Transcript The Middle Ages in Britain

The Middle Ages in
Britain
1066-1485
What ended the Anglo-Saxon
period?
 The
Battle of Hastings took place in
October of 1066 with the Normans
defeating the Anglo-Saxons.
 William the Conqueror was the
leader of the Normans
The New Government: Feudalism
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It was a hierarchy based on a religious concept, with God
as the ruler.
The three main tiers were the lords (or barons), the vassals
(or yeomen), and the serfs (or peasants).
The king owned the land, but he divided it between the
barons and the church.
The lords lived in manors and had their own soldiers called
knights. They agreed to pay taxes and fight for the king.
The vassals were farmers who had to do work for the lords
on their land.
The serfs were owned by the lords and had to provide food
in exchange for their security. They were bound to the land
they worked.
Important Events of the Middle Ages
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The Christian church became rich and powerful
under the Normans.
The Crusades: wars begun between the
Christians and the Arabs over holy places.
Magna Carta (signed 1215):limited the power of
the king/ the starting point for democracy
Hundred Years War: England and France fighting
over land/ English lost most of its land in France
Black Death: disease carried by rats that
destroyed about 1/3 of Britain’s population
Chivalry in Medieval Times
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Chivalry was a “system of ideals and social codes
governing the behavior of knights and
gentlewomen” (Elements of Literature 81).
Some of the commandments of chivalry were
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Defend the church
Respect all weaknesses
Love thy country
Do not show weakness to an enemy
Perform thy feudal duties
Never lie and remain faithful
Be generous
(www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/chivalry.html)
Courtly Love
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Courtly love had very little to do with romance
It is based on the feudal relationship between a
knight and his lord.
It began to be called “love” because it came to
mean that the knight serves his woman with the
same obedience and loyalty as he would his lord.
The knight’s love for his lady inspires him to do
great deeds.
Courtly love was considered an idealized
relationship that couldn’t really exist in “real life.”
Geoffrey Chaucer
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Born in London circa 1343
Spoke the language of the common people- their
vernacular, which included slang
After fighting in the Hundred Years War, he
became a member of Parliament.
Died circa 1400- left no will and suspected to
have been murdered
Buried in the poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey
The Canterbury Tales: Chaucer’s Most
Famous Work
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Written between 1387 and 1400
Uses iambic pentameter throughout: 5 sets of
syllables in an unstressed/stressed pattern
Uses rhyming couplets
The story is about a group of pilgrims taking a
pilgrimage to Canterbury to see the shrine of St.
Thomas a Becket (pilgrimage: a religious journey
made to a shrine or holy place)
The distance from Southwark to Canterbury
would have been about 55 miles.
Tales, cont.
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The narrator (some believe this narrator is
Chaucer himself) starts out at the Tabard Inn in
Southwark (near London), where he meets 29
other pilgrims.
The Prologue to the Tales introduces all of the
pilgrims
This piece of writing is considered a quest
narrative- the characters have a specific goal of
fame, spiritual enlightenment, or knowledge.
It’s also a frame story- a story that includes any
number of different narratives within it
WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL
WORLD OF CHAUCER AND THE
MIDDLE AGES!