Transcript THE MIDDLE AGES

MIDDLE ENGLISH
SOCIETY, HISTORY AND
LITERATURE
THE ORIGINS
THE DARK AGES
Anglo Saxon /
Old _English
700
Iberians
Celts
43-409 A. C.
Romans
449
THE MIDDLE AGES
INVASIONS:
Jutes from
Denmark,
Angles, Saxons
from Northern
Germany
Celtic people
escape to
Cornwall, Wales
and Scotland
EPIC POEM
11th
THE MIDDLE AGES
century
1485
Anglo Norman /
Middle _English
1485
597
TUDORS
1154-1399
A.D.
begin
Saint
Battle of PLANTAGENETS: to rule over
Augustine’s Hastings: •Baronial revolts
England
mission.
the
•Magna Charta
Christianity Normans •The Parliament 1399-1485
spreads
invade
The wars of
•The hundred
throughout England
the roses
years war
England
•Peasants revolt
10661154
A.D.
DRAMA
FEUDALISM
POETRY
NARRATIVE
POEM
FEUDALISM
It was a method of organizing society introduced in England by Normans in 1066
The term derives from the French word “feu”= “fee” and means:
LAND HELD IN EXCHANGE FOR DUTY OR SERVICE TO A LORD
•The KING was THE OWNER OF ALL LAND
•Other noblemen, called VASSALS, held a portion of the land IN RETURN FOR
GOODS AND SERVICES especially MILITARY SERVICE UP TO 40 DAYS a year
•The chief vassals, called BARONS, in turn, created other vassals, the KNIGHTS and
VILLAINS OWING SERVICE TO THEM
•VILLAINS were FREE BUT ATTACHED ON THE LAND on which they were born
•VILLAINS’ (or PEASANTS) service was in the form of work on the lord’s farm
•KNIGHTS gave military service to their lord in exchange for his land
•SERFS were almost slaves
•HOMAGE was the promise that all men had to do to their lord kneeling before him
with their hands between those of the lord
•BARONS lived in MANORS retaining some ARABLE LAND for themselves (their
DEMESNE)
•Strips of the remaining land were allocated to the peasants
•Meadows and waste lands were common to all and formed the so called
COMMON FIELDS that were used for pasture
Serfdom in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages in Europe,
which historians date from about
the 5th century to the 15th century
AD, peasants became legally
bound to live and work in one
place in servitude to wealthy
landowners. In return for working
the land of the owner, known as
the lord, these peasants, called
serfs, received a crude house, a
small adjoining plot of ground, a
share of the surrounding fields,
some farm animals, and protection
from outlaws and other lords. The
serf gave part of his own crop to
the lord as payment of rent and
was subject to many other
payment obligations and taxes.
Serfdom differed from slavery
because serfs had the right to own
property, could not be sold, and
could theoretically purchase their
freedom from their lords.
Feudal Manor
Cultivation
During the feudal
period, people
lived in selfcontained
communities,
producing their
own food and
clothing. A typical
English manor
used a three-field
system of
cultivation, with
each section
divided into
individual strips.
In this system,
the uses of the
sections were
rotated
periodically, with
one field resting,
or lying fallow
each time, so that
the land did not
become nutrient
poor.
NORMAN KINGS 1066 – 1154
•William I
1066-1087
•William II
1087-1100
•Henry I
1100-1135
•Stephen
1135-1154
•The feudal system was introduced
•Important administrative and judicial reforms were
made
•Barons and knights acquired great importance
•Domsday book
•The relationship with the Church was business-like
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
Henry I’s daughter, Matilda, married
Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou who
became king as Henry II
He restored order, brought stability
reducing the power of the barons and of
the Church:
•professional soldiers (scutage tax)
•Travelling judges to hold assizes or
courts according to Common Law
•Trial by jury instead of trial by ordeal
•Constitution of Clarendon (1164)
(bishops investing, clergymen trial)
•T. Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,
murdered in 1170
•Third Crusade
•Magna Charta
•Baronial revolts
•The rise of Parliament
•Chivalry
•Hundred years war (1337-1453)
•Lollardy
•Polltax
•Peasants' revolt 1381
•HOUSE OF LANCASTER 1399- 1485
•Henry IV
1399-1413
•Henry V
1413-1422
•Henry VI
1422-1461
•Hundred years war (Agincourt 1415)
•Joan of Arc
•Eaton, Cambridge
•Wars of the Roses
•Wars of the Roses and the end of
Feudalism
•HOUSE OF YORK 1461 - 1485
•Edward IV
1461-1483
•Edward V
1483
•Richard III
1483-1485
NORMAN KINGS 1066 – 1154
•William I
1066-1087
•William II
1087-1100
•Henry I
1100-1135
•Stephen
1135-1154
•The gap between the
conquered Anglo-Saxons and
the conquering Normans
slowly decreased.
The sign of reconciliation was
the marriage between Henry I
and Edith the offspring of the
Wessex kings
•The feudal system was introduced
•Barons and knights acquired great
importance
•William I sent his men to make a complete
survey of the economic life of the country so
he had information about the levying of a
property tax and a detailed knowledge of the
extent and distribution of his wealth, lands
and revenues (Domsday book)
•For us the Domsday book is very important
in that it affords a comprehensive picture of
the social structure of England at that time
•The relationship with the Church was
business-like
•William paid his annual tax to the Pope
(Peter’s pence)
•He separated the fields of clerical and
lay justice removing religious cases to
special ecclesiastical courts
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
Henry I’s daughter, Matilda, married Geoffrey
Plantagenet of Anjou who became king as
Henry II
Restored order, brought stability reducing the
power of the barons and of the Church:
•He engaged professional soldiers (scutage
tax)
•He sent Travelling judges to hold assizes or
courts according to Common Law
•Trial by jury was provided instead of trial by
ordeal
•The Constitution of Clarendon was issued
in1164 (The king claimed considerable
authority in investing the bishops. Clergymen
were tried also by a civil court for serious
crimes)
•T. Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,was
murdered in 1170
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
RICHARD I Lion heart
•Third Crusade (1189 - 1192): it had heavy
costs but increased both intellectual and
commercial exchanges with Asia
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
•JOHN (LACKLAND)
•Levied higher taxes to defend his French
possessions. This annoyed
•Barons, Church and merchants who
compelled him to sign the Magna Charta
•MAGNA CHARTA is the first step towards
the constitutional Monarchy as it asserts
kingship checked by acceptance of the
restraint of law
•MAGNA CHARTA
“…No taxes shall be demanded in our realm
without the consent of the great council […]
No free man shall be arrested, put in prison
or lose his property, or be outlawed or
banished, or harmed in any way […] unless
he has been judged by his equals under the
law of the land
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
Henry III became king at the age of 9 and
Britain was governed by a group of barons
until he grew up.
Starting in 1158 Simon De Montfort, Earl of
Leicester, led a baronial revolt against the
king to create a structure of permanent
control over the king’s policy.
In 1256 he called a Parliament (barons,
Knights and, FOR THE FIRST TIME, 2
REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH
“BOROUGH OR TOWN
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
EDWARD I in 1295 called the Model
Parliament (representatives of the barons,
the clergy, two knights from each county
and two citizens from each town)
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
EDWARD III
•Since in the Middle Ages success in battle was the principal source for the power of
the king, he introduced the idea of chivalry a name given to a set of values (bravery,
loyalty, honesty, and glory) which the perfect knight had to respect (cycle of Arthurian
legends)
He also founded the “Order of Garter” (24 knights)
•In 1337 he laid claim to the Crown of France on the grounds that his mother was the
French king’s sister (Philip VI Valois) starting so the HUNDRED YEARS WAR 13371453.
The real reason for the Hundred years war was that the French were threatening
Flanders, the chief market for English wood.
This war received a severe check for the
•BLACK DEATH 1348 (bubonic plague) which carried off a third of population
•LOLLARDY (J.WYCLIFFE) spread over. It was a religious reformist movement which
attacked the power and worldliness of Church
•HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 1154-1399
•Henry II
1154-1189
•Richard I (Lion heart) 1189-1199
•John(Lack land)
1199-1216
•Henry III
1216-1272
•Edward I
1272-1307
•Edward II
1307-1327
•Edward III
1327-1377
•Richard II
1377-1399
RICHARD II was only 10 when he became king and a council of noblemen governed
the kingdom. The first Parliament of the reign decided to levy a
Polltax (4 pence from each lay person of either sex over 14 except for beggars and 12
pence from all members of the religious orders) It was the first time that a government
tax had fallen equally on the mass of the population rather than on the richer part. This
created great discontent which together with
•The results of Black Death upon the economy and the labourers
•The feudal pressure in a society with new bourgeois elements
•Ecclesiastic wealth. Worldliness and abuse of power
brought to a PEASANTS’ REVOLT 1381
Having no children, Richard was compelled by his barons to abdicate and his cousin,
the Duke of Lancaster, became King as Henry VI
•HOUSE OF LANCASTER 1399- 1485
•Henry IV
1399-1413
•Henry V
1413-1422
•Henry VI
1422-1461
•HENRY V’s main interest was fighting so he
resumed the Hundred years war and led
England to the victory of Agincourt (1415)
•HENRY VI was book-loving and he founded the 2 colleges at Eton and
Cambridge
•The wave of French patriotism revived with Joan of Arc (1412-1431) and
English were forced to withdraw to Calais
•Te Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) started between the 2 rival families of
Lancaster and York
•In 1461 Henry was confined to the Tower by the son of the Duke of York
who seized the throne as Edward IV
•HOUSE OF YORK 1461 - 1485
•Edward IV
1461-1483
•Edward V
1483
•Richard III
1483-1485
Edward IV and V were imprisoned in the
Tower by their uncle Richard Duke of
Gloucester
•Richard III was disliked both by the
Lancastrians and the Yorkists as he was
suspected for the murder of his nephews
•Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, leader of
the Lancastrians, raised an army and
defeated Richard.
•He sized the throne as Henry VII Tudor
•The Wars of the Roses stuck a heavy blow
to the power of the barons as many of the
oldest and strongest families were wiped
out and the ideas of chivalry and feudal
service faded into the past
ENGLISH SOCIETY IN THE 14th AND 15th CENTURIES
NEW PHASE OF THE MIDDLE AGES WITH A HIGHER LIVING STANDARD
14th CENTURY
PRINCIPAL FACTORS:
•WAR
•RISE OF MERCHANTS:
•ENCLOSURES
•RISE OF MINOR
ARISTOCRACY
•FORMATION OF THE
“GENTRY”
•BIRTH OF YEOMEN
RISE OF MERCHANTS:
•Counsellors of the king upon whom land, titles
and power were conferred thing that led to the
creation of a mercantile nobility
ENCLOSURES
•the system of open fields was breaking
down and farmers were enclosing more
and more fields with edges
The new middle classes, rural and urban,
appeared upon the political, economic, social,
religious, and literary scenes
WAR offered the middle levels of nobility the
opportunity to make fortunes
•Any king who refused to go to war against
France or to organize crusades would lose
prestige
•The king needed barons’ armies
•The king had to turn to merchant financiers in
order to get more money to wage war
•RISE OF MINOR
ARISTOCRACY
•“GENTRY”(free
landholders)(called
Franklins)
ENGLISH SOCIETY IN THE 14th AND 15th CENTURIES
NEW PHASE OF THE MIDDLE AGES WITH A HIGHER LIVING STANDARD
14th CENTURY
PRINCIPAL FACTORS:
•WAR
•RISE OF MERCHANTS:
•ENCLOSURES
•RISE OF MINOR
ARISTOCRACY
•FORMATION OF THE
“GENTRY”
•BIRTH OF YEOMEN
The new middle classes, rural and urban,
appeared upon the political, economic, social,
religious, and literary scenes
In 1477 WILLIAM CAXTON SET UP THE
FIRST ENGLISH PRINTING PRESS
•In a short time England would be
exposed to the ferment of ideas of
Italian Renaissance
ANTICLERICALISM
•Slackness of monastic orders
•Feudal monasteries lent money at interest and warded
orphans to their own advantage
•Wealth and inconsistent behaviour of Clergy
•Lollardy (J. Wycliffe)
•
•GUILDS were associations of artisans that
controlled:
•Quality of goods
•Prices
•Wages
•Rules concerning apprenticeship
They organised also fairs
•
Prepared biblical plays to be
performed
GUILDS DEVELOPPED INTO TRADING
COMPABIES
•YEOMEN: peasant artisans and tradesmen
who lived near or near the town and worked the
land and, at the same time, sold the objects he
made with his hands.
•They used the money made in trade to enlarge
their holdings in lands so that they became
members of the gentry
CULTURAL CONTEXT IN THE 14th AND 15th CENTURIES
NORMAN CONQUEST
1066
FRANCE as outside dominant
outside influence for at least 4
centuries
MAIN CONSEQUENCES:
•Language
•Chivalry
•Romances of chivalry and
love
•Poetry
CHURCH:
•Preservation and transmission of
culture
•Monasteries as centres of learning
and arts
•Great cathedrals (Winchester,
Lincoln, Durham, Salisbury,
Canterbury, Gloucester) as centres
of the communal life of the city
INVASION AND FUSION PROCESS
CHIVALRY and a new code of
conduct
True courtesy
OLD PAGAN VALUES:
•Honour
•Valour
•Generosity
•Physical strength
•Truth
ROMANCES of chivalry and love
•Knight
•His lord’s wife or a noblewoman
•Unhappy love
•Faithfulness
•Noble deeds inspired by love
POPULAR TRADITION:
•mystery, morality plays
•ballads, carols
BRITISH ART:
•illuminated manuscripts
•religious architecture (Norman and Gothic
cathedrals)
•Music (Chapel Royal, John Dunstable)
1066 - 1485
Anglo Norman Period: principal focuses
•1 - The MONARCHY, starting from Henry II (1154-1189) tries to build up a
system of administrative control over the kingdom and establish a centralised
judicial organization
•Professional soldiers and reduction of power of the barons.
•Scutage tax instead of service for kings
•Travelling judjes and Common law (custom, comparisons, previous cases
and decisions)
•Trial by jury instead of trial by ordeal. Reduction of the power of the Church
•Constitution of Clarendon 1164 (the king claims considerable authority in
investing the Bishops)
•Edward III (1327- 1377) introduces the idea of CHIVALRY. The order of the
GARTER is founded
•Richard II ( 1377-1399) POLLTAX (4 pence from each lay person of either
sex over 14 except for beggars and 12 pence from all members of the
religious orders except mendicant friars). The earnings from this tax were
used to pay the debts deriving from the war against France and to reinforce
the navy
1066 - 1485
Anglo Norman Period: Principal focuses
•2 -The CHURCH acquires a new strength and controls money, land and men
•Bishops represent Pope but are also great landowners
•Period of conflict between State and Church over spheres of power
•Lay investiture
•Ecclesiastical office
•Ecclesiastical privileges in the courts of justice (Constitution of Clarendon
1164)
•T. Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered in 1170
•3 - The BARONS, allied with the church and then with the rising merchant class,
try and succeed in asserting their rights with respect to the power of the King
•1215 Magna Charta, the first step towards Constitutional Monarchy
•1258 baronial revolt to create a structure of permanent control over the
king’s policy
•De Montfort earl of Leicester calls the first meeting of the Parliament
(barons, knights and 2 representatives from each town)
•1295 Model Parliament is called by Edward I (representatives of the barons,
the clergy, two knights from each county and two citizens from each town)
1066-1485
Anglo Norman Period and Christianity
•Preservation and transmission of culture
•Monasteries as centres of learning and of arts
•Great cathedrals (Winchester, Salisbury, Canterbury, Gloucester….) as
centres of communal life of the city
MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100-1450)
RULING CLASSES AND
ARISTORCRACY:
NORMAN-FRENCH
CONQUERED:
ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE
For 2 centuries after the
conquest
CHURCH, SCHOLARS:
LATIN
Vocabulary was enriched with
new words borrowed directly
from FRENCH
•Warfare
•Hunting
•Falconry
•Law
•Science
•courtesy
NORTHERN
Middle English lost
almost all of the
Anglo Saxons
inflections. Of the
old noun
declensions
remained:
•The “s” ending
for the plural of
the nouns
•Genitive singular
•The definite article
“the” and adjectives
became indeclinable
•The “to” form for
infinitives started to
be used
By the 14th century Middle
English was used in:
MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100-1450)
Schools
Law courts
G. Chaucer used Middle
English for his Canterbury
Tales so gaining the name of
father of the English
language
Middle English lost
almost all of the
Anglo Saxons
inflections. Of the
old noun
declensions
remained:
•The “s” ending
for the plural of
the nouns
•Genitive singular
•The definite article
“the” and adjectives
became indeclinable
•The “to” form for
infinitives started to
be used
MIDDLE ENGLISH was
a uniform language and
its dialects were divided
into four groups
NORTHERN
WEST MIDLAND
SOUTHERN
EAST MIDLAND
This group became the most
important and it was called
“king’s English” as it was spoken
in a vast area including London
449 - 1066
Anglo Saxon Period and Christianity
•Fusion into a single native tradition of two alien imported components:
the language, literary forms and arts of North Germany and the moral
values and classical literary influences of Rome
•Written documents
culture
mixing of Christian trends and Germanic
•Great wealth of Latin words enrich Old English
•Some old words are given new meanings
1066-1485
Anglo Norman Period and Christianity
•Preservation and transmission of culture
•Monasteries as centres of learning and of arts
•Great cathedrals (Winchester, Salisbury, Canterbury, Gloucester….) as
centres of communal life of the city
1066 - 1485
Anglo Norman Period
Middle English
•OCT. 1066 BATLE OF HASTINGS: THE NORMANS INVADE ENGLAND
•WILLIAM I THE CONQUEROR 1066 - 1087
•survey of the economic life of the country: Doomsday Book
•English common law (separation of the fields of clerical and lay justice)
•HENRY II(King of England and Western France) 1154 - 1189
•Professional soldiers and reduction of power of the barons. Scutage
tax.Travelling judges and Common law (custom, comparisons, previous cases
and decisions)Trial by jury.
•Reduction of the power of the Church. Henry's Chancellor, THOMAS BECKET
(1118- 1170), became archbishop of Canterbury Becket defends the interests of
the Church and opposes the King refusing to comply with the Constitutions of
Clarendon (1164). In 1170 Becket is murdered at Canterbury
•RICHARD I THE LIONHEART 1189 - 1199
•THIRD CRUSADE (1189 - 1192)
1066 - 1485
Anglo Norman Period
Middle English
•JOHN LACKLAND 1199 - 1216
•Heavy taxes to defend French possessions
•1215 MAGNA CHARTA: kingship checked by acceptance of the restraint of law
(first step towards the constitutional Monarchy)
•Simon De Montfort Earl of Leicester in 1258 led a baronial revolt to create a
structure of permanent control over the King's policy
•In 1265 De Montfort called the Ist meeting of the parliament (barons, knights and
2 representatives from each town)
•1295 Model Parliament (representatives of the barons, the clergy, two knights
from each county and two citizens from each town)
•EDWARD III 1327 - 1377
•The idea of CHIVALRY is introduced. The order of the GARTER is founded
•1337-1453 HUNDRED YEARS WAR between England and France for French
possessions
•1348 THE BLACK DEATH (bubonic plague). Religious reformist movement of
LOLLARDY
•RICHARD II 1377 - 1399
1066 - 1485
Anglo Norman Period
Middle English
•POLLTAX (4 pence from each lay person of either sex over 14 except for beggars and
12 pence from all members of the religious orders)
•1381 PEASANTS' REVOLT
•1399 Richard II abdicates forced by his nobles
•HENRY V 1413 - 1422
•1415 Victory of Agincourt in the Hundred Years War
•HENRY VI 1422 – 1461 (Lancaster)
•In the Hundred Years War the wave of French patriotism is revived by JOAN OF ARC
(1412-1431)
•The English withdraw to Calais.
•War of the roses (1455 –1485)
•1461 HENRY VI is confined to the Tower of London
•EDWARD IV 1461 - 1483
•1476 CAXTON starts PRINTING PRESS
•EDWARD V 1483
•Both Edward IV and V were confined to the tower and murdered
•RICHARD III Duke of Gloucester 1483 – 1485 (York)
Middle Ages:
Christianity and culture
•DRAMA develops in this period because it is used to give peasants a religious
education in the mysteries of faith and Bible. It adds a human element to the
religious themes, creates characters corresponding to English social types,
•Liturgical drama: sung dialogues between the celebrants to commemorate
above all Nativity and Resurrection
•Mystery / Miracle plays: in the early 14th century the festival of Corpus Christi is
introduced in the month of June and this kind of “sacre rappresentazioni” develop
from the procession of the Consecrated Host
•These include episodes which include human types easily recognisable by
everyone
•Even the setting may be an English one
•Morality plays (Everyman).
•Here characters are allegorical personifications of abstractions from
theology or symbols of various aspects of human condition: Pride, Envy,
Mankind…
•We have the first pale tentative towards a psychological observation of
characters
•Allegorical tales: aim to make a moral point by tales that aren’t of biblical origin
LONG NARRATIVE EPIC POEM
OLD ENGLISH POETRY
(Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid) “BEOWULF”
•Recollection of a glorious past
•References to historical events
•History as frame of the work
•Canvas as supernatural folk-tales and
mythological events
•Aristocratic, military society
•Fate of a whole people
•Mythical hero and his noble heroic actions
•Praise of the great
•Brave deeds of heroes
•Lament at the death of a hero
•MAIN THEME:
•The nature of heroic life
•The function and character of leadership
in heroic society
•DIDACTIC AIM:
•celebration of the heroic ethic
ALL MEN SHOULD DIRECT
THEMSELVES TO ACTIONS WHICH
LEAD TO GLORY AND PRAISE
ORAL
EPOS = the poets
•Special poetic vocabulary
•Alliteration
•Repetition
•Fixed phrases
•Ornate expressions
COMPOSED BY BARDS OR SCOPS
BARDS OR SCOPS HAD THE FUNCTION OF
•Entertaining the audience
•Historians of the group
•Objective narration: the poet’s point of view
coincides with that of the characters described
•Nor the poet nor characters criticise the ideals
and the customs of their country
•Initial prologue and beginning in medias res
•Elevated style
•Long majestic speeches
•Rich and various vocabulary
•Detailed descriptions and lists of objects
•Vivid pictorial flashes (banquet, battle, voyage,
funeral
POETRY
TRADITIONAL BALLAD
(13th 14th century)
BALLARE =
TO DANCE
•VERSE
•ORAL ANONYMOUS NARRATIVE
•SONG POEMS
•DANCE •COMPOSED BY COMMON PEOPLE
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry 1765
FOR A SIMPLE AUDIENCE
•WERE SUNG OR RECITED IN
ALEHOUSES AND AT FAIRS
•Simple instrumental accompaniment
•Simple language
•stanzas of 2 or 4 lines usually rhyming
abcb/ abab
•Repetition of words or lines
•Refrain (repetition of 1 ore more lines)
•Alliteration
•BALLADS OF MAGIC:
•fairies, ghosts, witchcrafts and
transformation
•BORDER BALLADS:
•Rivalry between the English and the Scottish
people
•BALLADS OF LOVE AND DOMESTIC TRAGEDY
•BALLADS OF OUTLAWS
•Cycle of Robin Hood
•MAIN THEMES:
•Narrative as a SEQUENCE OF RAPID FLASHES
•Supernatural, love, war, family tragedies •INCISIVENESS DEPENDS ON THE SELECTION AND
JUXTAPOSITION OF FLASHES
• NO DIDACTIC AIM
BALLADS HAD THE FUNCTION OF
•Entertaining the audience FOCUSING ON
ONE SINGLE SITUATION and treating it
dramatically
•USED A SIMPLE LANGUAGE TO ALLOW
LISTENERS/READERS TO CONCENTRATE
ON THE PLOT
•IMPERSONALITY:
•the storyteller does not intrude his personality
•no moralizing approach
•MIXTURE OF DIALOGUE AND NARRATION
•REAL AND SUPERNATURAL CHARACTERS (speaking
animals and birds, fairies, witches, ghosts)
• NO CLEAR LINE OF DEMARCATION BETWEEN
SUPERNATURAL CREATURES AND ORDINARY
MORTALS
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Beowulf
As a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University,
J.R.R. Tolkien probably taught Beowulf every year of
his working life
His scholarly paper, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the
Critics” brought studies of the poem to the forefront of
the academic world
Tolkien's imagined world of Arda owes something of
it's creation to Beowulf: “Beowulf is among my most
valued sources” (Letters, no.25).
Tolkien used Beowulf in creating his own works and
adopting the good vs. evil archetype. Just as our
modern English language is based on the ancient
English, Tolkien used Old English words in his
creation of names.
Tolkien included almost 50 Anglo-Saxon words or
phrases from Beowulf in his works.
King Arthurian Legend
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Arthurian legend has become the mirror of the ideal of
medieval knighthood and chivalry. Arthur:
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Was the illegitimate son of Uther Pendragon, king of Britain
Became king of Britain by successfully withdrawing a sword from a
stone.
Possessed the miraculous sword Excalibur , given to him by the
mysterious Lady of the Lake .
Arthur's enemies: sister Morgan le Fay and his nephew
Mordred. Morgan le Fay was usually represented as an evil
sorceress, scheming to win Arthur's throne for herself.
Mordred (or Modred) was variously Arthur's nephew or his son
by his sister Morgawse.
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He seized Arthur's throne during the king's absence.
Later he was slain in battle by Arthur, but not before he had fatally
wounded the king.
Most invincible knights in Arthur's realm: Sir Tristram and Sir Launcelot of the Lake.
Sir Gawain, Arthur's nephew, who appeared variously as the ideal of knightly courtesy
and as the bitter enemy of Launcelot.
After 1225 no significant medieval Arthurian literature was produced on the Continent.
In England, however, the legend continued to flourish. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
(c.1370), one of the best Middle English romances, embodies the ideal of chivalric
knighthood.
The last important medieval work dealing with the Arthurian legend is the Morte d'Arthur
of Sir Thomas Malory , whose tales have become the source for most subsequent
Sir Gawain & The Green
Knight (ca 1370)
• This poem tells the story of Gawain, a knight and
member of King Arthur’s Round Table
• A perfect example of the idealism and romanticism
of chivalry
• Plot Overview
– During a New Year’s Eve feast at King
Arthur’s court, a strange figure, referred
to only as the Green Knight, pays the
court an unexpected visit.
• challenges the group’s leader or any other
brave representative to a game: The Green
Knight says that he will allow whomever
accepts the challenge to strike him with his
own axe, on the condition that the challenger
find him in exactly one year to receive a blow
in return.
– Arthur hesitates to respond, but when
the Green Knight mocks Arthur’s silence,
the king steps forward to take the
challenge.
The Canterbury Tales
• Englishman Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The
Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a
frame story, between 1387 and 1400.
• Story about of a group of thirty people who
travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England).
The pilgrims, who come from all layers of
society, tell stories to each other to kill time
while they travel to Canterbury.
• Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should
tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and
two tales on the way back. He never
finished his enormous project and even the
completed tales were not finally revised.
Scholars are uncertain about the order of
the tales. As the printing press had yet to be
invented when Chaucer wrote his works,
The Canterbury Tales has been passed
down in several handwritten manuscripts.
• The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle
English.
http://academics.vmi.edu/english/audio/GP_Hanks.ht
ml
Canterbury Tales
1
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with its sweet-smelling
showers
2 The droghte of March hath perced to the
roote,
Has pierced the drought of March to the
root,
3. And bathed every veyne in swich licour
And bathed every vein (of the plants) in
such liquid
4. Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
By the power of which the flower is created;
5.
6.
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
When the West Wind also with its sweet
breath,
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In every holt and heath, has breathed life
into
10
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
eyes
11
Those that sleep all the night with open
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
(So Nature incites them in their hearts),
12 Thanne longen folk to goon on
pilgrimages,
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,
13 And palmeres for to seken straunge
strondes,
And professional pilgrims (long) to
seek foreign shores,
14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry
londes; To (go to) distant shrines, known in
various lands;
15 And specially from every shires ende
And specially from every shire's end
16 Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
Of England to Canterbury they travel,
7. The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
17 The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
8. Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
18 That hem hath holpen whan that they
were seeke.
9. And smale foweles maken melodye,
sick.
The tender crops, and the young sun
Has run its half course in Aries,
And small fowls make melody,
To seek the holy blessed martyr,
Who helped them when they were
The Canterbury Tales
• Chaucer began work on The
Canterbury Tales about 1387
– and intended for each of his thirty
pilgrims to tell four tales, two while
traveling to Canterbury and two
while traveling from Canterbury.
– However, only twenty-three pilgrims
received a story before Chaucer's
death in 1400.
• Chaucer's Tales gained mass
popularity the early fifteenth
century => Chaucer = father of
the English language.
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“ all ofhumanity moves through its pages.”
Presents humor, at once friendly and satirical.
This facsimile is the first
reproduction ever made of this
manuscript, considered a prime
authority for the text of The
Canterbury Tales.
Canterbury Tales
• A rich, tapestry of medieval social life
– combining elements of all classes, from nobles to workers,
from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves.
• When The Canterbury Tales were written:
– Christianity was the dominant social force throughout
western Europe, including England.
– In 1388, while Chaucer was working on the tales, a change
occurred in the way that Christianity was perceived and
practiced when John Wycliffe, an English reformer, released
a version of the Bible translated into English. For the first
time, people from the lower classes, who had not been
educated in Latin, could read the Bible themselves instead of
having its word interpreted to them by members of the
clergy.
Canterbury Tales
•
The General Prologue consists of character sketches of each member of the group that is
going to Canterbury, as described by Chaucer, who is also a character in his own novel.
Any other characters in The Canterbury Tales are created by one of the pilgrims, in stories
within the novel. Therefore, these lesser characters are so numerous, that it is counterproductive to give them a character sketch.
• Since the General Prologue and the main characters overlap
almost completely, the character summaries will be combined
with the General Prologue, but elaborated on by use of other
parts of the text.
• Chaucer: He is a character in his own
novel, and he writes in the first person as
an outside observer traveling with the
pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
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Canterbury Tales- some of the
The Knight: a warrior whocharacters
relies on the code of chivalry.
Represents the romanticized standards of the feudal
system
The Prioress: A nun, named Madame Eglantine. She
makes every effort to be refined and elegant, and she
cannot bear to see any harm come to any of God’s lesser
creatures, like mice. However, when it is her turn to tell a
story, hers is violent and full of blood and sorrow.
The Merchant: The merchant is obsessed with his wealth,
and talks about money constantly.
The Wife of Bath: A well-traveled middle-aged woman who
has been married five times, not counting other lovers she
did not marry. She has a large amount of knowledge from
experience, and when she questions the authority of the
bible, she does it with a very good background from which
to debate it.
Poor Priest: lived truly poor and in the service of God. An
example of how a traditional priest should live in Chaucer’s
time, following the life of Christ.
The Miller: a large and strong man, and is one of the best
at telling vulgar stories.
The Pardoner: A clergyman who is outwardly corrupt. His
main motivating factor was money, and so if the sinner
Canterbury Tales: The
Retraction
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Chaucer concludes his tales with praise to Jesus Christ. "Now
preye I to hem alle that herkne thai litel tretys or / rede, that if
ther be any thyng in it that liketh hem, that / therof they thanken
oure Lord Jesu Crist, of whom procedeth / al wit and al
goodnesse" (Chaucer's Retraction, l.1-4).
He adds that if anyone does not understand these tales, then it
is due to his ignorance and not his intention, which was to fully
capture the goodness of Christ in tale. He requests pardon
from Christ for any problems there may be with the text.
He hopes to be granted mercy and kindness so that he may
ascend to heaven at his time and concludes the long tales of
Canterbury with this final line: "So that I may been oon of / hem
at the day of doome that shulle be saved. Qui cum patre,
&cetera." Chaucer's Retraction, l.29-30
Why did those pilgrims go to
Canterbury?
• St. Thomas Becket, (c. 1118 – 29 December 1170)
was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170.
• He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the
Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church.
• He engaged in conflict with King Henry II over the
rights and privileges of the Church and was
assassinated by followers of the king in Canterbury
Cathedral.
What caused Becket’s
assassination
• In June 1170, the archbishop of York and the bishops
of London and Salisbury held the coronation of Henry
the Young King in York.
– This was a breach of Canterbury's privilege of coronation, for
which the Pope suspended the three.
– That wasn't enough for Becket:
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in November 1170, he excommunicated all three.
the three bishops fled to the king in Normandy,
Becket continued to excommunicate his opponents in the church.
word of this reached Henry who was in Normandy at the time.
Henry is angry!
• After these latest venomous reports of Becket's activities, Henry
is reported to have raised his head from his sickbed and roared
a lament of frustration. The King's exact words are in doubt, and
several versions have been reported:
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"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?“
"Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?“
"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?“
"Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?“
"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?“
“Will no one revenge me of the injuries I have sustained from one turbulent
priest?“
– "Will none of the knaves eating my bread rid me of this turbulent priest?“
– "What a band of loathsome vipers I have nursed in my bosom who will let
their lord be insulted by this low-born cleric!“
– "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my
household, who let their Lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a
low-born cleric?"
Knights decide to ACT!
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Whatever the King said, it was interpreted as a royal command, and four
knights, Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy, and Richard le
Breton, set out to consult the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On 29 December 1170 they arrived at Canterbury.
According to accounts left by the monk Gervase of Canterbury and eyewitness
Edward Grim, they placed their weapons under a sycamore tree outside the
cathedral and hid their mail armour under cloaks before entering to challenge
Becket.
The knights informed Becket he was to go to Winchester to give an account of
his actions, but Becket refused. It was not until Becket refused their demands to
submit to the king's will that they retrieved their weapons and rushed back inside
for the killing.
Becket, meanwhile, proceeded to the main hall for vespers.
The four knights, carrying naked swords, caught up with him in a spot near a
door to the monastic cloister, the stairs into the crypt, and the stairs leading up
into the quire of the cathedral, where the monks were chanting vespers.
Assassination
Assassination
• Several contemporary accounts of what happened next exist; of
particular note is that of Edward Grim, who was himself
wounded in the attack.
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...The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown
which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a
second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow
he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in
a low voice, 'For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready
to embrace death.' But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay
prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in
such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from
the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with
the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr,
and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements,
crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more.'
Middle Ages: General
Timeline
10951291C.E.
Crusades
1066 C.E.
Norman
invasion of
Britain
450 C.E.
AngloSaxons
invade
England
476 C.E.
Fall of
Rome
306 C.E.
Constantine
comes to
power in
Eastern
Roman
Empire;
beginning of
Byzantine
Empire
Beowulf
Composed
sometime
between
850 C.E.
900 C.E.
1347
Bubonic
Plague
1306-1321
Dante’s Divine
Comedy
1375-1400 Sir
Gawain &
Green Knight
1386 C.E.
Chaucer
begins
writing
Canterbury
Tales
1337-1453
100 Years War
France &
England
1455 C.E.
Printing
Press
1517
Protestant
Reformation
1453
Fall of
Byzantine
Empire with
invasion of
Ottoman
Turks