gb - Englisches Seminar - Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Seminare
050 626 Houwen
Under the Greenwood Tree: Robin Hood and the Outlaw Tradition, 4 CP
2 st. di 12-14 HGB 20
“Many men speak of Robin Hood who never drew his bow”. This old proverb gives
some idea of the widespread popularity of the Robin Hood legend. One could alter
this proverb somewhat to say that “Many people speak of Robin Hood who have
never read the texts (but did see the movie!)” The Robin Hood legend has survived in
numerous texts in a variety of genres. The outlaw is first mentioned in late medieval
chronicles and ballads and soon makes his way into plays. Little John and the Sheriff
of Nottingham are there virtually from the start, but Will Scarlet and Maid Marian only
start to play significant parts in the later (broadside) ballads from the seventeenth
century. All texts reflect their times and many serve specific political or religious
purposes as well. The course will examine the development of the RH legend and
show how in each incarnation the legend reflects not just the literary tradition but also
the concerns of the time.
The relevant primary texts will be made available via Blackboard. However, since this
procedure might involve a lot of printing you may want to consider buying the printed
edition:
Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren, eds. Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales.
TEAMS Middle English Texts Series. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University,
1997.
Assessment/requirements: Übung: 6-8 pages essay (excl. title page and
bibliography; no table of contents please); Seminar: 8-10 pages.
050 627 Houwen
Wisdom and Experience: The Old English Elegies, 4 CP
2 st. di 14-16 GB 6/137 Nord
The Old English elegies are “a relatively short reflective or dramatic poem embodying
a contrasting pattern of loss and consolation, ostensibly based upon a specific
personal experience or observation, and expressing an attitude towards that
experience" and their characteristic scenery includes “the sea with cliffs, hail, snow,
rain, and storms, plus the meadhall of heroic poetry with its lords, warriors, hawks,