The Middle Ages

England: 1066-1500

William the Conqueror

The Battle of Hastings The Bayeux Tapestry How does English life change?

The Feudal System

The Rise of Feudalism

Feudal Life The manor

consisted of the castle, church, village, and surrounding farmland.

Think about the chess board… How does it represent feudal life?

Pawn

KnightKingQueen

BishopRook

Represents

Movement

Number Position

Serfs / peasants

Limited forward / 2 first move,

1 there after

8 Front

Represents

Movement

Number Position

Castle

Horizontally &

vertically / Unlimited

2 Sides

Represents

Movement

Number Position

ChurchDiagonally / Unlimited

2Surround royalty

Represents

Movement

Number Position

QueenAny

direction / unlimited

1 Beside king

Represents

Movement

Number Position

MonarchAny

direction / 11 Center

Represents

Movement

Number Position

Knights “L” / 3 2Protect royalty

The Fe

udal M

anor

“Power and prestige of the noble class based on land (the fief), which supported the lord, his family, and his soldiers.  Landed estate organized as manors; each a self-supporting economic unit; the lord provided the

land and protection; serfs provided the labor.”

The Feudal System

The Distribution of Power

• King• Lords, barons, and

vassals• Knights• Serfs, villains, and

peasants

Where do WOMEN fit?!

The Feudal System

The Magna Carta 1100 CE—Some barons had too

much wealth and could be a serious threat to the king.

Result? Increased pressure by the king upon the barons for funds. Refusal meant imprisonment and even death…

1215 CE—English barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta, which limited the king’s powers of taxation and required trials before punishment.

This is the first time an English monarch came under the control of the law!

ReligionThe Catholic Church was

the only church in Europe, and it had its own hierarchy, code of

laws, and coffers.

HierarchyPope

BishopsParish Priests

Monks and Nuns

Pilgrimages

Cathedrals

Homes

NobilityStructure

RoomsRoof

FloorsWindows

KitchenPantry

PeasantryStructure

RoomsRoof

FloorsWindows

KitchenPantry

Most homes were cold and damp and had very small windows for security purposes.

ClothingPeasantryOuter clothes were almost never laundered and smelled of smoke, but linen undergarments were washed regularly.

Most wore woolen outer garments with linen undergarments.

NobilityClothing is fashionable with

brighter colors, better materials, and longer jackets.

ClergyClothing consisted of woolen

habits dyed particular colors to designate religious orders.

Other Aspects of Medieval Life

Health Treatments

Mainly herbal No antibiotics Disease Relief

The Humors 4 humors 4 elements 4 body fluids

Bloodletting

Arts & Entertainment

Originated in church Drama grows out of

the liturgy.

Town Life New towns New class of people First companies

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

By the Pearl Poet

SGGK: Background & Style SGGK Streaming Video

Original manuscript of this poem is unique – only ONE (never was well-known – hardly read at all between 1400 and 1839)

  Written in a style very similar to Beowulf

Heavy 4 beat line Alliteration Rhyme Native English vocab. – from area of Midlands – south of

Chester – near modern-day Liverpool. Dialect is very difficult for us today and probably was very difficult for Londoners of that day. (Obscurity of dialect helped keep poem unknown)

SGGK: Background & Style

Poem shows religious tendencies – we assume that the Pearl Poet was a cleric – specific name of author is unknown

It is believed that the poem was written sometime between 1375 and 1400

Description of armor, clothing, and furniture – 1375

Handwriting has been dated roughly to 1400 Written in a unique stanza called “bob and

wheel” – combines alliteration and rhyme

SGGK: Matter & Form

Romance (Medieval)

3 Subjects or “Matters”1. The Matter of Greece (Troy and Alexander)2. The Matter of France (Charlemagne’s Court and 12 peers

– 12 disciples or primitive round-table)3. The Matter of Britain (Arthurian Legends)

Form4. Themes (love issue) – quest – involves travels (social

integrity; personal worth; knowledge)5. Plot – intricate (carefully worded or rambling)6. Characterization – flat; stereotyped

SGGK: Matter & Form

EpicExamples: Illiad, Beowulf, Aneid, El Cid, & Paradise Lost

Scope: Social

Motive: Necessity

Themes: 1. Emphasis on war/ male friendship2. Realistic3. Historical/concrete geography

Focus: Morals

Mode: Literal because already addressing universal social issues

RomanceExamples: Morte d’Arthur & The Odyssey

Scope: Individualistic (one person’s crisis)

Motive: Desire for adventure or for personal gratification

Themes: 1. Heterosexual love/women2. Supernatural elements/mysterious

atmosphere3. Fantasy/vague atmosphere

Focus: Manners

Mode: Symbolic (Light on message, heavy on art)

SGGK: Matter & Form Sir Gawain and the

Green Knight has a sense of irony that most romances don’t have - heavily moral in end. Could be called an ironic romance (More serious)

Key theme of medieval romances - attention to limitations of code of chivalry

Circular structure is hallmark of late 14th century literature

SGGK: Green Men Wild men of the woods;

represents natural man vs. “made-up” men of upper level

Vegetation god – die and come back to life each year – like vegetation

Natural forces Kingdom of Troy

(Faeries/Longaevi) – they’re eternal and have no souls (Faeries were larger than people and terrible practical jokers; unpredictable; shape-shifters – can appear in diff. forms)

SGGK: Medieval Institutions

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the product of 3 medieval institutions or foundations:

FeudalismPoem is about 200 yrs. archaic, deliberately – golden age of chivalry, now (the date of the poem’s composition) in the state of decay – Gawain exemplifies both ideals of knighthood

1.Physical ideals of knighthood2.Non-physical ideals of knighthood

SGGK: Medieval InstitutionsCourtly Love Developed partly out of the cult of Mary, which elevated women

Rules of Courtly Love Marriage is no real excuse for not loving. He who is not jealous cannot love. That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved

has no relish. Boys do not love until they reach the age of maturity. Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice. A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone

except his beloved. When made public love rarely endures. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value:

difficulty of attainment makes it prized. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his

beloved. When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his

heart palpitates. A new love puts an old one to flight. Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love. Jealousy increases when one suspects his beloved. A true lover considers nothing good except what he

thinks will please his beloved.

SGGK: Medieval Institutions

The Medieval ChurchPoem is about 200 yrs. archaic, deliberately – the only religious figure is a chaplain – church organization was not yet complex – less opportunity for corruption. The Holy Grail initially was a Christian symbol created by the church in an effort to overcome the influence of courtly love – only the pure could find it.

SGGK: Intertwined Plots

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is made up of three intertwined traditional plots (all designed to test the worth of the Christian knight):

The beheading contest The temptation The exchange game

A knight was constantly on the quest for perfection – one should seek to imitate Christ.

The Canterbury Tales

By Geoffrey Chaucer

CT: Background & Style Original manuscript of this poem is unique – only

ONE (never was well-known – hardly read at all between 1400 and 1839)

  Written in a style very similar to Beowulf

Heavy 4 beat line Alliteration Rhyme Native English vocab. – from area of Midlands – south of

Chester – near modern-day Liverpool. Dialect is very difficult for us today and probably was very difficult for Londoners of that day. (Obscurity of dialect helped keep poem unknown)

The English Poetic Tradition

With the invasion of William in 1066, French becomes language of aristocracy.

From 1066 to late 1300s, no poetry is written in English.

Literature is written in either French or Latin Some early “English” poets include:

Pearl Poet William Langland John Gower Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Man

Son of a wealthy London merchant As a child, served as a page in a noble

household Countess of Ulster (married to a son of King

Edward III) Educated in values of aristocratic culture

1367—squire to king’s household Multilingual: English, French, Italian, etc. 1374—Controller of the Customs in

London

England during Chaucer’s Lifetime

Turbulent times: Politically

1377 Richard II becomes king at age 10 1386 Richard II is nearly deposed 1389 Richard II regains power 1399 Henry Bolingbroke murders Richard and becomes King

Henry IV Wars with France and the Scots

Religiously John Wyclif and supporters challenge Church in terms of

doctrine and immense economic power (Protestant Reformation in 16th century)

Soci0economically 1381: Peasants’ Revolt

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Poet One of the earliest British poets Writing is characterized by

Poetic genius Psychological subtlety Humane good humor

Aware of “European literary traditions” as “ongoing cultural projects”

Artistic subtlety Cultural sophistical

Established “an English literary tradition” and the basis for William Shakespeare Edmund Spenser John Milton

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Poet

Career as a poet can be divided into 3 periods

1. Influenced by fashionable French court poetry (through 1370)

2. Influenced by Dante (1370-1386)3. Influenced by English vernacular

(1386-1400)

The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer begins CT in 1386 and leaves it incomplete

The story is a frame tale. 29 pilgrims meet at the

Tabard Inn and decide tojourney together.

Each pilgrim will tell 2 tales on the way to Canterbury & 2 tales on the way back.

The Journey to

Can

terb

ur

y

Pilgrims’ Tales

Le Morte d’Arthur

By Sir Thomas Malory

Le Morte d’Arthur: Background

Written by Sir Thomas Malory (1400-1471)

Legends of Arthur—popular in western culture

Most legends come from Le Morte d’Arthur, a collection of stories about Arthur

Thomas Malory accused of various crimes and imprisoned in 1451

He wrote Le Morte d’Arthur while in prison. He wrote it between 1451-1469.

Le Morte d’Arthur: Background

First edition: 1485 (posthumous) Most complete English version of Arthurian

legends. Arthurian legends have been around since

the 6th century (oral tradition in England and France).

Is Arthur real? Possible source: real 5th or 6th century Celtic

military leader Any real Arthur is quite different from Malory’s

Arthur.

Le Morte d’Arthur: Background

First epic written in prose. The plot of a medieval romance:

Driven by conflict

Reveal character motivatio

n