Transcript Medieval Ages PowerPoint

CHIVALRY IS DEAD.
The Medieval Age
A Period Defined by Chivalry
The Return of Arthur’s Legend
~Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,
though we’ll cover these later.
The Middle Ages: 1066 – 1500
The Medieval Period
Rise of the Middle
Ages
Decline of the Roman
Empire and AngloSaxon Age
Feudalism
Think of a chess set
Feudalism
Fiefs – land grants
Provide knights in
times of war
Military protection
Fiefs – land grants
service
protection
Based on mutual obligation
Feudalism
Manors
The lords estate –
 The lord
provided the serfs
with housing,
farmland and
protection
 Serfs tended
the lands, cared
for the animals,
maintained the
estate
Feudalism
Manors
Peasants rarely
traveled more than
25 miles from the
manor
Was home to 15
– 30 families
Self-Sufficient
community
 Peasants heavily
taxed, including a
tithe – a church tax
of 1/10 their
income
A violent society
 Nobles constantly fought to:
 Defend estates
 Seize new territories
 Increase wealth
 Kept Europe fragmented
 Glorification of warriors
The Age of Chivalry
 Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded that a knight
fight bravely in defense of three masters
1. His feudal lord
2. His Heavenly Lord
3. His Lady
 Meant to protect the
weak and the poor
The Age of Chivalry
1. Courage
2. Justice
3. Mercy
4. Generosity
5. Faith
6. Nobility
7. Hope
Arthur and his Knights
practiced the Code of Chivalry…
The Age of Chivalry
Sons of nobles began training at an early age for
knighthood
 Page – at about 7 they were sent to another lord
to be trained
 Squire – at about 14 they act as a servant to a
knight
 Knight- at about 21 they become a knight and
gain experience in local wars and tournaments
King Arthur and His Knights
Facts, Fiction, Folktale
• It is a crucial part of both French and English folklore.
Folktales are intended to teach a moral lesson and to
entertain.
• Linked to a historical king from the 5th and 6th
centuries. Many sources have no mention of him.
• One Latin source, Historia Brittonum from the 9th
century, claims Arthur was real and killed 960 men in a
battle called The Battle of Mons Badonicus.
Others Disagree.
Historian David Dumville belives “we can
dispose of him [Arthur] quite briefly. He owes
his place in our history books to a 'no smoke
without fire' school of thought ... The fact of
the matter is that there is no historical evidence
about Arthur; we must reject him from our
histories and, above all, from the titles of our
books."
The Legend Begins…
•Arthur is the son of King Uther
Pendragon and Igrayne, wife of Gorlois,
Duke of Cornwall.
•Merlin the Magician forced the King to
“swear a solemn oath” to allow Merlin to
bring up Arthur as he chose.
•Merlin delivered the newborn
unchristened child to Sir Ector.
•Sir Ector christened the child and raised
him as his own, not knowing he was the
future king.
“Whoso pulleth this sword out of this stone
and anvil is rightly King of all England”
•King Uther died two years
after Arthur’s birth, leaving
England in turmoil – a
country without a king
•Several years passed, until
all the lords of the realm
gathered on Christmas Day
looking for a miracle to show
them who should rightly be
King.
•The “Sword in the Stone”
appeared in the church
courtyard, bearing the
famous inscription.
Who would be King?
•It was decided that a tournament
would be held to determine who
would win the right to pull the sword
out of the stone.
•Sir Ector and his son, Sir Kay,
traveled to the tournament.
•Sir Kay forgot his sword and asked
his younger brother, Arthur to retrieve
it.
•Arthur decided to get the sword that
was in the stone and give it to Sir Kay.
Arthur becomes King
•Sir Ector and Sir Kay both
knelt down to Arthur and told
him of his true identity.
•The Lords were upset
because they did not want a
boy who was not of “high
blood” to govern their country.
•The commoners finally cried
out that Arthur was the rightful
King and should be crowned.
•Arthur swore to his Lords and
Commoners to be a true King,
and to govern with “true
justice.”
The Land Called Camelot
Arthur ruled in peace
for many years…
•Guinevere married Arthur
• Sir Lancelot, son of the Lady
of the Lake, Arthur’s “First
Knight”
•Merlin, wizard and advisor to
the King
•Other Knights of the Round
Table: Sir Gawain, Sir
Galahad, Sir Percivale, Sir
Bedivere
The Tales of King Arthur
•Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
•Le Morte D’Arthur – Sir Thomas
Malory
•The Once and Future King & The
Sword in the Stone – T.H. White
•Camelot, a musical – Alan J.
Lerner & Frederick Loewe
•King Arthur-The Marvel of the
Sword – Mary Macleod
Sources
Haskell, Merrie. “People in Arthurian Legend.” Merrie
Haskell’s King Arthur Page. November 2002.
http://www.personal.umich.edu/>8 June 2004.
Farrell, Scott. “The Seven Knightly Virtues.” Chivalry
Today. 2002 Shining Armor Enterprises.
www.chivalrytoday. 10 June 2004.
Prentice Hall. Literature. Bronze ed. Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey:Prentice Hall, 2000.
Price, Brian. “A Code of Chivarly.” The Knighthood,
Chivalry, and Tournaments Resource Library.
2003. <http:// www. Chronique.com>. 8 June
2004.