1066-1485

Alfred the Great united all of England under one ruler around 886.

He supported Christianity, encouraged education

He died in 899.

For over a hundred years after his death, England was in a weakened state…

The Norman Conquest of1066 - invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

Ended the Anglo-Saxons’ control over country. Divided the conquered land among Normans,

forcing most Anglo-Saxons to become serfs. Ended Anglo-Saxon as the “official” language.

Norman French became the language of the aristocracy. Latin was the language of the Church (Holy Roman

Catholic)

William II Henry I Stephen Henry II Richard I (Richard the Lion-Hearted)

John (think Robin Hood!) Henry III Edward I 1272 (proclaimed himself king of Scotland, but not for

long…the Scots claimed their independence in the Battle of Bannockburn 1314)

Edward II Edward III 1327 (Hundred Years’ War began)

Great advances in literature and education during The Hundred Years’ War: English poetry became important for the first time Geoffrey Chaucer/ William Langland

Richard II 1377 (Peasant’s Revolt) Henry IV Henry V 1413 Henry VI 1422 (House of Lancaster)

Nobles from the House of York wanted to overthrow him. Resulted in The Wars of the Roses.

Edward IV (York - 1461) Henry VI (Lancaster -1470) Edward IV (York -1471) Edward V Richard III (self-proclaimed king) 1483-1485 Middle English Period ends in 1485, with the ascension of Henry

VII to the throne of England, thereby ending The Wars of the Roses.

Society was organized into a social pyramid based on a feudal system (which was imported from France).

A feudal society : oaths and obligations, vows and promises, and established

expectations and customs provide the only stability possible.

Loyalty to others and fulfilling one's oaths are the most important values in a feudal society. 

If these ties break down - then anarchy is possible. Feudalism reached its height between the 800s-

1200s. It disappeared in the 1400s.

Medieval society was organized in a feudal tree or pyramid system. It was based on the level of command each man had.

The King was the highest and most important in command. The King gave fiefs or grants of land to his noblemen, they were called Barons and Bishops.

In return for the land, each noble promised to supply the King with soldiers in time for war.

The idea of loyalty and service was important in feudal society. Anyone who had  land took an oath to serve the person who gave it to him.

A noble pledged himself to be a King’s vassal, or a servant at a ceremony. They kneeled before the King and swore an oath of loyalty. This was known as an act of homage and fealty. The oath of loyalty was meant to be binding for life. Anyone who broke it would be regarded as a traitor.

At the bottom of the feudal system were the people who made up the social class, this included peasants (freeman), servants, serfs (slaves), craftsmen, etc…

Everyone owned a service to a person higher up on the feudal pyramid. They either farmed or fought for that person above them. In return for their service they were given either protection or land.  

Somewhat of a “figurehead ruler.” Kings ruled by divine right- people believed God

had chosen them to be king. The theory claimed that kings were answerable only to God and it was sinful for their subjects to resist them. That, however, did not stop all of the rebellions! If a king was a strong leader, he could control the

barons. If he was weak or indecisive, the barons would control him!

Kings used lords to control parts of the country.

Swore loyalty to the king. Gave wealth and support to their vassals: money,

land, or whatever treasures or goods were taken in battle.

Were responsible for protecting the family of any vassal who was killed. The children were protected as wards of the feudal

lord until they married (if a daughter) or became a vassal (if a son).

Widows, and their property, were also protected by the feudal lord. 

In essence, the vassal achieved a kind of insurance for his family by entering the service of a feudal lord.

Had to swear an oath of loyalty to the king.Had to provide soldiers (knights) to fight so

many days per year. Had to pay homage to their lord - promising to

always defend him/his lands. After paying homage, the vassal received his

fief. Fiefs were estates granted by the lord

(including the land, the buildings on it, and the peasants who worked it.)He only received possession of the fief, not ownership.

The vassal could: receive what the land produced collect taxes hold court & execute sentencesobtain labor as needed on the castle, other buildings and roads of the fief (estate.)

Were granted land from their lord for their military service.

At first the knights lived with the lords & were fed, clothed & armed by them.

Later, some knights were given fiefs from the lord-vassal’s own fief estates.

Followed the Code of Chivalry. (see next slide)

To fear God and maintain His Church To serve the liege lord in valor and faith To protect the weak and defenseless To help widows and orphans To refrain from the uncontrolled giving of offence To live by honor and for glory To despise reward in cash To fight for the welfare of all To obey those placed in authority To guard the honor of fellow knights To avoid unfairness, meanness and deceit To keep faith At all times to speak the truth To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun To respect the honor of women Never to refuse a challenge from an equal Never to turn the back upon a foe

The code of chivalry did not always extend to the peasants. The "weak" was widely interpreted as "noble women and children." The knights were often brutal to common folk.

The code of chivalry stated that knights must give mercy to a vanquished enemy. However, the very fact that knights were trained as men of war was in conflict with this code.

By 1250, the steady growth of trade and industry led to a rising middle class-the merchants.Merchant guildsCraft guilds

Worked the lord/vassal’s land and received a place to stay and some of the food they produced.

Half of the work week was spent on working the land belonging to the lord and the church: maintenance, wood cutting, land clearing, road building, etc.

The rest of the time they could work on their own land.

Sundays and saints’ days were holidays. Had to give 1/10 of everything they produced to

the church (crops, eggs, animals)…There were lots of rich bishops!

Huts were shared with livestock.

Not technically a slave, but bound to a lord for life.

Couldn’t own property. Needed the lord’s permission to marry. Couldn’t leave the land without the lord’s

permission. If a serf ran to a town and managed to stay for

1 year + a day, he was a free man.Worked just as hard as a peasant, but had no

days off/received no payment of crops, etc.

Medieval society was dominated by two great institutions: feudalism and religion.

The idea of your social and legal obligations to your lord pervaded all aspects of daily life for all the lower levels of society.

The idea of the afterlife, and where you would be spending it, pervaded all aspects of society (and was used to manipulate all levels of society.) Literature of the period can be grouped around these

two institutions.

King Pope Cardinals Archbishops Bishops Monsignors Priests The people

Many new words, literary forms, and social attitudes had entered England from France, and the whole character of English language and literature had been altered.

The net effect was to enrich (ratherthan to impoverish) English language and

literature.

Latin (the language of the church and of scholars) influenced English language. Church controlled education Oxford and Cambridge universities were established

during this time period.

French was the official language of England and the language of the aristocracy.

English vocabulary greatly enlarged; more than 10,000 French words were added to the English language.“English in the barn, French in the kitchen.”Words relating to culture, gov’t and “polite” terms

generally have French or Latin roots, while the “little words of house and home” derive from Anglo Saxon roots.

cow, sheep, pig (Old English) beef, pork, bacon (French)

It wasn’t until the 14th century that English again emerged as a literary and political language. Partly due to the war with France, the

English began to take a nationalistic pride in their country and their culture.

English (instead of French) began to be taught regularly in schools.

Grammar was simplified. In the year 1000 the opening words of the Lord’s

Prayer were written in Old English:Faeder ure thu eart on heafunum, si thin nama

gehaigod…In Wycliffe’s Bible (1389) it begins:

Our fadir that aart in hevenes, halwid be thi name…

English thus made a giant stride from its Germanic heritage toward the language we speak today.

Vocab. & language seems foreign to us

Language is more recognizable to us

Northern, Scandinavian influences-vigorous, virile, stirring, but rather stark, humorless and forbidding

Southern influences- stressing love and tenderness as much as strength and courage; possesses a gaiety and delicacy

Hero of the old epic was the warrior

Hero of the new romance was the Knight

Warrior Brave Male Physically strongKnowledgeable

offensiveCodes they lived by…

loyalty to tribal kingpersonal commitment

Boasting was acceptable

Knight Brave Male Physically strongKnowledgeable/Educated

defensiveCodes they lived by…

feudalismcode of chivalry

Knights were expected to be humble before others; boasting was not acceptable.

Four types of poems were popular during the Middle Ages:

Religious lyricSecular lyric(Ubi sunt, nature & love)Popular balladNarrative poem

The introduction of Latin hymns and the songs from the French troubadours (after the Norman Conquest) provided the English lyric with a new style an a new subject-matter:

Instead of alliteration—poems started to rhyme.

The new subject-matter: courtly love, the transitoriness of human life and nature description… although religion continued to be the chief subject.

Religious lyrics basically glorified the Virgin, a saint, or Jesus Christ.

Courtly love was a concept that originated in the Middle Ages in Europe. There were certain assumptions associated with the idea of courtly love:

1. The characters involved must be of a higher social class- must be from the Court.

2. There must be a certain amount of "ritual" associated with their relationship:a. the man must suffer, and it must show in the form of physical manifestations-i.e. lack of sleep, pallor, loss of appetite, etc.b. the woman must present herself as indifferent to his grief- at least in the beginningc. there must be a rival for the woman's affections

d. there must be an element of secrecy involved in their relationship-it may be caused by politics, other relationships, social differences, etc.e. there may not be any physical expression of love f. it is unlikely the characters involved will marry (marriage was for political, monetary or social benefit)

3. The love object was all the virtues personified- not a "real" person, but rather the embodiment of all the elements that make the “ideal” woman.

The nature lyric describes nature…duh! The Cuckoo Song was sung as a round. Sumer is icumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu!Groweþ sed and bloweþ medAnd springþ þe wode nu,Sing cuccu!

Awe bleteth after lomb,Lhouth after calve cu.Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth,Murie sing cuccu!

Cuccu, cuccu, wel sings thu cuccu.Ne swik thu naver nu.

Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!

Summer has come in,Loudly sing, Cuckoo!The seed grows and the meadow bloomsAnd the wood springs anew,Sing, Cuckoo!

The ewe bleats after the lambThe cow lows after the calf.The bullock stirs, the stag farts,Merrily sing, Cuckoo!Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;Don't you ever stop now,

Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!

"bucke uerteþ" means "the stag farts", a gesture of virility indicating the stag's potential for creating new life, echoing the rebirth of Nature from the barren period of winter.

Ubi Sunt poems lamented the transitoriness of human life.

Used to convey sadness about the temporary nature of life and beauty.

Ubi sunt literally means where are…?

Where beth they beforen us weren,Houndes ladden and havekes beren,...?They beren hem well swithe heye,And, in a twinkling of an eye,Hoere soules weren forloren.

--Anon (later 13th century)

Where are they, who were before us, led hounds and bore hawks ...?They bore themselves very loftily,and in the twinkling of an eye, their souls were lost.

Popular ballads-are songs that tell a story. Popular ballads/traditional ballads have

unknown authors. Most were passed down orally. They relate violent or pathetic events of

everyday experiences in a simple, memorable, repetitive style.

Their subject matter usually includes: love, battles, jealousy and/or revenge.

Most are written about upper-class individuals or families.

The material is drawn from history or from folklore.

Bright colors and magic numbers (such as 3 or 7) often occur.

Ballads are unlike lyrics because they are objective poems, and the attention is on the characters and events of the story rather than on the personal views or feelings of the narrator.

They are usually composed of rhyming couplets or the ballad stanza.

Rhyming couplet: two lines that rhyme.There were three ravens that sat on a tree,They were as blacke as they might be.

Ballad stanza: a stanza of 4 lines. Lines 2 & 4 almost always rhyme Lines 1 and 3 sometimes rhyme.

“Late late yestreen I saw the new moone,Wi the auld moone in hir arme,And I feir, I feir, my deir master, That we will cum to harme.”

There were three ravens sat on a tree, downe a downe, hay downe, hay downe,

There were three ravens sat on a tree, with a downe,

There were three ravens sat on a tree, They were as black as they might be.

- with a downe, derrie, derrie, derrie, downe, downe.

The one of them said to his mate, Where shall we our breakfast take?

Down in yonder green field, There lies a Knight slain under his shield.

His hounds they lie down at his feet, So well they can their Master keep,

His hawks they fly so eagerly, There's no fowl dare him come nie.

Down there comes a fallow doe, As great with young as she might go.

She lift up his bloody head, And kissed his wounds that were so red.

She got him up upon her back, And carried him to earthen lake. She buried him before the prime, She was dead herself ere evening-song time.

God send every gentleman, Such hawks, such hounds, and such a Leman.

A poem that tells a story.An epic is a type of narrative, as is a

ballad, etc..Another example of a narrative poem

is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

What we now call Middle English appears after the great silence of 200 years, in the 2nd half of 14th century.

Prior to that time, vernacular (=not in Latin) literature consisted primarily of religious writings. The second half of 14th century produced the first great age of secular (=not religious) literature.

The best representative is Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘the father of English poetry’. By making a conscious choice to write in English, he symbolizes the rebirth of English as a national language. His works also helped the London dialect of English become a standard.

We can read and understand Chaucer’s English fairly well – this shows how much the language had changed.

Chaucer’s most famous work is ‘The Canterbury Tales’ (about 1387), a long poem, or a collection of stories in verse. And it is real verse – another novelty. The rhyme has taken place of Old English alliteration.

The story is about a party of pilgrims, the poet among them, traveling to Canterbury to visit the grave of Thomas a Becket. To pass the time, they agree to tell tales. In those tales we get to know the characters themselves. They come from every class of the society of the time, from the nobility, members of the church, merchants and craftsmen, to peasants.

What is new and refreshing about Chaucer’s work is that : the characters are seen as real people,

having both good and bad sides. Although he often makes ironic

comments, and sometimes may appear unsympathetic, the poet has, on the whole, a positive attitude towards the characters and a belief in the good in the world.