Caedmon’s Hymn by Caedmon – The oldest known surviving poem written in Old English, most likely transcribed by a monk at a monastery, but created by an illiterate cow-herder named Caedmon. 

http://www.jayleeming.com/uploads/2/3/5/6/23563262/caedmons_hymn.pdf

The Wanderer by Anonymous, a story of a renegade knight, with no lord or kingdom, reflecting on what he has lost and dealing with the ever-approaching, fearsome wyrd (fate). http://www.csun.edu/~sk36711/WWW/258/Wanderer.pdf

The Seaferer by Anonymous, a story of an old sea captain who has fully devoted himself to walking the exile’s path in the name of God; he has fully excepted wyrd (fate) and intends to live a life of bittersweet salvation.

 https://www.mooreschools.com/cms/lib/OK01000367/Centricity/Domain/3069/The%20Seafarer.pdf

When the Nightingale Sings by Anonymous, a short and sweet Old English romance poem about a man who is, quite literally, love sick. This link provides both the Old and Modern English versions. Feel free to compare the two. 

https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2011/04/medieval-love-poem.html 

Bisclavret (The Werewolf) by Marie de France, a medieval short story about a werewolf who remains loyal to his king. The werewolf faces adversity in the form of his wife and her secret admirer, who might have cursed Bisclavret to be a werewolf for eternity. [Link unavailable]

Lanval by Marie de France, a medieval short story about a lonesome knight who falls in love with a fae woman, sparking the jealousy of Queen Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur. https://olli.gmu.edu/docstore/400docs/1703-413-marie_de_france-Lanval.pdf

The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer – one of the many tales from the famous Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Each of the characters within Chaucer’s story tells a tale that gives information based on that person who is chosen to be the designated storyteller. This tale, told by a Pardoner, tells the story of how greeds infatuates a man to such a degree that he might murder his own brothers in cold blood. https://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/cms/lib5/NJ01000127/Centricity/Domain/1108/Canterbury%20Tales%20-%20The%20Pardoners%20Tale.pdf

The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer – probably the most famous segment of The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of Bath, an old spinster who has been married five times, tells a story using Arthurian legends to illustrate what she believes to be the ultimate goal of most women and challenges the status quo of women during the Middle Ages.

https://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/cms/lib5/NJ01000127/Centricity/Domain/1108/Canterbury%20Tales%20-%20The%20Pardoners%20Tale.pdf

The Prioress’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer – another famous tale that challenges the Roman Catholic Church and the antisemitism that was common amongst Englishman around this time, displaying them as fools who believe any dose of propaganda they absorb. https://shortstoryamerica.com/pdf_classics/chaucer_ct_prioress.pdf

The Canterbury Tales Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer – https://www.dvusd.org/cms/lib011/AZ01901092/Centricity/Domain/2891/Canterbury%20Tales%20prologue.pdf

Beowulf by Anonymous – One of the most well-known Anglo-Saxon epics of the Viking hero Beowulf and his fight against the horrid beast, the Grendel, after it ruthlessly and constantly desecrates his meadhall and consumes his brethren. 

https://www.sthelens.k12.or.us/cms/lib05/OR01000906/Centricity/Domain/218/beowulf-translation-by-seamus-heaney.pdf