/lit/ - Literature

>>15024727
This. Do what you would with Chaucer: grab a good edition with glossed vocabulary on the same page (TEAMS, for instance), speak out loud to get the pronunciation closer to modern English phonetically (don't worry about authentic medieval pronunciation at all--the point is to help your brain get the corresponding modern word), and enjoy! Even that weird Midlands dialect isn't so hard when you get used to it.

>>14926586
The Riverside Chaucer.

>>10854099
Sadly true, but I'm missing a lot that I want. I just made a "purple stripe Penguin" stack for fun.

That should get you started with Arthur, and then it's easy to branch out into the rest of the period.

>>8806033
Yes, it's a fun start.

>>8490845

Not this summer, but it's a hobby.

>>8207499
Oh, sit down. Chaucer lived between 1343-1400 and thus qualifies as medieval. So does Dante. Just because they had humanist characteristics and were forerunners of the misleading antiquated bullshit period we call the "Renaissance" (the time of which varies wildly from England to Italy, of course) doesn't disqualify them from medieval literature.

>>8151783
Nortons are usually a solid choice. Even if the critical essays they include aren't the best selection, the supplementary material can be interesting and very handy. I always read introductions and back matter for context.
>>8152739
Yep, but they used to be SO horrifically butt-ugly that I find the newer editions pleasing by comparison.

>>6977315
Because you're judging it from a modern perspective. Medieval lit includes a lot of amazing work. Pic related.

>>6906513
Get over yourself. Penguin is one of the most important publishers of classics in the world, and there's nothing wrong with their books that isn't true of other publishers at times. Stop believing the /lit/ crap.

>>6895348
I've read many many versions of the stories and other medieval texts, I guess. You get used to Middle English.

>>6794880
Ah, but Norton sends them to me for free, because I'm a part-time prof (as long as I'm about to teach a course relevant to the books I'm requesting). That does influence my decision, and if some of the translations aren't all they could be, I buy a different translation elsewhere (or several) used, and keep the Norton for all the critical supplementary matter, which is usually very handy. I love obliging academic presses.

>>6732136
The Riverside and/or Broadview anthologies (see photo). Original text, lots of footnotes and summaries, etc.

>>6726951
Read all of them, and much, much more. Why the assumptions?

>>6684190
I have a bunch, but don't feel like hunting and photographing right now. They're very handy.