This course introduces the student to the classics of medieval literature and to the legal structure of the period. Each semester, individual instructors will anchor the course in specific cultures, bodies of law, and primary texts. Medieval law was often unwritten, and performed locally through debate and decision, and public ritual gestures (clasping of hands, kissing, the giving of objects as pledges, touching relics, etc.). Medieval literature often dramatizes such rituals and legal issues. The course ranges broadly over many centuries and encompasses (translated) texts in many languages, principally Latin. Students should be prepared to learn some key terms of vocabulary and basic linguistic principles.