Happiness, Love, and Hope in Medieval Literature

HSP Fall 2016 Class Promotional

Presented by: Professor Albrecht Classen

Medieval literature was not simply doom and gloom. It also had a strong sense of hope, happiness, and love, embodied best perhaps in the Holy Grail and courtly love. As in all other literary eras, we can also find many tragic or religious works. But one of the hallmarks of medieval literature, at least in its secular form, is the search for happiness, individual fulfillment, and love, all perhaps best captured by the term “quest.” Think of the quest for the grail, quest for the social ideal of a courtly knight, and quest for love. Happiness is important for us today as well, so in this course we will examine the relevance to us of happiness, love, and hope in the Middle Ages.