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With elves, giants and magic, the Medieval Texts Reading Group builds community one whimsical text at a time.

Revived this quarter after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Medieval Texts Reading Group is a collaboration between UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies and the Department of English. The co-organizers – CMRS-CEGS postdoctoral fellow Basil Arnould Price, assistant professor of English Erica Weaver and associate professor Matthew Fisher – hope to share a love of bizarre historical writing. Born anew, the Medieval Texts Reading Group will explore transtemporal themes and global narratives.

“Even though it (medieval literature) might have been produced thousands of miles away, a thousand years ago in a completely different context, it has a lot to offer to us,” Weaver said.

For many individuals, medieval texts seem daunting. Students may be dismayed by a lack of relatability to the texts or simply the chaos of their everyday schedules, Weaver added. However, Weaver said the organizers encourage individuals of all backgrounds to attend the meeting, stressing that one does not even need to define the Middle Ages to delight in the texts. Price added that the group encourages individuals of diverse backgrounds to attend and simply share an enthusiasm for medieval texts and languages. Fisher said a majority of his students dread reading early literature, believing that the messages and themes will not resonate or be recognizable.

“Medieval texts are weird, right? They’re weird and bizarre and a lot of fun,” Fisher said. “Anytime you read something for the first time, we’re all on the same level of ignorance. With that as a shared starting point, that ignorance isn’t embarrassing or shameful, but ignorance can be really empowering as a starting point. That’s how I think we want to approach this.”

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Pictured above is a medieval painting with associate English professor Matthew Fisher, assistant English professor Erica Weaver and CMRS Center for Early Global Studies postdoctoral fellow Basil Arnould Price (from top to bottom) on the right side of the photo. The three lead a reading group that meets the third Friday of every quarter to discuss a medieval text. (Courtesy of Matthew Fisher, Erica Weaver and Basil Arnould Price).