Why studying Classical literature matters to a medievalist

 All medievalists must know the profound influence of classical literature upon the stories and tales written during the Middle Ages. However, reading the literary works from medieval times are sometimes not enough to truly understand Medieval literature. Writings such as Beowulf, The Song of Roland,  The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Romance of the Rose, Le Morte d' Arthur, The Lancelot-Grail Quest, and the Arthurian Romances, along with many other works from the Middle Ages, are necessary for the well rounded reader in order to understand Medieval literature. Still, in many ways, simply reading the writings from the Medieval era are not enough. While the study of medieval history also benefits those that study Medieval literature, those that truly wish to study Medieval literature need to also familiarize themselves with the writers of classical Greco-Roman times. While today we see Dante, Chaucer, and Shakespeare as past writers, those of the medieval and renaissance worlds saw writers such as Horace, Ovid, and Virgil as the writers of their past. Hence, it is quite common to see Dante or Chaucer or Shakespeare refer to the literary works of the ancient world. 

Those that have no knowledge of Classical literature may find it confusing if a medieval writers makes references to an ancient Roman tragedy or compares his own story to The Aeneid or The Metamorphoses by Ovid. Thus, the more medievalists are willing to understand works like the Eclogues and the Georgics by Virgil, the more they will truly understand the literature that they intend to specialize in. Let the words of C. S. Lewis on this matter sink into the aspiring or current medievalist: 

''Thus there are perhaps no sources so necessary for a student of medieval literature to know as the Bible, Virgil, and Ovid, but I shall say nothing of these three here. Many of my readers know them already; those who do not are at least aware that they need to. ''*

I think Lewis is right. Students of Medieval Literature must know the Bible, Virgil, and Ovid. Of course, studying the Bible, Virgil, and Ovid are not enough to understand Medieval literature. But that here is not the point. Reading the Bible, Virgil, and Ovid are a necessary foundation to understanding Medieval literature.  

*The Discarded Image by C. S. Lewis p. 22