Monstrous marvels of the Medieval literary imagination

City Lit

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In London

£ 49 VAT inc.

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Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Location

    London

  • Start date

    Different dates available

Dog-headed men, people with faces in their chests, dragons, small people who need the scent of apples to survive, all of these were described, and believed to exist, in the medieval imagination. This course looks at books of travels, catalogues of the monstrous, maps, and poetry, to discover why the monstrous featured so highly in the medieval imagination, particularly in places geographically distant, at the edge of the known world.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
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Keeley Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 4BA

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course

Distinguish the types of creature imagined by medieval writers.
Recognise the style of monstrous medieval illustrations.
Propose reasons why medieval people imagined such creatures.
Describe the relationship between creatures that people imagined were real, and those that were intentionally figments of the imagination.
Locate the mythological, social and imaginative origins of the monstrous.

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Course programme

The types of monstrous character depicted in medieval literature and the illustrations in medieval manuscripts.
The reasons why fantastical creatures are imagined.
The influences on the monstrous imagination.
The relationship between illustrations and the literature with regard to depicting the monstrous.

By presentation, demonstration and group discussion. You can bring pen and paper but course notes will be provided. All texts we will look at will also be provided in handouts.

Additional information

Please look for other literature courses on the web under History, Culture and Writing at and under Humanities in the prospectus. General information and advice on courses at City Lit is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to Friday from 12:00 – 19:00. See the course guide for term dates and further details

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Monstrous marvels of the Medieval literary imagination

£ 49 VAT inc.

The best Literature courses

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