Springs of Helicon_ (Chaucer).

SUGGESTED READINGS WITH QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Romances.--The student will be interested in reading from Lawrence's
_Medieval Story_, Chapters III., _The Song of Roland_; IV., _The
Arthurian Romances_; V., _The Legend of the Holy Grail_; VI., _The
History of Reynard the Fox_. Butler's _The Song of Roland_ (_Riverside
Literature Series_) is an English prose translation of a popular story
from the Charlemagne cycle. _Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight_ has
been retold in modern English prose by J.L. Weston (London: David
Nutt). A long metrical selection from this romance is given in
Bronson.[41] I., 83-100, in _Oxford Treasury_, I., 60-81, and a prose
selection in _Century_, 1000-1022.

Stories from the Arthurian cycle may he found in Newell's _King Arthur
and the Table Round_. See also Maynadier's _The Arthur of the English
Poets_, and Tennyson's _The Idylls of the King_.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's _History of the Kings of Britain_ is translated
in Giles's _Six Old English Chronicles_ (Bohn Library).

Selections from Layamon's _Brut_ may be found in Bronson, I.; P. & S.;
and Manly, I.

What were the chief subjects of the cycles of Romance? Were they
mostly of English or French origin? What new elements appear, not
found in Beowulf? Which of these cycles has the most interest for
English readers? How does this cycle still influence twentieth-century
ideals? In what respect is the romance of _Gawayne_ like a sermon?

What Shakespearean characters does Geoffrey of Monmouth introduce? How
is Layamon's _Brut_ related to Geoffrey's chronicle? Point out a
likeness between the _Brut_ and the work of a Victorian poet.

Ormulum, Lyrics, and Robert Manning of Brunne.--Selections may be
found in P. & S.; Bronson, I.; Oxford (lyrics, pp. 1-10); Manly, I.;
Morris's _Specimens of Early English_. Among the lyrics, read
specially, "Sumer is i-cumen in," "Alysoun," "Lenten ys come with love
to toune," and "Blow, Northern Wind."

What was the purpose of the _Ormulum_? What is its subject matter?
Does it show much French influence?

What new appreciation of nature do the thirteenth-century lyrics show?
Point out at least twelve definite concrete references to nature in
"Lenten ys come with love to toune." How many such references are
there in the _Cuckoo Song_?

What difference do you note between the form of Robert Manning of
Brunne's _Handling Synne_ and Anglo-Saxon poetry? Can you find an
incr