Old and Middle English Poetry Sources
On this page, you will find both print and digital sources related to Old and Middle English poetry. These sources will provide the poetry itself, cultural and linguistic background, and scholarly research and opinion.
Print Sources
Old and Middle English c.890-c.1450: An Anthology
edited by Elaine Treharne
This is an extensive anthology of Medieval works accompanied by introduction and context for each written by Treharne. The works are arranged chronologically, starting with Bede and ending with Kempe. The Old and early Middle English texts are accompanied by full translations into Modern English and the later Middle English texts are accompanied by marginal glosses. As far as poetry goes, the anthology features Beowulf, the Hymns of Sir Godric, Sumer is icumen in, The Dream of the Rood, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and much more. This volume also contains a few pages of full color images to give a better idea of where these texts are found and in what condition.
Treharne, E. (Ed.). (2010). Old and Middle English c.890-c.1450: An anthology (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo translated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Though most know him for his work authoring The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy works, J.R.R. Tolkien was first and foremost a scholar. In his time, he was one of the leading figures in medievalism and this volume contains his translations of three poems. Tolkien attempted in this translation to represent the original rhymes and alliterations of the original texts. Also included is a preface from Tolkien’s son, and introductions and brief discussions of the texts from Tolkien himself. This webpage’s curator is partial to this source as Sir Orfeo is one of her favorite poems.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1980). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. Ballantine Books.
A Companion to the Middle English Lyric
edited by Thomas G. Duncan
This collection of essays on form, function, theme, and context of Middle English Poetry is definitely scholarly, but is not unapproachable to those unfamiliar with the era. In fact, this entire volume is rather tailored to the novice, as the editor has elected even to leave out those letters which have fallen out of use in Modern English. Some highlights include Karl Reichl’s essay on the Middle English Carol, which includes a discussion of the poet Blind Audelay, who was a very interesting figure, and Thorlac Turville’s essay on political poetry, which gives insight into some of the more controversial works of the time.
Duncan, T.G. (Ed.). (2005). A companion to the Middle English lyric. D.S. Brewer.
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Literature 1100-1500
edited by Larry Scanlon
Though this volume covers all genres of literature in the Medieval Period, including prose and drama, it does contain multiple chapters concerning poetry and poets. Of particular interest are Ardis Butterfield’s chapter on lyric poetry, Sarah Stanbury’s chapter on the Gawain poet, and Larry Scanlon’s chapter on Geoffrey Chaucer. Butterfield’s is especially helpful as she begins with a discussion of the nature of the manuscripts in which the Middle English lyrics are found, then goes on to structure her chapter in sections based on the different types of manuscripts, i.e. songbooks, household collections, etc., providing a better picture of where and when these lyrics would have been read, or, more likely, heard.
Scanlon, L. (Ed.). (2009). The Cambridge companion to Medieval English literature 1100-1500. Cambridge University Press.
The Judgement Day Theme in Old English Poetry
by Graham D. Caie
In this book, Caie provides an intensive look at not only the theme of Judgement Day in Medieval English poetry, but of the pagan Anglo-Saxon conceptualizations of the end times and their influence on interpretations of the Biblical event. Caie begins by spending time discussing etymology and semantics, exploring pagan influences, and considering cultural influences. He then goes on to closely examine three Judgement-centric poems, Judgement Day I, Judgement Day II, and Christ III. Each of these receives its own chapter.
Caie, G. D. (1976). The Judgement Day theme in Old English poetry. University of Copenhagen.
Biblical Paradigms in Medieval English Literature: From Cædmon to Malory
by Lawrence Besserman
Besserman explores the scriptural motifs and patterns found in medieval texts, both poetic and prosaic. The book is organized into five chapters, each focusing on a different text or collection of texts. Each chapter is accompanied by an extensive notes section found at the back of the book. This source gives a somewhat brief flyover of the corpus of medieval literature beginning with the Old English and ending in a discussion of Le Morte D’arthur, focusing almost exclusively on how the texts relate to the Judeo-Christian scriptures.
Besserman, L. (2012). Biblical paradigms in Medieval English literature: From Cædmon to Malory. Routledge.
Ethics and Enjoyment in Late Medieval Poetry: Love after Aristotle
by Jessica Rosenfeld
This book is an extremely scholarly look at the philosophical thought surrounding love in Middle Age poetry. It traces the ideas of Aristotle concerning pleasure and happiness through to the Middle Ages and the idea of courtly love, especially in the Roman de la Rose. Rosenfeld shows how these concepts percolated all the way from the ancient philosophers into the bards and troubadours of the High and Late Medieval Periods. She shows that the authors of the period were acutely aware of the ethical challenges and social taboos they were skirting and argues that much of the scholarship around courtly love ideals and eroticism should be reconsidered.
Rosenfeld, J. (2011). Ethics and enjoyment in Late Medieval poetry: Love after Aristotle. Cambridge University Press.
Birds in Medieval English Poetry: Metaphors, Realities, Transformations
by Michael J. Warren
This book explores the use of birds in Medieval English Poems, specifically in “The Seafarer,” “The Exeter Book Riddles,” “The Owl and the Nightingale,” “The Parliament of Fowls,” and “Confessio Amantis.” Warren seeks to put the focus on how the medieval mind would have known and imagined birds, using other sources like bestiaries and local histories to understand what the birds in the different poems communicated to the audience.
Warren, M.J. (2018). Birds in medieval English poetry: Metaphors, realities, transformations. D.S. Brewer.
Digital Sources
Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online
This website is a free to use online dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, based on the linguistic work of Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller. The works of these scholars are in the public domain, and so can be referenced and used freely. One can search the dictionary by typing a word in English or Old English, or one can browse by initial letter of the Old English. Each entry has the modern English equivalent along with examples, etymology, and occasionally other sources like Joseph Wright’s Old English Grammar. There is also an advanced search function which allows filtering by part of speech and which volume of Bosworth and Toller’s work the entry originates from.
Tichy, O. & Rocek, M. (2019) Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon dictionary online. https://bosworthtoller.com
The Camelot Project from the University of Rochester
The Camelot Project is a database from the University of Rochester Libraries, specifically the Rossell Hope Robbins Library which is the Medieval Studies library. This website has an incredibly extensive collection of texts, images, and scholarly articles, all available to browse. Collections are sorted by Author, Illustrator, Character (like Guinevere or Lancelot), Symbols and Motifs (like the Green Man or the Fair Unknown), Places (like Camelot or Avalon), and Creatures (like the Questing Beast or the Unicorn). The University of Rochester also facilitates The Robin Hood Project which is similar, but smaller, and deals with Robin Hood and tales of outlaws, and The Cinderella Bibliography which is similar but deals with the fairy tale of Cinderella and the various versions found across the world.
Lupack, A., & Lupack, B.T. (2024). The Camelot Project. University of Rochester. https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot-project.html
Arthuriana
This is the personal academic website of Dr. Caitlin R. Green of the University of Cambridge, which she has kept up since 1998. Green uses the site to host her own academic works, extensive bibliographies, and more brief web-only articles discussing different element of the Arthurian corpus. Because of the nature of Green’s work, many of the sources concern the Welsh origins of Arthur as well as connections between the Arthurian legends and other tales like Tom Thumb and Jack the Giant Slayer.
Green, C.R. (2014). Arthuriana: Arthurian resources and studies. http://www.arthuriana.co.uk
Early English Books Online
This is a database holding images of pages of works in English from 1100-1929. While most of the holding of EEBO are from the Early Modern period, there are some interesting pieces from the High and Late Middle Ages. For example, a very early volume of The Canterbury Tales from 1477 and a printing of John Lydgate’s Temple of Glas from c.1495 which wrongly attributes the poem to Stephen Hawes. The database is easy to use with options to browse by year, place, type of work, and more.
ProQuest LLC. (2025). Early English Books Online. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/eebo
Videos
6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes - Stephanie Honchell Smith
This short video from TED-Ed gives the watcher with little knowledge of the Middle Ages something of a primer. It gives six brief points that are often stated when discussing the “Dark Ages,” such as the idea that people didn’t bathe, and refutes them. If someone were particularly unknowledgeable about the time period and insistent on their preconceptions, this might be a good watch to help them raise some questions. However, do beware that this video’s brevity is also its weakness, as complicated topics are reduced to one sentence statements that are not always satisfactory to those who are familiar with the subject.
TED-Ed. (2023, March 7). 6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes - Stephanie Honchell Smith [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9-l34TcV_U&t=1s
Medievalist Professor Answers Medieval Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED
This approximately 20-minute-long video features Dr. Dorsey Armstrong answering questions posed by Twitter users to WIRED. The whole video is fun and informative, discussing everything from hygiene to leisure activities. She also relates some of her points to popular fantasy like Game of Thrones. Most relevant to poetry is a discussion of the pronunciation of Old and Middle English. It is valuable to hear Armstrong demonstrate what the poems of the Middle Ages might have sounded like when spoken aloud.
WIRED. (2024, June 18). Medievalist professor answers Medieval questions from Twitter | Tech support | WIRED [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x8IW3XnYfo
Legends Summarized: King Arthur
This video from Overly Sarcastic Productions is part of their Legends Summarized series, which features famous stories from around the world presented in an easy to digest, memorable, and witty style. In this video, OSP goes over the evolution of Arthurian legend through the centuries, focusing on how every new author added something new to the mythos. This background knowledge is great to have when exploring Medieval poetry dealing with Arthur and Camelot like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or Lanval. The series also contains a video on King Arthur’s Knights.
Overly Sarcastic Productions. (2018, Feb. 2). Legends summarized: King Arthur [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_jgF-S746o&t=2s
