Medieval influences shaped Renaissance literature profoundly. Themes like courtly love and allegory from the Middle Ages found new life in Renaissance works. Writers adapted medieval forms and genres, blending them with classical traditions to create innovative literary expressions.

The Renaissance saw a shift towards secular themes and individual creativity, while still drawing on medieval traditions. This period marked a transition from medieval to modern literature, with authors reimagining inherited forms and ideas for a changing world.

Medieval Themes and Motifs in the Renaissance

Courtly Love and Dream Visions

• The concept of courtly love, originating in the lyric poetry of the troubadours (Provençal poets), idealized and spiritualized romantic love, greatly influencing Renaissance love poetry and sonnet sequences
• The dream vision framework, used by medieval poets like Chaucer (The Book of the Duchess) and Langland (Piers Plowman), provided a structure for exploring philosophical and moral themes that was adopted by Renaissance authors

Allegory and Memento Mori

• Medieval allegory, exemplified in works like the Romance of the Rose, used personified abstractions to teach moral lessons, a technique employed by Renaissance writers like Edmund Spenser (The Faerie Queene)
• The memento mori theme, emphasizing the inevitability of death and the transience of earthly things, is prevalent in medieval works like the Danse Macabre and carried over into Renaissance poetry and drama (Shakespeare's sonnets, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus)
• Medieval estates satire, which critiqued the three estates of society (clergy, nobility, and commoners), inspired social commentary in Renaissance literature, such as in the works of Erasmus (The Praise of Folly) and More (Utopia)

Renaissance Adaptation of Medieval Conventions

Poetic Forms and Narrative Structures

• Petrarch's development of the Italian sonnet form, based on the Provençal canso, standardized the 14-line structure and rhyme scheme that became a staple of Renaissance love poetry
• Boccaccio's Decameron, a collection of 100 tales told by a group of people sheltering from the Black Death, established the frame narrative model that influenced Renaissance story collections like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron
• The medieval romance genre, with its emphasis on chivalry and courtly love, evolved into the Renaissance epic romance, exemplified by Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and Spenser's The Faerie Queene, which blended romance elements with classical epic conventions

Satire and Morality Plays

• Renaissance humanist writers, such as Erasmus in his Praise of Folly, adapted the medieval tradition of satirical estates literature to critique contemporary society and promote classical learning and moral reform
• Medieval morality plays, which allegorized the struggle between good and evil for the human soul, influenced Renaissance drama, particularly in the development of the tragic hero's internal moral conflict, as seen in works like Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare's Hamlet

Medieval Influence on Renaissance Genres

Epic and Religious Drama

• The medieval chanson de geste and romance traditions, which celebrated heroic deeds and courtly love, laid the foundation for the Renaissance epic, exemplified by Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata and Camões' Os Lusíadas
• Medieval mystery and miracle plays, which dramatized biblical stories and the lives of saints, paved the way for the development of Renaissance religious drama, such as the autos sacramentales of Calderón de la Barca (El gran teatro del mundo)

Prose Fiction and Lyric Poetry

• The medieval fabliaux, short satirical tales often featuring trickery and sexual humor, influenced the development of Renaissance prose fiction, particularly the novella form popularized by Boccaccio (Decameron) and Marguerite de Navarre (Heptameron)
• Medieval lyric poetry, including the troubadour and trouvère traditions, the Minnesang, and the Italian dolce stil novo, provided the basis for Renaissance love poetry, as seen in the works of Petrarch (Canzoniere), Ronsard (Les Amours), and Wyatt (Whoso List to Hunt)
• The medieval dream vision genre, used by poets like Guillaume de Lorris (Romance of the Rose), Jean de Meun (Romance of the Rose), and Chaucer (The Parliament of Fowls), influenced the development of Renaissance allegorical poetry, such as Langland's Piers Plowman and Spenser's The Faerie Queene

Continuity and Change in Literary Traditions

Shift Toward Secular and Humanist Themes

• While medieval literature often focused on religious themes and the afterlife, Renaissance authors increasingly explored secular subjects and the human experience in the present world, reflecting the influence of humanism
• Medieval writers typically composed in Latin or vernacular languages specific to their regions, while Renaissance authors increasingly wrote in standardized vernacular languages, contributing to the development of national literary traditions (Dante's Italian, Chaucer's English, Ronsard's French)

Emphasis on Originality and Critical Thinking

• Medieval literature often emphasized adherence to established authorities and traditions, while Renaissance writers, influenced by the humanist movement, placed greater value on individual creativity, originality, and critical thinking
• Although medieval literature was primarily disseminated through oral performance and manuscript circulation, the invention of the printing press in the Renaissance allowed for wider distribution of texts and increased literacy rates, changing the relationship between authors and audiences

Imitation and Innovation of Classical Models

• While medieval writers often drew upon classical literature as a source of knowledge and authority, Renaissance authors sought to directly imitate and surpass classical models, leading to innovations in literary form and style
• Renaissance writers developed new techniques such as blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) and revived classical genres like the epic (Virgilian epic) and pastoral (Theocritan idyll) to create works that both honored and challenged their literary predecessors