Medieval Literature
From the fall of Rome to the Renaissance
English & French Literature Dominated by:
– The epic Beowulf
– The romance Song of Roland (early) Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight (late)– The allegory
The Canterbury Tales The Divine Comedy
– The folk tale – The lyric – The drama
Everyman
EARLY BRITISH MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
499-1066 CE
The Anglo-Saxons: 449–1066
300s B.C.Celts in Britain
55 B.C–A.D.409Roman Occupation
A.D. 449Anglo-Saxon Invasion
A.D. 400–699Spread of Christianity
A.D. 1066Norman Invasion
A.D.878King Alfred against the Danes
A.D.600
A.D.300
A.D. 1
300 B.C.
A.D.900
A.D. 1200
BritainBefore and during the 4th century
B.C.
• Celtic religion a form of animism
Stonehenge
• Druids were Celtic priests
• Britain named for one Celtic tribe—the Brythons
• Britain home to several Celtic tribes
The Roman Occupation
55 B.C. Hadrian’s Wall
Romans evacuate their troops
• Central government breaks down
Julius Caesar invades Britain
Celts defeated by Claudius
A.D.43
• Romans build walls, villas, baths, roads
Roman ruins
• Britain left vulnerable to attack
A.D. 409
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts into the far west of the country.
Angles
Saxons
Jutes
Celts
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
Anglo-Saxon Society
• kinship groups led by strong warrior chief
• people farmed, established local governments, produced fine craftwork
• English emerged as a written language
The Anglo-Saxon religion
• offered no hope of an afterlife
• valued earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship
• similar to what we call Norse mythology
ThunorThor
WodenOdin
Day of weekAnglo-Saxon godNorse god
Wednesday
Thursday
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
• Anglo-Saxons did not believe in afterlife
• warriors gained immortality through songs
Why were the scops important?
The Anglo-Saxon bards• called scops
Anglo-Saxon harp
• strummed harp as they sang• sang of heroic deeds• were often warriors
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
• Christianity and Anglo-Saxon culture co-exist
The Spread of Christianity
• Christian monks settle in Britain
• British pagan religions replaced by Christianity
Around A.D. 400
By A.D. 699
Early Literature
Celtic and Germanic Tribes– heroic legends
Written down by monks hundreds of years later. – What effect will this
have on pagan epics?
Old, Middle, Modern English
Old English
'Fæder ure þuþe eart on heofonum si þin nama gehalgod tobecume þin rice gewurþe þin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice.'
Middle English 'Oure fadir þat art in
heuenes halwid be þi name; þi reume or kyngdom come to be. Be þi wille don in herþe as it is dounin heuene. yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred. And foryeue to us oure dettis þat is oure synnys as we foryeuen to oure dettouris þat is to men þat han synned in us. And lede us not into temptacion but delyuere us from euyl.'
'Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debters. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'
http://bitterscroll.podomatic.com/entry/2006-08-09T16_02_07-07_00
Old English
The Germanic Tribe Spoken on the British Isles
– Anglo-Saxons specifically
Beowulf
Germanic traditional epic – Specifically Anglo-
Saxon– Warring culture
3,000 line epic poem First literary
composition in the English Language
Composed sometime between 600-900 C.E. 700 is our best guess.
Written down 200-300 years later.
History of the text Poem exists in one
manuscript only (in British Library)
Survived fire in 18th century
This scare led to the copying, editing, translating of the copy
Now an integral part of the canon. – A group of the most
important literature of any given time period, genre, author, etc.
Beowulf Poem written in England
– Set in Scandinavia Follows the Scandinavian prince, Beowulf. Poem has three major plots
1. Beowulf, a warrior for the Geats, crosses the sea to help the Danes kill the man-eating monster Grendel. He must also kill Grendel’s mother
2. Beowulf returns and rules for fifty years as king. A dragon terrorizes the country and Beowulf must confront it.
3. Beowulf slays the dragon but meets his own death. He enters the legend of his people as a hero.
Beowulf
Poem shows life in the Dark Ages.– Begins with soldiers
in a hall, drinking mead
– Grendel eats them all.
Yum. Grendel is the
spawn of Cain, the murderous brother in the Old Testament.
Chainmail
Beowulf assignment
Assignment on page 2 of Medieval Lit packet– Take a look at this now
Excerpts begin on page 3 Read academically and carefully Take notes or annotate
– Notes can be used on quiz, annotations cannot Due Monday
– If you’re absent Monday (or today, I guess) you will turn in typed answers to these questions upon return.
From Epic to Romance
The Epic yielded to Romance in 11th and 12th centuries
Originally applied to Old French to distinguish from Latin– Eventually, it
referred to any work in French.
Romance
Narrative shift – from warfare – to love.
Courtly love A tradition that idealized women and turned
conventions of human love almost literally into religion.
First developed by troubadours – lyric entertainers– Originally half-facetious– elaborate code to follow
Romance Earlier Romances,
chansons de geste (Songs of Deeds), like Roland, are men-at-war. – The central figure:
Charlemagne and members of his court.
– Basis in historical fact– a towering figure in the
development of Western and Christian culture. However, they have poetic
legend, as, for instance, Charlemagne is in intimate touch with the Angels.
Song of Roland
Background Written in Old French circa
1100– Composed 300 years
earlier– Oral songs sung by
troubadours accompanied by lyres.
Song of Roland – earliest and best known
example of the Song of Deed romance.
History of text (FYI)– Unknown until 1832 when
the first of several manuscripts was discovered.
– The best of these is at Oxford University that is a copy by an Anglo-Norman scribe of an earlier version.
– Many conspiracies and hypotheses about the organ, poet, and facts of Roland
Background Written at the beginning of the Crusades.
– By telling a story of the Great Charlemagne, the hope is to inspire current fighters.
The values of the poem are simply identified. – Exclusively deal with war and religion – Success in battle is vital
personal reasons prove God is on your side
Christians are good, Saracens (Muslims) are evil – although some are great warriors and honorable
Absent are:– philosophical subtleties – inward conflicts
Song of Roland plot Based on the ambush of Charlemagne's
rear guard in 778. Charlemagne’s nephew Roland ambushed
as they returned from an expedition against the Muslims in Spain.
Brings to life aspects of early medieval culture:– naming one's battle gear and weapons,– dependence on cavalry – glorification of blood-and-thunder heroism– and strong sense of companionship between
brothers-at-arms.
Structure of poem
Very un-poetic: – Simple vocabulary & syntax.
No Figurative language– No atmospheric details– Poet is on the side of the Christians, but
he doesn't gush like in Beowulf.
Structure of poem
Hyperbolic praise of the past Heroes of old Appearance of prophetic dreams and
omens Intervention at key moments of
supernatural beings Epithets Battles
Courtly LoveHistory of Arthurian Legend and Courtly Love
Courtly Love Extramarital
– very secretive The knight (whom did the
loving) prone to:– fits of weeping – Growing pale – Languishing in his
unrequited love Lady of noble birth
– Knight performed great deeds gain his lady’s admiration from afar
Faithfulness was eternal
Courtly Love (don’t write down)
Chretien de Troyes applied these rules into legendary tales including:– Eric and Enide– The Knight of the Cart– The Knight with the Lion– The Story of the Grail
These stories combined with other romances to form a foundation for courtly love including:– Sir Gawain and the Green Knight– Havelok the Dane
King Arthur
The Arthurian Legend is a compilation of stories and romances– Arthur’s birth – his adventures as knight – adulterous love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere
Epic PoetryCourtly Love or “The Romance”
Arthurian Legend
King Arthur Gains fame in the 1100’s Chretien de Troyes takes the
oral legends he has heard, mixes them with courtly love ideas and writes the first five romances of adventure in the 12th century
Stories culminate in the 15th century
Alfred Loydd Tennyson “Idylls of the of the King”
Mark Twain with “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”.
Romance
Church began to see Romance, specifically Courtly Love, as a threat– Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight– Romance of the Rose
Late Middle Ages The Church took over
power– based on two
propositions: Kingdom of God vs
Kingdom of the Devil
only through the offices of the church
Earth is proving ground for Heaven
The literature reflected this conflict.– Nearly all literature
was religious in theme.
On the Misery of the Human Condition
Sermon written by Pope Innocent III
~1200Book 2 page 96
Medieval Drama
In courtyards Layman actors Three types:
– Mystery play Biblical history from fall of Lucifer to Last Judgement
– Miracle play Stories of life of Christ, Mary, or saints
– Morality Play Struggle of good and evil and soul’s afterlife. Allegorical
Everyman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM5Zwd427iU&feature=related
Middle English
More recognizable to modern reader. Middle Class rises
– Feudalism weakens– Canterbury Tales
The General Prologue Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,And bathed every veyne in swich licourOf which vertu engendred is the flour;Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breethInspired hath in every holt and heethThe tendre croppes, and the yonge sonneHath in the Ram his half cours yronne,And smale foweles maken melodye,That slepen al the nyght with open ye(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;And specially from every shires endeOf Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,The hooly blisful martir for to seke,That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Bifil that in that seson on a day,In Southwerk at the Tabard as I layRedy to wenden on my pilgrymageTo Caunterbury with ful devout corage,At nyght was come into that hostelryeWel nyne and twenty in a compaignyeOf sondry folk, by aventure yfalleIn felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde.The chambres and the stables weren wyde,And wel we weren esed atte beste.And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,So hadde I spoken with hem everichonThat I was of hir felaweshipe anon,And made forward erly for to ryse,To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse.
The Canterbury Tales
Take a look at the four following images. Write down three characteristics the image triggers – think about their role in society as well as your personal, moral beliefs of them.
Basically, generalize
Politician
Write down three characteristics the image triggers – think about their role in society as well as your personal, moral beliefs of them.
Basically, generalize
Priest
Write down three characteristics the image triggers – think about their role in society as well as your personal, moral beliefs of them.
Basically, generalize
Rapper
Write down three characteristics the image triggers – think about their role in society as well as your personal, moral beliefs of them.
Basically, generalize
Businessperson
Write down three characteristics the image triggers – think about their role in society as well as your personal, moral beliefs of them.
Basically, generalize
Journal
In your notebook, choose one of these people and describe him. Your description should judge him on a moral and social level. You may want to discuss his clothing, items he has with him, physical attributes, etc. A reader who reads your description should be able to get a gist of your feelings toward that person.
NOTE: Don’t describe the photo I just showed you, rather a person in that job/role.
Canterbury Tales Organizational Plan
Chaucer (our narrator) fictitiously watches 29 pilgrims enter the Talbard Inn in the Southwark neighborhood of London – On their way to the shrine of
Thomas a Becket in Canterbury– Becket, murdered in 1170
Use of journey motif as framing device– 4 tales per person: 2
coming; 2 going Actually completed 22
– Began 2 others
Cathedral of Canterbury
The Prologue Sets stage for journey Meeting place the Tabard
Inn in Southwark of 29 pilgrims including:– Knight and his Squire – Yeoman– A Nun (Prioress) – a chaplain,
– 3 Priests– A monk and a friar– A merchant – a cleric – a lawyer – a franklin (freeman)– A pardoner – A miller
Tales & Prologues
Each pilgrim will tell a tale– Tales usually have morals or tell us about the teller
Some tales have a prologue introducing the tale– Chaucer telling us a little about the teller of the tale– In a couple he will write a few words after the tale, too.
The whole story had the “General Prologue”– Chaucer describing the scene in the Inn. He describes
the tellers and passes subtle judgment about him/her and his/her status in life
We will look at 2 tales – the Pardoner’s and the Miller’s
The Pardoner’s Tale
3 young men of drunk and riotous behavior search for Death.
An old man whom they insult tells them that Death lies up the hill under a tree.
They find bags of gold and plot to send the youngest for food and wine and then kill him for the gold.
He returns with poisoned wine and all die.
“The love of money is the root of all evil.”
The Miller’s Tale No need to read the “Prologue
to the Miller’s Tale” Basically:– The Miller is very drunk & likes
bawdy tales Tale of old carpenter (John),
his young wife (Alison), a student and border in John’s home (Nicholas) and a suitor and cleric. (Absalom)
Nicholas & Alison plot to sleep together and trick the husband
Absalom, who also loves Alison, steps into the fray but is rejected
Nicholas plots Noah’s flood scam of John
Tips to reading
Understand plot List characters
and their characteristics & relationship to others.
What can this tale tell us of its teller (the Miller)
Nicholas:– Student of
astrology (Astroglobe on his shelf (23))
– “well versed in love” (14) & good looking (15)
–
