#literary-history

#literary-history

Many of the phrases we casually toss around today have surprisingly long histories, with roots that stretch back to the medieval world. From English law to Chaucer's poetry, from French allegories to Irish chronicles, these expressions reveal just how much of our everyday language was shaped by the Middle Ages. Here are 20 phrases that originated in the Middle Ages - and are still alive and well today.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a letter at 22, expressed thoughts of retreating into obscurity, revealing his struggles with low morale, love, and possible opium addiction.

Ellmann's biography of James Joyce not only detailed his life through rich narratives but also positioned Joyce as a literary giant, comparable to the likes of Homer.

This exhibit conjures real, three-dimensional books based on tomes that never saw the light of day, providing a glimpse into lost literary history.

"The man who had lost his life in this apparently meaningless struggle was none other than Christopher 'Kit' Marlowe, the 29-year-old darling of Elizabethan theatre and poetry."