3.2 European medieval literature: Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and The Divine Comedy

Medieval literature showcases epic heroes, social commentary, and religious allegories. Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and The Divine Comedy represent key works from this era, each offering unique insights into medieval culture and values.

These texts explore themes of heroism, morality, and spirituality through different literary styles. From Old English verse to Italian terza rima, they reflect the diverse linguistic and cultural landscape of medieval Europe.

Heroic and Epic Traditions in Beowulf

The Hero's Journey and Heroic Ideals

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• Beowulf, an Old English epic poem, exemplifies the heroic and epic traditions of early medieval English literature
• The epic centers on the hero Beowulf, a Geatish warrior who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, to fight the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother
• Beowulf embodies heroic ideals such as bravery (fearlessly confronting monstrous foes), loyalty (to his lord Hrothgar and his own people), strength (possessing extraordinary physical prowess), and honor (upholding his reputation and fulfilling his duties)
• His character arc follows the epic hero's journey, a common narrative pattern in which the hero undertakes a quest, faces challenges and temptations, and ultimately achieves a transformative victory (defeating Grendel and his mother, and later in life, the dragon)

Anglo-Saxon Warrior Culture and Christian Influences

• Beowulf reflects values of the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture, such as the comitatus bond between a lord and his thanes (the mutual obligation of protection and service) and the importance of establishing one's reputation through courageous deeds
• The poem employs common epic conventions including beginning in medias res (in the middle of the action), featuring long digressions (such as the story of Sigemund), using elevated language and epithets (such as "prince of the Geats"), and incorporating supernatural elements (monsters and mythical creatures)
• Christian themes and motifs are interwoven with the pagan Germanic story, reflecting the time period in which the poem was written down
  • The poem includes references to the Christian God and biblical events (such as the story of Cain) alongside pagan beliefs and practices
  • The conflict between Beowulf and the monstrous descendants of Cain can be seen as a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil in Christian theology

Social Commentary in The Canterbury Tales

Satirizing Medieval Society through Diverse Characters

• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of stories framed as a storytelling contest among a group of pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury
• The General Prologue introduces the pilgrims, using their descriptions and behavior to satirize and comment on various social classes, occupations, and institutions of 14th-century English society
• The pilgrims represent a diverse cross-section of medieval society, including members of the clergy (such as the Monk and the Prioress), aristocracy (the Knight and the Squire), middle class (the Merchant and the Franklin), and peasantry (the Plowman and the Miller)
• Their characterizations often subvert social expectations and ideals, revealing the gap between appearance and reality (such as the seemingly noble Knight who has participated in mercenary campaigns)

Exposing Corruption and Moral Failings through Irony and Humor

• Chaucer employs irony, exaggeration, and humor to expose corruption, hypocrisy, and moral failings, especially among religious figures
  • The Pardoner, who sells indulgences and fake relics, preaches against greed while embodying it himself
  • The Summoner, who summons people to ecclesiastical court for moral offenses, is himself guilty of corruption and immoral behavior
• The tales told by the pilgrims range in tone and genre, including romances (the Knight's Tale), fabliaux (bawdy, comic tales like the Miller's Tale), beast fables (the Nun's Priest's Tale), and exempla (moral tales like the Pardoner's Tale), revealing different facets of the characters' personalities and social concerns
• Recurring themes throughout the tales include courtly love (the idealized, often adulterous love between a knight and a married noblewoman), the proper conduct of clergy, corruption in the church, social class, and gender roles and relations (such as the power dynamics in marriage)

Allegory and Religion in The Divine Comedy

Allegorical Journey and Spiritual Redemption

• The Divine Comedy is an epic poem by Dante Alighieri that recounts the poet's imaginative journey through the three realms of the Christian afterlife: Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Heaven)
• The poem is heavily allegorical, with characters, locations, and events representing abstract ideas, religious concepts, and moral qualities
  • Dante's journey represents the soul's progression towards God and the process of spiritual redemption, from recognizing and rejecting sin (Inferno), to purifying oneself of sinful tendencies (Purgatorio), to ultimately achieving union with the divine (Paradiso)
  • Virgil, Dante's guide through Hell and Purgatory, symbolizes human reason and classical wisdom, while Beatrice, Dante's guide through Heaven, represents divine revelation and grace
• Each realm is populated by historical and mythological figures whose placement corresponds to the nature of their sins (such as the lustful in the second circle of Hell), the virtues they must cultivate (the proud on the first terrace of Purgatory), or their degree of beatitude (the great theologians in the fourth sphere of Heaven)

Medieval Christian Cosmology and Theology

• The structure of the three realms reflects medieval Christian cosmology and numerological significance
  • Hell consists of nine circles, each corresponding to a different category of sin, with Satan at the center
  • Purgatory is a seven-terraced mountain, representing the seven deadly sins and their corresponding virtues
  • Heaven is composed of nine celestial spheres, each associated with a different heavenly body and a different level of beatitude, culminating in the Empyrean, the realm of pure light and the abode of God
• The poem engages with theological and philosophical questions, such as the nature of sin, the process of redemption, the relationship between faith and reason, and the ultimate goal of human existence in union with God
• Dante draws upon a wide range of classical and biblical references to create a comprehensive synthesis of medieval knowledge and belief, incorporating elements from Greek and Roman mythology, Aristotelian philosophy, and Christian doctrine (such as the Trinity and the Resurrection)

Medieval Literary Styles and Themes

Poetic Forms and Cultural Contexts

• Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and The Divine Comedy represent different stages and regional traditions within the medieval period, from Old English (Beowulf) to Middle English (The Canterbury Tales) to Italian vernacular literature (The Divine Comedy)
• All three works are written in verse, but employ different poetic forms and styles:
  • Beowulf uses alliterative verse (repetition of initial consonant sounds) and a heightened, archaic diction reflective of its oral tradition
  • The Canterbury Tales are written in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter (ten-syllable lines with alternating unstressed and stressed syllables), with each tale employing a style appropriate to its genre and narrator
  • The Divine Comedy uses the Italian vernacular and terza rima, a rhyme scheme of interlocking tercets (three-line stanzas) with the pattern aba, bcb, cdc, etc.
• The works reflect different cultural and religious contexts: Beowulf emerges from a Germanic warrior culture with pagan roots, while The Canterbury Tales and The Divine Comedy are products of Christian medieval society, albeit in different regions (England and Italy, respectively)

Heroism, Morality, and the Role of Religion

• All three works engage with questions of morality, virtue, and the nature of heroism or ideal conduct, whether through the lens of the warrior ethos (Beowulf's bravery and loyalty), social satire (exposing the gap between religious ideals and practice in The Canterbury Tales), or spiritual allegory (Dante's journey towards divine union in The Divine Comedy)
• The role of religion differs in each work:
  • Beowulf blends pagan and Christian elements, reflecting the transitional nature of the early medieval period in England
  • The Canterbury Tales offers a satirical treatment of corrupt clergy and religious institutions, while still affirming the value of genuine faith and morality
  • The Divine Comedy places Christian doctrine and cosmology at the center of its narrative and allegorical structure, serving as a comprehensive expression of medieval religious belief
• While Beowulf and The Divine Comedy focus on the journeys of a central heroic or everyman figure (Beowulf and Dante, respectively), The Canterbury Tales presents a diverse range of characters and perspectives, offering a broader social panorama of medieval English society