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Definition
| Grendel begins raiding Hrthgar's court and killing his men. Beowulf is summoned and wrenches off the monster's arm. Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, whom he slays with a magical sword he finds as they struggle in a mysterious hall beneath the ocean. Beowulf is killed years later by a dragon. |
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| Dream of the Rood, Cynewulf |
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| A poem about the Crucifixion as told by the Cross itself. Because of its tenderness, it is considered the finest of the Old English religious poems. |
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| The Wycliffe Bible, John Wycliffe |
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Definition
| The first translation of the Bible into English so that persons could interpret the Scriptures individually. |
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| A dream allegory lamenting the death of the poet's two-year old and envisioning Paradise. |
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| Purity (Cleanness), the Pearl Poet |
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| Promotes purity by paraphrasing Biblical stories of the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the fall of Belshazzer. |
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| Illustrates the evils of impatience by retelling the story of Jonah in a humorous way. |
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| Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl Poet (possibly) |
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Definition
| Divided into four fitts (parts), this allegory intends to teach the virtues of chivalry and knighthood. Gawain's behavior is above reproach. |
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| Piers Plowman, Willam Langland |
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Definition
| A dream-vision. It provides vivid scenes of medieval life that depict famine, gluttony, and the greed of unscrupulous landlords. |
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| Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer |
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Definition
| Thirty travelers telling two stories each way on their pilgrimage to Canterbury and return to London. It is unfinished. |
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| Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory |
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Definition
| A gathering of the main body of legends about King Arthur into one narrative. |
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