Middle Ages (Medieval)England and literature

1066-1485 AD

Life after the Anglo-Saxon period

• Alfred the Great-an Anglo-Saxon – Defended England against the

Danish Vikings who finally retreated– Beginning of the English Monarchy

• Aethelred II, Harthacnut, Edward the Confessor

• William the Conqueror-king from Normandy who invaded and conquered England in 1066AD– England did not have a central

government– England needed political, social,

and economic structure

Feudalism• A political, social, and economic system• Land ownership in exchange for service and

loyalty • Basis of which upper nobility class maintained

control over the lower classes

Feudalism Pyramid

KING

POWERFULNOBLES (LORDS or BARONS)

LESSER NOBLES(KNIGHTS or VASSALS)

SERFS AND FREEMEN

-Kings owned ALL the land

-Kept 20% for his own purposes

-Granted the rest to the Church

and the Lords

-Nobles and Lords

granted land to

Knights

-Knights granted land

to the peasants

-In return for land, provided food, services, labor

-In return for land, provided protection and military services for the lords

-In return for land, provided the King with more money and knights

Catholicism• The only recognized form of religion was

Christianity in the form of Catholicism• Lives of the people were dominated by religion• Catholic Church had its own laws, lands, and

taxes• Opposition to the Catholic Church would result

in excommunication

Lives of monastery The Pope

BishopArch BishopArch Deacon

AbbotPriorDean

MonksNuns

• Lives of Monks:-Vow of poverty, chastity, obedience -5am-6pm attended religious services

• Lives of Nuns:-Vow of poverty, chastity, obedience -many were placed in nunnery by families-church received a dowry from the parents of a nun

Greed and corruption in church: pardoners

• Pardoner- commoner who worked for the church

• Duties:1. Sell indulgences2. Sell relics3. Preach

• Indulgences-lessen the punishment or “penance” for one’s sins– would eliminate the “debt” of ones sins and

lessen the chances of being stuck in purgatory (afterlife)

• Relics-holy relic is something that belonged to or was touched by Jesus or a saint– bone fragment or a tiny piece of the cross

The seven deadly sins

1. Pride

2. Lust

3. Gluttony

4. Avarice

5. Envy

6. Wrath

7. Sloth

Knighthood and chivalry• Duty: to fight and so serve their liege Lord according to the

Code of Chivalry• Years of training

– PageSquire KNIGHT• Cody of Chivalry: moral system which went beyond rules of

combat and introduced the concept of chivalrous conduct – bravery, courtesy, honor and great gallantry toward women

Courtly love• Romance, rules, and art of Medieval Courtly Love allowed

knights and ladies to show their admiration regardless of their marital state

• Common occurrence for a married lady to give a token to a knight of her choice to be worn during a Medieval tournament

Women in the middle ages• Common women

– Totally dominated by the male members of their family

• Noblewomen– The education concentrated on

the practical as opposed to academic

– Manners and etiquette– high ranking young women would

take on the role of ladies-in-waiting and were taught French

– Young noble women would also be taught the principles of the courtly love

• Cult of the Virgin

Bubonic plaque• Black Death • Killed 33% to 50% of Europe’s population (25 million)• Disease was carried in fleas on rats• Rats followed Mongolian armies from Asia to Constantinople and

on to ships bound for the Mediterranean Sea• From there they traveled across trade routes to England (and

western Europe)• Spread through cities

Geoffrey Chaucer• Wrote The Canterbury Tales in years 1387-

1400– One of the greatest literary works in the English

language• Diplomatic travel experience that inspired

him

Middle English Language• Closer to English today• Spelling has not been formalized in a

systematic way