and Rome. Metamorphoses has had
a huge impact on both literature
(including Shakespeare and Dante)
and the visual arts, notably painting.THE GOLDEN ASS
(2ND CENTURY CE), APULEIUSWritten by Apuleius (c.124–c.170 ce),
a Numidian Berber who benefited
from the opportunities offered by
Roman rule, The Golden Ass is the
only work of fiction in Latin to have
survived in its entirety. It tells of
the adventures of a young man
whose fascination with magic
results in his transformation into
a donkey. In this new guise, he
passes from owner to owner untilthe goddess Isis breaks the spell
and frees him. The tale’s principal
ingredients include satire, slapstick,
bawdiness, allegory, moral reflection,
and, above all, humor. The idea
of the transformation of humans
into animals has remained a major
theme in world literature.HILDEBRANDSLIED
(c.800 ce)An anonymous work in Old High
German verse, the Hildebrandslied
(“Song of Hildebrand”) was found
on the flyleaves of a theological
codex, and copied by scribes
between 830 and 840 ce. Only 68
lines have survived; the alliterative
poem (probably intended for oral
transmission) is likely to have been
no more than 100 lines originally.
The subject is an occasion when
the warrior Hildebrand comes face
to face with his son in combat and
seeks to hide who he is, while
ensuring the youth is not harmed.DIGENIS AKRITAS
(c.10TH CENTURY)The Byzantine epic hero Basil,
known by his epithet Digenis
Akritas (meaning “two-blood border-
lord”), is the protagonist of the most
famous of the so-called Akritic folk
ballads, which were celebrated in
vernacular Greek. Digenis Akritas is
also the name of an anonymous,
blank-verse epic that describes
Basil’s lineage, boyhood, and heroic
later life. The son of a Saracen emir
who converted to Christianity, Basil
shows great strength and courage
and valiantly defends the Byzantine
Empire from its enemies. The epic
was further developed between the
12th and 17th centuries.THE PILLOW BOOK
(c.1000), SEI SHO ̄NAGONIn the Japanese tradition, a pillow
book was a collection of personal
musings supposedly written in the
bedroom. The best-known example
is that of Sei Sho ̄ nagon, a lady of
the Heian-kyo ̄ court. The entries,
which were arranged thematically
rather than in chronological order
by scribes for circulation among the
Japanese court, offer observations
on people and nature, ranging from
caustic wit to appreciation of the
finer things in life. The reader gains
glimpses into the minutiae of court
life, such as flutes, disobedient dogs,
and ladies betting on how long it
would take a mound of snow to melt.MABINOGION
(11TH–14TH CENTURIES)The earliest example of prose
literature in Britain, Mabinogion is
a collection of 11 anonymous Welsh
prose tales, some of which reveal
Celtic and French influences. Its
two source manuscripts date from
the late 14th century. There are
elements of supernatural fantasy,
probably deriving from an ancient
oral storytelling tradition. Diverse in
form and content, some of the tales
feature the legendary king Arthur.
The most sophisticated stories are
the “Four Branches,” which include
giants, magical white horses, and
incest, betrayal, and redemption.CANTAR DE MIO CID
(c.1140)The earliest surviving epic poem
in Spanish literature, Cantar
de Mio Cid (Song/Poem of the56 FURTHER READING
Sei Sho ̄nagon
Diarist-essayist Sei Sho ̄nagon
was born c.966 ce, the daughter
of the scholar and waka poet
Kiyohara Motosuke. She joined
the Japanese court to serve
Empress Teishi (Sadako) in the
city that was later known as
Kyoto. Her The Pillow Book is
an engaging picture of court
life in the Heian dynasty
around 991–1000 ce. Partly due
to her wit and intelligence, she
was disliked by a number of
her contemporaries. Her rivals
included Murasaki Shikibu,
who wrote The Tale of Genji.
After her patroness died, Sei
Sho ̄nagon is reported to have
left the court and married,
becoming a Buddhist monk in
her widowhood. She is thought
to have died around 1025 ce.Key worksc.1000 ce The Pillow Book
(see far right)US_054-057_FR_CH1.indd 56 08/10/2015 13:03