Passion, love, and romance take center stage in Medieval chivalric literature. As we survey some of the greatest works of that genre, we’ll find answers to the following questions:

1. How does Tristan and Iseult highlight the tension between marriage and love that was commonplace in the past?
2. What light does Tristan and Iseult shed on the nature of love versus loyalty?
3. Why is the chivalric idealization of woman such an important development in the context of Christendom and Western culture?

Recommended Reading: The Romance of Tristan & Iseult. Retold by J. Bédier. Translated by H. Belloc, George Allen & Company, Ltd., 1913.
de Troyes, Chrétien. Arthurian Romances. Translated William W. Kibler and Carleton W. Carroll, Penguin Classics, 2004.
Early Fiction in England: From Geoffrey of Monmouth to Chaucer. New York: Penguin Classics, 2015.

The tragic heroes of the classical era now give way to the new type of hero who will arise in Medieval literature. To help us explore this concept, we’ll unpack the following questions:

1. What makes Beowulf so alluring that new generations of readers are regularly drawn to it?
2. Why is The Song of Roland such an important part of the western tradition?
3. How much does Medieval chivalry form the basis for romance?

Recommended Reading: Early Fiction in England: From Geoffrey of Monmouth to Chaucer. New York: Penguin Classics, 2015.

The worlds of legal structures and romantic entanglements take a huge step forward during this time period. On today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions:

1. How did Charlemagne’s patronage of the liberal arts lead to the establishment of the university?
2. Was the signing of the Magna Carta a legal development unique to England?
3. How do the letters of Peter Abelard and Heloise illustrate the development of love, both between man and woman as well as between man and God?