Anglo Norman Poetry

8/10/2019 Anglo Norman Poetry

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Anglo-Norman

Poetry


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Middle Ages Overview

Wars: Norman conquest

People & Society: Feudal system

Religion: Catholic Church Architecture & Tools: cathedrals & castles

Arts & Entertainment: tapestries & literature

Language: Middle English


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The Norman Conquest

Middle Ages dates from about1066 to 1450

Started in 1066 with theNorman Conquest

William the Conqueror, Dukeof Normandy (which is nowFrance) conquered Harold, theking of England

The Norman kings spent muchof their time in France andother parts of Europe,managing England from afar


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Feudal System

In 1066, after the war, Williamcreated a great shift in landownership.

He deeded large plots of land to

those who fought faithfully withhim in battle.

Nobody owned the landindependentlyonly as a vassalof an overlord (some great noble

or the king)

These landlords essentially paidrent to the overlords throughmilitary service.


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Feudal System

Most people lived on the

manorsmall communities

consisting of a castle, church,

village and surrounding farmland

They first farmed and then

herded sheep for wool

Later on, merchants arose and

formed guilds (societies to

regulate prices and standards)


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The Church

The Catholic Church reigned

supreme

People were unified by having

them share religious beliefs

everyone belonged to theChristian community

The church was the main

center for learning and the

arts


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Architecture

With the prosperity of the

people, English turned to

the building of large

cathedrals

Some took hundreds ofyears to build

Yorkminster began in 1070

and was finished in 1472!

Guilds were founded forthe workers (stone cutters,

masons, carpenters, etc.)


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Arts & Literature

The Anglo-Normans during

the Middle Ages were

artistic

Created beautifultapestries

Monks created illustrated

manuscripts

They loved songs, ballads,and romantic literature


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Language

The language spoken during this time is

known as Middle English

It is closer to our Modern English than wasthe Anglo-Saxon Old English

Some of the variety and complexity of Old

English was lostthe language became

simplified

The Norman Conquest also introduced

French vocabulary into the language


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The Anglo-Norman Period (1066-

1350) England started being invaded by the Germanic

Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Anglo-Saxons

themselves were invaded by the Danes in the 10thcentury.

Thus for nearly a thousand years, England had no

national unity, but was a country of many smallkingdoms, and recurrent battles. But in 1066, a

final and decisive conquest put an end to all that.


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The Norman Conquest:

The French-speaking Normans under Duke

William came in 1066. After defeating theEnglish at Hastings, William was crowned asKing of England. It was called the NormanConquest.

William the Conqueror ruled England with ahigh hand. He confiscated the lands of theEnglish lords and, regarding whole England ashis own. bestowed large patches of land to hisNorman barons. The Norman barons in turn

divided their lands among their own knights.The Norman Conquest marks the established offeudalism in England.


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The Doomsday Book

his new acquisition, England,

William the Conqueror made a

vast inventory of all property inEngland called the Doomsday

Book.


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Bayeux Tapestry

The famous Bayeux

Tapestry narrating the

Battle of Hastings and

Williams Conquest of

England.


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Unlike the Anglo-

Saxons who built

wooden mead-halls,

the Anglo-

Normans built

stone castles


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William the Conqueror took the lands of

most Anglo-Saxon kings and thegns, and

he gave them to Norman noble warriorswho helped him in his conquest. Thus

feudalism came to England.

Thus the ordinary Anglo-Saxon people,

the ceorls, villagers, became villeinssubjected to a lord who had every right

over them.

The Norman lords built manors (castles)

and lived in them.


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The Anglo-Norman brought with them

the concept of courtly life style and

etiquette,

romance literature,

the concept of chivalry,

and courtly love.


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Stages of Courtly Love

Attraction to the lady, usually via eyes/glance

Worship of the lady from afar

Declaration of passionate devotion

Virtuous rejection by the lady

Renewed wooing with oaths of virtue and eternal fealty

Moans of approaching death from unsatisfied desire

(and other physical manifestations of lovesickness)

Heroic deeds of valor which win the lady's heart

Consummation of the secret love

Endless adventures and subterfuges avoiding detection


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Chivalric Code

Fight fairly

Show mercy to a defeated knight

Be religious

Dedicate all warlike actions with prayer

Obey noblemen

Be polite to a lady and defend her

Be well-mannered and brave

Rescue ladies in distress


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The Influence of the Norman Conquest on theEnglish Language

After the Norman Conquest, the general relation of Normans and

Saxons was that of master and servant. The Norman lords spoke

French, while their English subjects retained their old tongue: For

a long time the scholar wrote in Latin and the courtier in French.There was almost no written literature in English for a time,

Chronicles and religious poems were in Latin. Romances, the

prominent kind of literature in the Anglo-Norman period, were at

first all in French.


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By the end of the fourteenth century, when Normans and English

intermingled, English was once more the dominant speech in the

country. But now it became something different from the old

Anglo-Saxon. The structure of the language remained English,and the common words were almost all retained, though often

somewhat modified in form. But many terms employed by the

Normans were adopted into the English language. The situation is

typified by the use of the English "calf", "swine" and "sheep for

the animals when tended by the Saxon herdsmen, and of the

French "veal", "pork" and "mutton" for the flesh served at thenoble's table.


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Ballad

A narrative poem written in four-

line stanzas, characterized by swift

action and narrated in a directstyle. Two forms: the folk ballad

and the literary ballad


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The Folk Ballad

The anonymous folk ballad (or

popular ballad), was composed to

be sung. It was passed along orallyfrom singer to singer, from

generation to generation, and from

one region to another. During this

progression a particular balladwould undergo many changes in

both words and tune.


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Primarily based on an older legend or romance, this

type of ballad is usually a short, simple song thattells a dramatic story through dialogue and action,

briefly alluding to what has gone before and

devoting little attention to depth of character,

setting, or moral commentary. It uses simplelanguage, an economy of words, dramatic contrasts,

and frequently refrain.


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The Literary Ballad

The literary ballad is a narrative poem createdby a poet in imitation of the old anonymous

folk ballad. Usually the literary ballad is more

elaborate and complex; the poet may retain

only some of the devices and conventions ofthe older verse narrative. Literary ballads

were quite popular in England during the 19th

cent. Literary ballads are meant to be read

rather than sung.


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Romance

Romance meant:

The French vernacularlanguage of the middle ages.

Poetry in this language.

Narratives about adventure andlove.


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The Romance

I. The Content of Romance:

The most prevailing kind of literature in feudal Englandwas the romance. It was a long composition, sometimesin verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life andadventures of a noble hero. The central character ofromances was the knight, a man of noble birth skilledin the use of weapons. He was commonly described asriding forth to seek adventures, taking part intournaments, or fighting for his lord in battle. He wasdevoted to the church and the king. The code of

manners and morals of a knight is known as chivalry.One who wanted to be a knight should serve anapprenticeship as a squire until he was admitted to theknighthood with solemn ceremony and the swearing ofoaths.


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II. The Romance Cycles:The great majority of theromances fall into groups or cycles, as the" matters ofBritain" (adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of

the Round Table), and the "matters of France(Emperor Charlemagne and his peers), and thematters of Rome" (Alexander the Great and so forth).The romance of King Arthur is comparatively the moreimportant for the history of English literature. It has itsorigin in Celtic legends, its beginning in Geoffrey ofMonmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain" andLayamon's "Brut , its culmination in Sir Gawain andthe Green Knight", and its summing up in ThomasMalorys "Mort DArthur"(in English prose).

The theme of loyalty to king and lord wasrepeatedly emphasized in romances. The romances hadnothing to do with the common people. They werecomposed for the noble, of the noble, and in mostcases by the poets patronized by the noble.


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However, the heroic adventures of the Matters

of Britain were carried out for adventures

sake than a truly worthy cause, and in thissense they fall short of a poem like Beowulf

where the heroic deeds were performed to help

the heros kinsfolk out of their distress or to

protect them from disaster.

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Anglo Norman Poetry

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