Transcript Medieval Ages - North Cobb High School Class Websites

Society & Morality
The Middle Ages
1066-1485
Major Historical Events
 Battle of Hastings, 1066
 William the Conqueror defeats King
Harold
 England changes





Language
Emphasis on law & order
Cultural unity
Feudalism
Chivalry
Major Historical Events
 Crusades, 1095 – 1270
 Exposed Europe to



Math
Astronomy
Architecture of the Middle
East
Major Historical Events

First Tudor King, Henry VII, crowned,
1485
Major Historical Events
 Murder in a cathedral: Saint Thomas a Becket




1118-1170
By King Henry’s knights
Pilgrimage to Canterbury
Premise of Chaucer’s work
Major Historical Events
 Magna Carta, 1215
 “The Great Charter”


Purpose: curb
Church’s power
Result: basis for
English
Constitutional law
Major Historical Events
 Hundred Years’ War
(1337-1453)
 First “national war”

England vs. France
 Est. British national
consciousness
Major Historical Events
 The Black Death
(1348 – 1349)



Bubonic plague
Reduced
population by
1/3
Power to the
people
Life in the Middle Ages
 System both of
government and of
landownership.
 Give oath of loyalty,
receive land.
 Nobleman ruled land,
judged legal cases,
imposed taxes, and
maintained an army
Life in the Middle Ages
 Women: No Voice, No Choice


Always subservient to men
Social status = status of
husband or father
Life in the Middle Ages
 Most centers around feudal castle
 Population growth=towns & cities=freedom

Development of city classes




Lower
Middle
Upper-middle
“People’s art”



Ballads
Plays
Cathedrals
Medieval Values
 Code of Chivalry


Adhering to oath of
loyalty
Observing rules of
warfare

http://www.astro.umd.ed
u/~marshall/chivalry.html
Medieval Values
 Courtly Love: Ideal but
Unreal



Achieve selfimprovement
Nonsexual
Promotes bravery
Values

World centered around nobility
Values

Abbey and monastery were center of life
Values

People made pilgrimages to shrines of
martyrs and God
Medieval Literature
 Folk Ballads
 Mystery, Miracle, and
Morality Plays
 Legends
 Romances
 The Canterbury Tales
Medieval Romance
Basic Narrative Pattern
 A quest, in which the hero undertakes a
dangerous journey in search of something of
value
 5 Elements of a Quest
 A quester
 A place to go
 A stated reason to go there
 Challenges and trials
 The real reason to go—always selfknowledge
Elements of Romance
 Unusual or exotic setting
 A near perfect hero
 A test of the hero
 Brave knights
 An evil enemy
 Battles, quests, contests, tests
 Magical or supernatural elements & events
Elements of Romance
 Good vs. Evil
 Female figures who are usually
maidens (beautiful & in need of
rescue), mothers, or crones
 High-born figures, such as kings or
queens
 Themes of love, loyalty, faith, courage
in a blend of realism and fantasy
3 Steps to Becoming a Knight
1. Receiving the Sword
 If a lord or king decides you are worthy to be made a
knight, he will begin by handing you a sword.
2. The All-Night Vigil

You must spend the night before your dubbing
ceremony praying that you will be worthy of the
honor of knighthood.
3. The Dubbing Ceremony
 At the dubbing ceremony, the lord will tap you with
your sword and cry, “Arise, Sir Hector!” You will now
be a knight.
Courtly Love & Knightly Adventure

Some Rules of Courtly Love



He who is not
jealous cannot
love.
Boys do not love
until they reach the
age of maturity.
When one lover
dies, a widowhood
of two years is
required of the
survivor
From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus
Courtly Love & Knightly Adventure
 Some Rules of Courtly Love Con’t . . .



It is not proper to love any
woman whom one would be
ashamed to seek to marry.
A true lover does not desire to
embrace in love anyone
except his beloved.
The easy attainment of love
makes it of little value:
difficulty of attainment makes it
prized.
From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus
Courtly Love & Knightly Adventure
 Some Rules of Courtly Love Con’t . . .




When made public
love rarely endures.
A new love puts an old
one to flight.
Good characters
alone makes any man
worthy of love.
Rich jealousy always
increases the feeling
of love.
From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus
Courtly Love & Knightly Adventure
 Some Rules of Courtly Love Con’t . . .



He whom the thought of love
vexes eats and sleeps very
little.
A true lover considers
nothing good except what he
thinks will please his
beloved.
Nothing forbids one woman
being loved by two men or
one man by two women.
From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus
Ideals of Knightly Conduct
Courage
Loyalty
Courtesy
Code of Chivalry
 Loyalty
 Maintain commitment to
the people and ideals
you choose to live by.
Never compromise.
 Defense
 Stay true to the oath to
defend the liege lord;
seek always to defend
your nation and your
family.
Code of Chivalry
 Prowess

Seek excellence in all
endeavors. Use strength for
justice – not for personal gain.
 Justice

Seek always the path of “right,”
or unencumbered by bias or
personal interest, no matter
what the cost.
Code of Chivalry
 Humility

Do not boast of your own
accomplishments; let others do
this for you. Honor others
before yourself.
 Courage

Be ready to follow the most
difficult paths. Be prepared to
make personal sacrifices in
service of others.
Code of Chivalry
 Faith
 Have faith in your beliefs, for faith
roots you and gives hope against
the despair created by human
failings
 Generosity
 Be generous as much as your
resources allow; generosity in this
way counters gluttony.
 Nobility
 Hold to the virtues and duties of a
knight, realizing the ideals cannot
be reached.
Code of Chivalry
The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry
I. Believe all that the Church teaches, and observe all its
directions.
II. Defend the Church.
III. Respect all weaknesses, and constitute thyself defender of
them.
IV. Love the country in which you were born.
V. Do not recoil before your enemy.
VI. Make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without
mercy.
VII. Perform scrupulously your feudal duties, if they be not
contrary to the laws of God.
VIII. Never lie, and remain faithful to your pledged word.
IX. Be generous, and give largess to everyone.
X. Be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the
Good against Injustice and Evil.
From Chivalry by Leon Gautier
 May be based in fact
 Feature these elements:
 Heroic figures and memorable
deeds
 Quests, contests, or tests
 Patterned events (for instance,
events repeated three times)
 Included:
 Detailed descriptions
 Plot twists
 Sophisticated characterization
King Arthur
 Was King Arthur real?

No one knows, but his name has popped up
since the sixth century, and by the ninth
century, he was a folk hero.
Morte d’Arthur
 Written by Sir Thomas Mallory
 First English prose version of King
Arthur’s life.
 Romance & medieval legend
 King Arthur battles his illegitimate
son, Mordred, loses his knights
and dies himself
 Values

Chivalry, bravery, loyalty, warfare,
honor, conquests, heroism
 Themes

Love, loyalty, betrayal
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
 Romance & medieval legend
 Values
 Heroism, honor, chivalry,
bravery, beauty, honesty, loyalty
 Gawain is Arthur’s loyal
nephew; he is tested by three
challenges

Gawain is admirable, but not
invulnerable