Michigan University. Includes a number of links on Anglo-Saxon sources as well as general medieval databases and other scholarly sources.