Editing History of literature (section)

===Medieval Europe===

After the fall of Rome (in roughly 476), many of the literary approaches and styles invented by the Greeks and Romans fell out of favor in Europe. In the [[millennium]] or so that intervened between Rome's fall and the [[Florentine Renaissance]], medieval literature focused more and more on faith and faith-related matters, in part because the works written by the Greeks had not been preserved in Europe, and therefore there were few models of classical literature to learn from and move beyond. Although much had been lost to the ravages of time (and to catastrophe, as in the burning of the Library of Alexandria), many Greek works remained extant: they were preserved and copied carefully by Muslim scribes. What little there was became changed and distorted, with new forms beginning to develop from the distortions. Some of these distorted beginnings of new styles can be seen in the literature generally described as [[Matter of Rome]], [[Matter of France]] and [[Matter of Britain]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Around 400 AD, the ''Prudenti [[Psychomachia]]'' began the tradition of allegorical tales. Poetry flourished, however, in the hands of the [[troubadour]]s, whose courtly romances and ''[[chanson de geste]]'' amused and entertained the upper classes who were their patrons. The [[First Crusade]] in 1095 also affected literature. For instance the image of the [[knight]] would take on a different significance. The [[Islamic]] emphasis on scientific investigation and the preservation of the Greek philosophical writings would also affect European literature.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

[[Hagiography|Hagiographies]], or "lives of the [[List of saints|saints]]", were frequent among early medieval European texts. The writings of [[Bede]]—''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People|Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]''—and others continue the faith-based historical tradition begun by Eusebius in the early 4th century. Between Augustine and ''The Bible'', religious authors had numerous aspects of Christianity that needed further explication and interpretation. [[Thomas Aquinas]], more than any other single person, was able to turn [[theology]] into a kind of science, in part because he was heavily influenced by Aristotle, whose works were returning to Europe in the 13th century. Playwriting essentially ceased, except for the [[mystery play]]s and the [[passion play]]s that focused heavily on conveying Christian belief to the common people.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

[[Latin]] continued to be used as a [[literary language]] in medieval Europe. Though it was also spoken, it was primarily learned and expressed through literature, and scientific literature was typically written in Latin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ong |first=Walter J. |date=1984 |title=Orality, Literacy, and Medieval Textualization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/468772 |journal=New Literary History |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.2307/468772 |jstor=468772 |issn=0028-6087 |access-date=2022-08-26 |archive-date=2022-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826081212/https://www.jstor.org/stable/468772 |url-status=live }}</ref> Christianity became increasingly prominent in medieval European literature, also written in Latin. Religious literature in other languages proliferated during the 13th century as those who were not educated in Latin sought religious literature that they could understand. Women in particular were not permitted to learn Latin, and an extensive body of religious literature in many languages was written by women at this time.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blumenfeld-Kosinski |first1=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3haCwAAQBAJ |title=The Vernacular Spirit: Essays on Medieval Religious Literature |last2=Warren |first2=N. |last3=Robertson |first3=D. |publisher=Springer |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-230-10719-9 |pages=1–2 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-26 |archive-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405003930/https://books.google.com/books?id=a3haCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Medieval England ====
Early medieval literature in England was written in [[Old English]], which is not mutually intelligible with modern English. Works of this time include the epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'' and [[Arthurian fantasy]] based on the legendary character of [[King Arthur]]. Literature in the modern English language began with [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] in the 14th century, known for ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2013|pp=26–28}}

==== Medieval Italy ====
''[[Divine Comedy|The Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]] was completed circa 1321. Organized into three parts called ''cantiche'', ''Divine Comedy'' is a narrative poem that is regarded as a preeminent work in Italian literature.<ref>For example, ''Encyclopedia Americana'', 2006, Vol. 30. p. 605: "the greatest single work of Italian literature;" John Julius Norwich, ''The Italians: History, Art, and the Genius of a People'', Abrams, 1983, p. 27: "his tremendous poem, still after six and a half centuries the supreme work of Italian literature, remains – after the legacy of ancient Rome – the grandest single element in the Italian heritage;" and Robert Reinhold Ergang, ''The Renaissance'', Van Nostrand, 1967, p. 103: "Many literary historians regard the Divine Comedy as the greatest work of Italian literature. In world literature it is ranked as an epic poem of the highest order."</ref> It follows Dante's journey into three different realms of the dead, ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' ([[Hell]]), ''[[Purgatorio]]'' ([[Purgatory]]), and ''[[Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso]]'' ([[Heaven|Paradise]]), with the Roman poet [[Virgil]] and [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]], Dante's idealized woman, guiding him. Though ''Divine Comedy'' was largely ignored by the literary world during and a while after its publication, it gained further acclaim in the English-speaking world after British [[Romanticism|Romanticist]] poet William Blake and other 19th century Romanticist writers "rediscovered" the poem, influencing later writers such as [[T. S. Eliot|T.S. Eliot]] and [[Ezra Pound]]. The narrative reflects the medieval philosophy of the afterlife as it existed in the 14th century [[Western Church]] as well as established the [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan language]] as the standard [[Italian language]]. ''[[The Decameron]]'' by [[Giovanni Boccaccio]] was published in 1351, and it influenced European literature over the following centuries. Its framing device of ten individuals each telling ten stories introduced the term ''[[novella]]'' and inspired later works, including Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2013|pp=75–81}}