From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in
Europe and beyond during the
Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand years from the
fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD
500 to the beginning of the Florentine
Renaissance in the late 15th century). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as
secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly
sacred to the exuberantly
profane, touching all points in-between. Because of the wide range of time and place it is difficult to speak in general terms without oversimplification, and thus the literature is best characterized by its place of origin and/or language, as well as its genre.
