Banish the winter doldrums with an intellectually invigorating exploration of the interplay between early English literature and Christianity. Each event will have suggested readings but you are welcome to attend even if you haven’t (yet) read any of these masterpieces. 

There is no cost and RSVP is encouraged but not required. Registration helps us plan for refreshments and room set-up. Click here to sign up!

Most people are unfamiliar with this epic poem which tells a fabulous story steeped in Anglo-Saxon culture and early Christian influences. It is one of the earliest works of English literature from around the 8th/9th century. You will enjoy reading this action tale featuring fights against a dragon and other monsters. Good vs. evil!

We aren’t used to needing a translator for works written in English! However, this story was written in “Old English” which has evolved considerably in order to become the language we use today. Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney has produced a fantastic translation which is the recommended version for your reading of this masterpiece. 

Winston Churchill professed of the Arthurian Cycle that “It is all true, or it ought to be; and more and better besides.” So, what is the Arthurian Cycle?  How does one make sense of all these interlaced stories and characters?  Who was this indomitable character King Arthur?  Who were Lancelot, Guinevere, Perceval, and Gawain?  And what was this Holy Grail they were all chasing after anyway?  This presentation will give you an introduction and some insight into a series of stories that constitute one of the greatest and noblest cycles of storytelling in Western culture.

You may wish to read "King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table" by Roger Lancelyn Green which is a modern translation of the “Middle English” collection of Arthurian tales from Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur.”.

This classic starts with a general prologue which is then followed by a collection of 24 tales in which Chaucer portrays ordinary 14th century citizens engaged in a story-telling contest. They regale each other with these stories while on pilgrimage from London to the tomb of the great English martyr Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The stories vary from the pious to the bawdy. 

Dr. Reichardt’s presentation will provide an overview of the entire work to show its Catholic themes. You may wish to read some or all of the following which will be referenced: General Prologue, Knight's Tale, Miller's Tale, Wife of Bath's Tale, Nun's Priest Tale, Franklin's Tale, Pardoner's Tale, and the Clerk's Tale. A good modern English translation of “The Canterbury Tales” is by David Wright. 

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