Using a comparative approach, the class will read translations of secular literary works written in all the vernacular languages spoken in the British Isles from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries: Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, Irish, Norse, and French. Themes will include conflict and war, love and mysticism, tragedy and comedy, myth and courtly romance, and reworked tales of the old gods. The readings will be compared across the five cultures, all of which are the heritage of modern English literature.