1. Beowulf:
Summary: The story of Beowulf, a geat from Sweden who crosses the sea to Denmark in a quest to rescue King Hrothgar from the demonic monster Grendel. Beowulf arrives in Hrothgar’s hall to help him finally get rid of Grendel, whom had been attacking them for a long time killing and eating a lot of men. Finally one night when Beowulf arrives, Grendel enters the hall to eat all of the soldiers, but when he gets to Beowulf he attacks him until he hurts him a lot and Grendel goes back to his swamp to die. After Grendel dies, his mother want to get vengeance for his death, Beowulf goes to find the mother and then he killd her with a sword that was hung in the wall.
Setting: northern Europe, mid-eighth century or earlier
Characters:
- Beowulf: King of the Geats and main character of the story.
- Brecca: Beowulf’s best friend.
- Grendel: man-eating monster, who fights with Beowulf and looses.
- Herot: Golden Guest Hall that belongs to Hrothgar.
- Hrothgar: King of the Danes, who were under attack of Grendel.
- Unferth: one of Hrothgar courtiers, who doubts Beowulf.
- Welthow: Hrothgar wife.
- Wiglaf: Geat warrior, the only one who can help Beowulf in the dragon battles.
Protagonists: Beowulf, Hrothgar, Wiglaf
Antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon
2. Gilgamesh “The Head of Humbaba”:
Author: The ancient authors of the stories that composed the poem are anonymous. The latest and most complete version yet found, composed no later than around 600 b.c. was signed by a Babylonian author and editor who called himself Sin-Leqi-Unninni.
Summary: In this story we find Humbaba (a cruel beast who lived in the forest and was the slave of the gods.), he was in the forest when he hears the sound of falling trees, he goes an searches for the source of this sound. He finds Gilgamesh (the protagonist and hero of the story) gets scared when he hears Humbaba’s footsteps, but feels pity when he sees him, and at this time Humbaba hurts his friend Endiku. So Gilgamesh hits Humbaba and he falls to the ground, he begs for mercy from Gilgamesh and tells him that he will be his slave, but Gilgamesh kills him. In the end Gilgamesh sees if Endiku is ok and hangs the head of Humbaba from a tree.
Setting: 2700 b.c. in Mesopotamia
3. The Seafarer:
Author: The Anglo-Saxons, from the Exeter Book.
Summary: The seafarer is a story about a man who has lived his life in the sea, always having o suffer from the pain and misfortune that living in the sea brings. But even if he was in cities, he always ended up going back to the sea. He feels connected to the sea and its beauty and its magic. This man believes that almost everything in the earth has changed and he knows that god will take those who are good to paradise and heaven.
4. Lord Randall:
Author: from Scottish origins.
Summary: The story of Lord Randall is about a man who gets home and his loving mother sees that there is something wrong with him. He tells her that he was very tired, that he lost his true love, that he ate ells for dinner, and that his dogs had died. In the end Lord Randall says that he was poisoned and that he was going to die.
5. Edward, Edward:
Author: from northern European writers.
Summary: At the beginning of the story the mother and Edward start talking just as Edward was coming in. The mother asks Edward why he had blood in his sword, and Edward answers that he has killed the hawk, then he says that he had killed his horse, then he says that he has killed his father. The mother asks Edward what his punishment will be and he tells her that he is going to leave, the mother asks him what he will do about his family and he says that they will have to be poor and stay behind. Edward tells his mother that she shall have the curse of hell.
6. Get up and bar the door:
Author: many versions of this story exist.
Summary: This story is about the fight between a man and his wife. It is in Martinmas Eve (Nov.11), the wife was preparing everything for the feast, and the husband comes in the kitchen to tell her that the door was open and that she should go close it. None of them want to go and close it, so they agree that the first one who speaks would have to go and close the door; after a while two men break into the house and steal the food, they are planning to attack them so the man finally speaks. The wife is happy that she won the game, so she tells him to close the door.
7. The Canterbury Tales: (Prologue)
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer
Setting: Late XIV century, after 1381; The Tabard Inn, Road to Canterbury.
Summary: The narrator opens the General Prologue with a description of the return of spring. He describes the April rains, the burgeoning flowers and leaves, and the chirping birds. Around this time of year, the narrator says, people begin to feel the desire to go on a pilgrimage. The travelers were a diverse group who, like the narrator, were on their way to Canterbury. They happily agreed to let him join them. That night, the group slept at the Tabard, and woke up early the next morning to set off on their journey. Before continuing the tale, the narrator declares his intent to list and describe each of the members of the group.
At the Tabard Inn, a tavern in Southwark, near London, the narrator joins a company of twenty-nine pilgrims. The pilgrims, like the narrator, are traveling to the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The narrator gives a descriptive account of twenty-seven of these pilgrims, including a Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Prioress, Monk, Friar, Merchant, Clerk, Man of Law, Franklin, Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Tapestry-Weaver, Cook, Shipman, Physician, Wife, Parson, Plowman, Miller, Manciple, Reeve, Summoner, Pardoner, and Host. (He does not describe the Second Nun or the Nun’s Priest, although both characters appear later in the book.) The Host, whose name, we find out in the Prologue to the Cook’s Tale, is Harry Bailey, suggests that the group ride together and entertain one another with stories. He decides that each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. Whomever he judges to be the best storyteller will receive a meal at Bailey’s tavern, courtesy of the other pilgrims. The pilgrims draw lots and determine that the Knight will tell the first tale.
8. The Canterbury Tales: (The Wife of Bath’s tale)
Summary: This story is about a man who violated a little girl and took her virginity, all the people were really mad, but the man manages to come to and agreement with the queen; she tells him that he has to find out what women want the most, and that he has a year and a day to give his answer, and if he gets it right he will not be killed. The man goes on the journey seeking the answer, but he doesn’t find it. The day of the hearing comes and in the last minute he finds an old lady who tells him the answer (Women want power), the lady asks for the man to marry her in return and he does, but he is very sad and miserable because his wife is and old lady that is horrible and nasty. The old lady tells him that she was the most faithful wife that he would ever find and that he was lucky to have her, the man finally ends up falling into reason and the wife assumes power of the relationship. They end up loving happily ever after.
9. The Decameron: (Federigos’s Falcon)
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Summary: There was a man called Federigo, who was very rich, and he was in love with this beautiful woman who was like any other girl on the city; but all of his life Federigo had been in love with this girl, and he loved her with all of his heart. Federigo`s house was very nice and he was a really wealthy man, while Monna was just a normal girl living on a normal house. Since Federigo was in love with Monna he did everything that he could to impress Monna, this included making parties and spending all of his money to try to catch the Monna’s attention, but nothing worked. One day Federigo realized that he had become very poor and that he had wasted all of his money trying to impress Monna. The only thing he had left was a little part of a farm and a falcon that helped him hunt. On the other hand, Monna had a little boy who was sick but he was in love with Federigo`s falcon and he wanted to have it, so he told Monna that he would be able to stand his illness better if he had the falcon to accompany him. Monna realized that Federigo is the only thing she had, so anyways she went to Federigo`s house and asked him if they could have dinner and talk. Federigo didn’t have anything to eat, so he killed his falcon and cooked it for dinner. While talking Monna told him about her little boy and how he adored the falcon. Federigo was surprised, and he had to explain to Monna that he had killed the falcon so that they could have dinner, Monna understood that he was a nice man and that if he had known he would have saved the falcon.
10. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Author: Anonymous;
Setting: The mythical past of King Arthur’s Court. It develops: in Camelot, the wilderness, Bertilak’s castle, and the Green Chapel.
Summary: During a New Year’s Eve feast at King Arthur’s court the Green Knight, pays the court an unexpected visit. He challenges the group’s leader or any other brave man to a game. The Green Knight says that he will allow whomever accepts the challenge to strike him with his own axe, on the condition that the challenger finds him in exactly one year to receive a blow in return. Sir Gwain is tho only one that accepts the challenge and he gives the blow to the Green Knight taking his head off, but he doesn’t die and tells Sir Gwain that he will be expecting him in one year.
Time passes, and Sir Gawain prepares to leave Camelot and find the Green Knight. He puts on his best armor, mounts his horse and starts off in the search of the Green Knight. He stays at a castle and the lord of the castle welcomes Gawain warmly, introducing him to his lady. For sport, the host strikes a deal with Gawain: the host will go out hunting with his men every day, and when he returns in the evening, he will exchange his winnings for anything Gawain has managed to acquire by staying behind at the castle. Gawain happily agrees to the pact, and goes to bed.
The first day, the lord hunts a herd of does, while Gawain sleeps late in his bedchambers. On the morning of the first day, the lord’s wife sneaks into Gawain’s chambers and attempts to seduce him. Gawain puts her off, but before she leaves she steals one kiss from him. That evening, when the host gives Gawain the venison he has captured, Gawain kisses him, since he has won one kiss from the lady. The second day, the lord hunts a wild boar. The lady again enters Gawain’s chambers, and this time she kisses Gawain twice. That evening Gawain gives the host the two kisses in exchange for the boar’s head.
The third day, the lord hunts a fox, and the lady kisses Gawain three times. She also asks him for a love token, such as a ring or a glove. Gawain refuses to give her anything and refuses to take anything from her, until the lady mentions her girdle. The green silk girdle she wears around her waist is no ordinary piece of cloth, the lady claims, but possesses the magical ability to protect the person who wears it from death. Intrigued, Gawain accepts the cloth, but when it comes time to exchange his winnings with the host, Gawain gives the three kisses but does not mention the lady’s green girdle. The host gives Gawain the fox skin he won that day, and they all go to bed happy, but weighed down with the fact that Gawain must leave for the Green Chapel the following morning to find the Green Knight.
New Year’s Day arrives, and Gawain dons his armor, including the girdle, then sets off with Gringolet to seek the Green Knight. Eventually, he comes to a kind of crevice in a rock, visible through the tall grasses. Gawain calls out, and the Green Knight emerges to greet him, intent on fulfilling the terms of the contract, Gawain presents his neck to the Green Knight, who proceeds to feign two blows. On the third feint, the Green Knight nicks Gawain’s neck, barely drawing blood. Angered, Gawain shouts that their contract has been met, but the Green Knight merely laughs.
The Green Knight reveals his name, Bertilak, and explains that he is the lord of the castle where Gawain recently stayed. Because Gawain did not honestly exchange all of his winnings on the third day, Bertilak drew blood on his third blow. Nevertheless, Gawain has proven himself a worthy knight, without equal in all the land. He returns to Arthur’s court, where all the knights join Gawain, wearing girdles on their arms to show their support.
