Medieval Studies

English medieval studies have their roots in the German philological tradition of the 19^th century. The holistic view of the early philologists, which treated literature, language, history and culture as expressions of the same human impulse, still lives on in the breadth of topics covered by the courses in medieval studies at our department.

The ‘Wahlpflicht’ module Diachronic Linguistics focusses on aspects of language and offers primarily a linguistic introduction to the older stages of English. It is supplemented by the lecture module History of English, which concentrates on the cultural, historical and literary background relevant to the development of the English language.

The seminars on MA level are dedicated to key-works of medieval literature, their reception in later times (medievalism), or treat medievalising works of (modern) fiction. Additional links to modern times are forged by means of co-taught modules.

English medieval studies also participate in the interdisciplinary MA study course Mittelalterstudien.