Medieval Beginnings: Middle English Lyrics

From the first recorded instance of the word ‘fart’ in English, to nuanced vignettes of sexual power dynamics, the numerous Middle English lyrics that have survived down the centuries, often scribbled in the margins of more ‘serious’ texts, offer a vivid snapshot of everyday medieval life. In the tenth episode of Medieval Beginings, Irina and Mary analyse several of these short, fleeting verses, probably set to music, and consider their possible origins and purpose, their delicious ambiguity, and their equivocal relationship to the sacred manuscripts in which they've been found.Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up here:Directly in Apple Podcasts at the top of this feed, or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadingsFurther reading in the LRB: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n10/barbara-newman/i-was-such-a-lovely-girlListen to 'Sumer is icumen in' sung by The Hilliard Ensemble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMCA9nYnLWoSome of the lyrics discussed in this episode can be found online:Sumer is icumen in:https://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/cuckou.phpI Have a Yong Susterhttps://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/suster.phpMaiden in the morhttps://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/maideninthemoor.phphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden_in_the_mor_layI have a gentil cockhttps://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/content/i-have-gentil-cookIrina Dumitrescu is Professor of English Medieval Studies at the University of Bonn and Mary Wellesley as a historian and author of Hidden Hands: The Lives of Manuscripts and their Makers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.