my term paper second edition

8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...3

PART 1. ANTOLOGY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISHLITERATURE.5

1.1. Old English literature in the period of Anglo-Saxon ethnic

extension

..5

1.2. The Middle English

corpus..................9

1.2.1. Jeffrey Chaucer..........................................................................111.2.2. Principal Middle English written records..................13

PART 2. CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISHLITERATURE ...........................................................................................16

2.1. Knighthood and Chivalry as a cultural dominant in the Middle English

literature..16

2.2. The ideal of chivalry in Sir Gawain and Green Knight..17

2.3. The concept of Courtly love in the English Medieval epoch.20

2.4. Christian religious dominant..21

CONCLUSION...24

BIBLIOGRAPHY..26


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INTRODUCTION

The language of a past time is known by the quality of its literature. Charters

and records yield their secrets to the philologist and contribute their quota of words

and inflections to our dictionaries and grammars. But it is in literature that a

language displays its full power, its ability to convey in vivid and memorable form

the thoughts and emotions of a people. The Middle English literature is fortunately

one of the richest and most significant of any preserved. Because it is the language

mobilized, the language in action, we must say a word about it.

Generally speaking, this literature is of two sorts. Some of it was

undoubtedly brought to England by the Germanic and Norman conquerors from

their continental homes and preserved for a time in oral tradition. The prevalent

ethno-cultural dominants of this epoch considerably influenced upon the whole

English literature. In this work we can trace their gradual formation from the early

times of the development of the old Germanic writing system. In the course of

time three streams mingle in Middle English epoch: the religious, chivalrous and

courtly literature forming a unique mixture and a tangle of genres characteristic of

medieval writing.

The object of this thesis is the process of establishing the national literary

language in England throughout the Old English period up to the Middle Ages.

The purpose of the research can be formulated as follows: the representation

of the Middle English literature with its immediate connection with main concepts

of that time such as religious, courtly and chivalrous one in particular.

The subject of the research is the historical, cultural and social backgrounds

for the formation of Middle English literature.

The purpose, object and subject of the research stipulated the arrangement

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and consecutive solving the following goals:

1 Give a short retrospective view on early stage of English literature

development

2 Consideration of the medieval English literature at the conceptual angle

3 Detecting the principal Middle English written records

During the work the following methods of researching were applied

- The learning and making analysis of the literature according to

the topic of the research;

- Historical - philological method.


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PART 1. ANTOLOGY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE

1.1. Old English literature in the period of Anglo-Saxon ethnic extension

As a result of British invasion at the end of the VI century a new West-

Germanic ethno-social system, traditionally called Anglo-Saxon, began forming. It

brought about some considerable changes in the social structure of the Anglo-

Saxon society. To get a better understanding of the Anglo-Saxon society it is worth

considering the Old-English words of status. The key-words are given below in

order of precedence:

cynig (chief, later the founder the royal dynasty)

ealdorman (sub-king, a kind of hereditary aristocracy; later replaced by theterm eorl)

pegn (warrior)

ceorl (a free man, farmer)

peow (a slave, servant)

The given structure provided an effective functioning of considerably tough

ethno-social system needed for the Anglo-Saxons during the period of their ethnic

extension when the former tribal organization of the society did not met the

stereotypes evoked by military orientation of the ethnic dominant at that time.

There emerged a peculiar class of professional warriors who swore to their lords inexchange for lands and gifts seized in the military campaigns. The kings and noble

people belonged to the ruling upper circles, whereas professional soldiers-thegns-

took an interim niche in the social hierarchy standing between noble and common

people. M. Lehnert describes a pegn as a personal servant who was one degree

higher in the ranks of freeman than a a ceorl. As servants of the King the status

of pegn gradually rose, until they formed the elected nobility of the Kingdom.

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The analysis of early Old English written records allows to single out two

distinct imperatives throughout the period of the Anglo-Saxon ethnic extension.

On the one hand it was bellicosity, the orientation to the persecution of the war

and submission of the persons concerns to this imperative and on the other hand-

an archetypal fear to be reduced to the status of social outcast, a person deprived

of any kind of rights, the most important of which was the right to be a human.

the cowards were threatened with exile. It must have been the severest punishment

for their inglorious act as a shameful life to exile, a person without his kin, was

much worse than death. In the world of instability and violence the fear of being

reduced to the position of an exile was so strong that it became one of the

prevailing motives in the early Anglo-Saxon literature.

Whereas warfare for the sake of wealth provided the motive power that

moulded ethnic stereotypes thus organizing the passionateness of the early Anglo-

Saxons in the period of their ethnic extension. The same warfare motive underlay

the ethnics justifying the prevailing stereotypes. This epoch of great deeds and

brave heroes is known in literature as the heroic age. The folk epic Beowulf is

considered to represent the most telling evidence of the outlook and temper of the

Germanic mind [23: 84-88].

The epic Beowulf is of about three thousand lines. This poem seems to

have originated on the Continent, but when and where are not now to be known. It

may have been carried to England in the form of ballads by the Anglo-Saxons; or it

may be Scandinavian material, later brought in by Danish or Norwegian pirates. Atany rate it seems to have taken on its present form in England during the seventh

and eighth centuries. It relates how the hero Beowulf, coming over the sea to the

relief of King Hrothgar, delivers him from a monster, Grendel, and then from the

vengeance of Grendel's only less formidable mother. Returned home in triumph,

Beowulf much later receives the due reward of his valor by being made king of his

own tribe, and meets his death while killing a fire-breathing dragon which has become a scourge to his people. As he appears in the poem, Beowulf is an


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idealized Anglo-Saxon hero, but in origin he may have been any one of several

other different things. Perhaps he was the old Germanic god Beowa, and his

exploits originally allegories, like some of those in the Greek mythology, of his

services to man; he may, for instance, first have been the sun, driving away themists and cold of winter and of the swamps, hostile forces personified in Grendel

and his mother. Or, Beowulf may really have been a great human fighter who

actually killed some especially formidable wild beasts, and whose superhuman

strength in the poem results, through the similarity of names, from his being

confused with Beowa. This is the more likely because there is in the poem a slight

trace of authentic history. Beowulf' presents an interesting though very incomplete

picture of the life of the upper, warrior, caste among the northern Germanic tribes

during their later period of barbarism on the Continent and in England, a life more

highly developed than that of the Anglo-Saxons before their conquest of the island.

Outside of Beowulf and a few fragments, the recording of Anglo-Saxon

heroic story begins with a ninth-century entry in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the

year 755 (actually 757). To this we can add a few of the annals devoted to thecombats of King Alfred's son and grandsons in the tenth century and stop at some

point near the end of King Aethelred's reign in 1016. While not a Chronicle poem,

The Battle of Maldon has a place in this range, if only as an inspired response to

what otherwise the Chronicle (in the Canterbury and Peterborough manuscripts )

records for 991 as ealdorman Byrthnoth's death in battle at Maldon. Typically,

guides, translations and readers introducing students to Old English texts highlightthree of the stories from this range of years: the story of West Saxon feud we call

"Cynewulf and Cyneheard" (chronicle entry 755), The Battle of Brunanburh , (entry

for 937), and The Battle of Maldon (sometime after 991). Traditionally, and here all

introductions in Old English readers follow suit, these narratives are seen as

enshrining, in some literary intensified way, heroic values reflecting their ancient,

Germanic roots.

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There is a dark age between the arrival of the Anglo- Saxons and the first

arrival of Old English manuscripts. A few scattered inscriptions in the language

date from the 5 th and 6 th centuries, written in the runic alphabet which the invaders

brought with them, but these give very little information about what the language

was like. The literary age began only after arrival of the Roman missionaries, led

by Augustine, who came there to Kent in 597 AD. Because of the increasingly

literary climate old English manuscripts also began to be written-much earlier,

indeed, that the earliest vernacular texts from other north European countries. The

first texts dating from around 700, are glossaries of Latin words translated into

English, and a few early inscriptions and poems. But very little material remains

from this period. Doubtless many manuscripts were burned during the 8 th century

Vikings invasion. The chief literary work of this period as it was mentioned before

was Beowulf, survives in a single copy, made around 1,000 possibly some 250

years after it was composed. There are a number of short poems, again almost

entirely preserved in the late manuscripts, over half of them concerned with

Christian subjects-legends of the saints, extracts from the Bible, and devotional

pieces. Several others reflect the Germanic tradition, dealing with such topics as

war, travelling, patriotism, and celebration. Most extant Old English texts were

written in the period following reign of King Alfred, who arranged for many Latin

works to be translated-including Bedes Ecclesiastical History. But the total corpus

is extremely small makes about 3, 5 million-the equivalent of about 30 medium-

sized modern novels. Only 5 per cent of this total is poetry [16: 10].

In the 10 th century when the old heroic epic verses were already declining,

some new poems were composed and inserted in the prose historical chronicles:

the battle of Brunanburgh, the battle of Maldon. They bear resemblance to the

ancient heroic poems but deal with contemporary events: the wars of the Scots, the

Picts and the raiders from Scandinavia.

Hence, the literature of the Old English period was not notable for its

diversity of literature genres. The leading place was taken by heroic romances and


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religious writings. Obviously, heroes of the old times had no time to think of love

as in ancient epic romances love did not play any important role. However, the

situation considerably changed in the subsequent period.

1.2. The Middle English corpus

The Middle English period has a much richer documentation than is found in the

old English. This is partly a result of the post-conquest political situation. The

newly centralized monarchy commissioned national and local surveys, beginning

with the Domesday Book and there is a marked increase in the number of public

and private documents- mandates, charters, contracts, tax-rolls, and other

administrative or judicial papers. However, the early material is limited value of

those interested in the linguistic history of the English because it is largely written

in Latin or French, and the only relevant data which can be extracted relate to

English and the personal names. Most religious publication falls into the same

category, with Latin maintaining its presence throughout the period as the official

language of the Church.

A major difference from old English is the absence of a continuing tradition

of historical writing in the native language, as in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle-a

function which Latin supplanted, and which was not revived until the 15 th century.

Material in English appears as a trickle in the 13 th century, but within 150

years it has become a flood. In the early period, we can see a great deal of religious

prose writing, in the form of homilies, tracts, lives of the Saints, and the other aidsto devotion and meditation. Sometimes a text was written with a specific

readership in mind; the Ancrene Rewle (Anchorites Guide), for example, was

compiled by a spiritual director for three noblewomen who had abandoned the

world to live as anchoresses. During the 14 th century, there is a marked increase in

the number of translated writings from French to Latin, and of the texts for

teaching these languages. Guild records, proclaims, proverbs, dialogues, allegories,and the letters illustrate the diverse range of new styles and genres. Towards the

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end of the century, the translations of the Bible inspired by John Wycliff appear

amid considerable controversy, and the associated movement produces many

manuscripts. Finally, in the 1430es, there is a vast output in the English from the

office of the London Chancery scribes, which strongly influenced the development

of the standard written language.

Poetry presents a puzzle. The Anglo-Saxon poetic tradition apparently dies

out in the 11 th century, to reappear patchily in the 13 th. A lengthy poetic history of a

Britain is knows as Lagamons Brut as we have mentioned above, one of the

earliest to survive from Middle English, and in the 14 th century come the important

texts of Piers Plowman and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. What is surprisingin that the alliterative Old English style is still present in these all works, despite an

apparent break in poetic continuity of at least hundred years. The conundrum has

generated much discussion. Perhaps the alliterative technique was retained though

prose: several Middle English prose texts are strongly alliterative, and it is

sometimes difficult to tell from a manuscript which genre (poetry or prose) a piece

belongs to, because the line divisions are not shown. Perhaps the Old English style

survived through the medium of oral transmission. Or perhaps it is simply that

most poetic manuscripts have been lost. Middle English poetry was inevitably

much influenced by French literary traditions, both in content and style. One of the

earliest examples is the 13 th century verse-contest known as The OWL and the

Nightingale. Later works include romances in the French style, secular lyrics,

bestiaries, biblical poetry, Christian legends, hymns, prayers and elegies.

The mystical dream vision popular in Italy and France, is well illustrated by

the poem modern editors have called Pea , in which the writer recalls the death of

his two-year- old daughter, who then acts as his spiritual comforter. Drama also

begins to make its presence felt, in the form of dialogues, pageants, and the famous

cycles of mystery plays. Much of the Middle English literature is of unknown

authorship, but th end of the period this situation has changed. Among the prominent names which emerge in the latter part of the 14 th century are John


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Gower, William Langland, and some time later John Lydgate, Thomas Malory,

William Caxton, and the poets who are collectively known as Chaucerians.

Rather than a somewhat random collection of interesting texts, there is now

a major body of literature, in the modern sense. It is this which provides the final

part of the bridge between Middle and Early Modern English.

The flourishing of literature, which marks the seconds half of the 14 th c.,

apart from its cultural significance, testifies, to the complete reestablishment of

English as the language of writing. Some authors wrote in their local dialect from

outside London, but most of them used the London dialect or forms of the

language combining London and provincial traits. Towards the end of the century

the London dialect had become the principal type of language used in literature a

sort of literary pattern to be imitated by provincial authors.

The literary text of the late 14 th c. preserved in numerous manuscripts,

belong to a variety of genres. Translation continued, but original compositions

were produced in abundance; party was more prolific than prose. This period of

literary florescence is known as the age of Chaucer; the greatest name in English

literature before Shakespeare other writers are referred to as Chaucers

contemporaries) [16: 34-37].

1.2.1. Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was by far the most outstanding figure

of the time. A hundred years later William Caxton, the first English printer, called

him the worshipful father and fist founder and embellisher of ornate eloquence in

our language. In many books on the history of English literature and the history of

English Chaucer is described as the founder of the literary language.

His carried works more of less imitative if other authors Latin, French or

Italian though they bear abundant evidence of his skill. He never wrote in any

other language than English. The culmination of Chaucers work as a poet; his

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great unfinished collection of stories The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer wrote in a dialect which in the main coincided with that used in

documents produced in London shortly before his time and for a long time after.

Although he did not really create the literary language, as a poet of outstandingtalent he made better use if it than contemporaries and set up 2 pattern to be

followed in the 15 th c. His poems were copied so many times that over sixty

manuscripts of The Cantervary Tales have survived to this day. No books were

among the first to be printed, a hundred years after their composition.

Chausers literary language, based in the mixed (largely East Midland)

London dialect is known as classical M.E. In the 15 th and 16 th centuries it became

the basis of the national literary English language.

The 15 th century could produce nothing worthy to rank with Chaucer. The

two prominent poets, Thomas Hoccleve and John Lydgate, were chiefly translators

and imitators. The style of Caucers successors is believed to have drawn farther

away from everyday speech; it was highly affected in character, abounding in

abstact words and strongly influenced by Latin rhetoric (it is termed aureate

language) [21: 160- 162].

The tiny voice of this paper work can add nothing to the critical acclaim

which has been given to Chaucers poetic and the narrative achievements or to his

sights into medieval attitudes and society; but it can affirm with some conviction

the importance of his work to any history of the language. It is partly matter of aquantity of a quality- one complete edition prints over 43, 000 of a poetry, as well

as two of a major prose works but more crucial is the breath and variety of his

language, which ranges from the polished complexity of high flown rhetoric to the

natural simplicity of domestic chat. No previous author has shown such a range,

and Chaucers writing- in addition to its merits- is thus unique in the evidence it

has provided about the state of medieval grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.


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Chaucers best-known work, The Canterbury Tales, is not of course a guide

to the spoken language of the time; it is a variety of the written language which has

been carefully crafted. It is uses a regular metrical structure and rhyme scheme-

itself a departure from the free rhythms and the alliteration of a much earlier poetry. It contains many variations in word order, dictated by the demands of the

prosody. There are also frequent literary allusions and turns of a phrase which

make the text difficult to follow. What has impressed readers so much is that,

despite the constraints, Chaucer has managed to capture vividly the intriguing

characters of the speakers, and to reflect naturally the colloquial features of their

speech. In no other author, is there better support for the view that there is an

underlying correspondence between the natural rhythm of English poetry and that

of English everyday conversation [16: 38].

1.2.2. Principal Middle English written records

The literature written I England during the Middle English period reflects

fairly accurately the changes fortunes of English. During the time that French was

the language best understood by the upper classes, the books they read or listened

to were French. The rewards of patronage were seldom to be expected by those

who wrote in English; with them we must look for other incentives for writing.

Such incentives were most often found among members of the religious body,

interested in promoting right living and in the care of souls. Accordingly, the

literature in English that has come down to us from this period is almost

exclusively religious or admonitory.

The Ancrene Riwle, the Ormulum, a series of paraphrases and interpretations of

Gospel passages, and a group of saints lives and short homiletic pieces showing

the survival of an Old English literary tradition in the southwest are the principal

works of this class. The two outstanding exceptions are Layamons Brut based

largely on Wace, and the astonishing debate between The Owl and the Nightingale,

a long poem in which two birds exchange recriminations in the liveliest fashion.

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There was certainly a body of popular literature that circulated orally among the

people, just as at a later date in the English and Scottish popular ballads did, but

such literature has left slight traces in this period. The hundred years from 1150 to

1250 have been justly called the Period of religious Record [16: 38].

The separation of the English nobility from France by about 1250 and the

spread of English among the upper class is manifested in the next hundred years of

English literature. Types of polite literature that had hitherto had appeared in

French now appear in English. Of these types most popular was the romance. Only

one English romance exists from an earlier date than 1250, but from this time

translations and adaptations from French begin to be made, and in the course of thefourteen century their number become quite large. The period of 1250-1350 is a

period of Religious and secular literature of the English language. The general

adoption of English by all classes, which had taken place by the latter half of the

fourteenth century, gave rise to a body of literature that represents the high point in

English literary achievement in the Middle Ages. The period from 1350 to 1400

has been called the Period of Great Individual Writers. The chief name is that of

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), the greatest English poet before Shakespeare. Not

to mention his delightful minor poems, he is the author of a long narrative poem

telling the story of the unhappy love of Troilus and Criseyde and, most famous of his

works, the Canterbury Tales, which, besides giving us in the general prologue a

matchless portrait gallery of contemporary types, constitutes in the variety of the

tales a veritable anthology of medieval literature. To this period belongs William

Langland, the reputed author of a long social allegory. Piers Plowman (1362-1387);

John Wycliffe (d. 1384), putative translator of the Bible and author of a large and

influential body of controversial prose; and the unknown poet who wrote not only

the finest of the Middle English romances. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , but three

allegorical and religious poems of great beauty, including Pearl. Any one of these

men would have made the later fourteenth century an outstanding period in Middle

English literature. Together they constitute a striking proof of the secure position


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the English language had attained.

The fifteenth century is sometimes known as the Imitative Period because so

much of the poetry then written was written in emulation of Chaucer. It is also

spoken of as a Transition Period, because it covers a large part of the interval

between the age of Chaucer and the age of Shakespeare period has been unjustly

neglected. Hawes are not negligible, though admittedly overshadowed by some of their great predecessors, and at the end of the century we have the prose of Malory

and Caxton. In the north the Scottish Chaucerians, particularly Henryson, Dunbar,

Gawin Douglas, and Lindsay, produced significant work. These authors carry on

the tradition of English as a literary medium into the Renaissance. Thus, MiddleEnglish literature follows and throws interesting light on the fortunes of the

English language [14: 151-152].

PART 2. CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISH

LITERATURE

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2.1. Knighthood and Chivalry as a culturally dominant element in the

Middle English literature

After the Norman Conquest when invaders created a new sub-ethnic

system in the ethnic system of the subjugated folk and their contacts withEnglish people passed on from the interethnic to the intra-ethnic level, it

became obvious that the categorization of a newly acquired interethnic

contacts experience gave birth to a new prototype of English ethno-cultural

tradition. The basic concept of this very tradition arose in the Anglo-Saxon

Christian dominant with the infused Anglo-Norman subethnic values. The

latter favoured greatly the inclusion of England to the west European Christiansuper-ethnic system. The culture of Chivalry that had become a dominant of

the system had inherently French origin which also made for the depth of the

French ethno-cultural substratum in English cultural tradition. It is well known

that the basic motives of chivalrous culture were service, faithfulness and war.

All this was for the sake of the Lord, God and Lady. War was an aim and

ordinary end of knights life. A Knight enjoyed the battles being brave and

brutal as a lion though in peace time he devoted his time to the service to a

lady. The military system in England was organized thereby that not only

knights but the population had to on one way or another participate in a war.

Consequently, again the war motive was dominant.

John Sanders perceived in the Chivalrous culture Anglo-Saxon roots.

According to his point of view the culture sprung up in the XI century naturally

from ancient sets of values. Inside the developing feudal institutions were

establishing relations that naturally continued already existing traditions. The

being exploited institution of Knighthood was under great influence of religion

and Church. The Unity of Christian world was consolidating exactly in this

period in other words it was the process of forming west European super-ethnic

system. One can feel the tendency toward the extension of super-ethnic room

by means of crusades and missionary activities.


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The legend about the King Arthur was firstly told in the poem Brut by

Layamon. The kings himself as well as the knights from his suite were prototypical

ideal models of behavior of the epoch becoming the symbols of Chivalrous

England. The appearance of the Arthur is considered to be connected with Celticmyth-poetic tradition first of all due to the fact that he had a real historic prototype

of Celtic origin. [24: 90-100] .Just as the invaders travelled all over the subjugated

country and extended their territories as much as it was possible they also

subjected to the examination the literature of their new compatriots. The Normans

didnt take much from Saxon culture mainly because they didnt comprehend its

spirit. It was Celtic culture that was the center of their attention as its spirit suited

to their own perfectly. The king Author became Normans passion. At the moment

of the invasion there were a considerable number of legends about Celtic heroes,

although many of them were not necessarily connected with Arthur soon they

gradually grouped around him [10: 90-95].

As it was mentioned above the basic values cementing the dominant ethno-

cultural concept were service and faithfulness. Consequently the negative motiveof violation of loyalty oath, treason swikedome became the main theme of many

works of literature dating back to that time including Layamons Brut in the part

where the events of King Arthur life were described.

2.2. The idea of chivalry in Sir Gawain and Green Knight

The world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is governed by well-defined

codes of behavior. The code of chivalry, in particular, shapes the values and

actions of Sir Gawain and other characters in the poem.

The image of gallant and noble knights galloping on their mighty steeds to

perilous battles has been a longtime icon in numerous fairytales and folklore. This

idea of knighthood is especially portrayed and described in detail throughout Sir

Gawain and the Green Knight. Knights, more specifically, of the Round Table, aredepicted as the heroic, noble, almost god-like protectors of Camelot. Ardent

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followers of Christ, they are perceived as infinitely powerful in times of combat,

yet infinitely compassionate and honorable in times of peace. The Endless Knot, a

symbolic emblem of knighthood, dictates The fifth five that was used, as I find,

by this knight was free-giving and friendliness first before all, and chastity and

chivalry ever changeless and straight, and piety surpassing all point: these perfect

five were hasped upon him harder than on any man else. (38). Sir Gawain, though

the weakest of the King Arthurs Knights of the Round Table, proves himself as an

ideal knight through fulfilling the standards of knighthood described in Sir Gawain

and the green Knight.

Part of a knights duty was to defend and love the Church and to have

complete trust in God. The Knights of the Round Table were all firm believers in

Christ, taking part in [a] feast [that] was unfailing full fifteen days during the

Christmas season, thus implying how religiously vigorous they were. Sir Gawain is

highly religious, calling upon Gods grace and power to protect him in times of

peril, even having on the inner side of his shield [Marys] image depainted, that

when he cast his eyes thither his courage never failed. (39). Before entering the

field to the Green Chapel, Sir Gawain also proved his faith in God by entrusting

that He would protect him when the Green Knight repays the blow, praying that

By God on high I will neither grieve nor groan. With Gods will I comply.

Sir Gawains character also proves that he is morally strict in keeping his

honorable reputation as a Knight of the Round Table. For example, when

Bertilaks beautiful wife tempts Sir Gawain, although he knew he would die in a

few days time, he never fell into her manipulative seduction scheme. No matter

how persistent the lady demeaned her as one that loved him much, Sir Gawain

always fenced with her featly, ever flawless in manner.(58). This sends a

powerful message to the reader about Sir Gawains morality as a person, being

able to resist the very temptation that had brought so many other great men to their

knees.

The Knights of the Round Table were also expected to be the gallant, zealous


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defenders of Camelot. Sir Gawains perseverance and bravery definitely resembles

that of an ideal knight. During his long journey, Sir Gawain found a foe before

him, save at few for a wonder; and so foul were they and fell that fight he must

needs and thus conquering each and every one of the beasts that challenges him(41). The knight was also stunningly brave when he went to receive his repayment

from the Green Knight. Even though his guide warned him of his nonexistent

chances of surviving, Sir Gawain nevertheless presses onwards, replying that if

I here departed fain in fear now to flee, in the fashion thou speakest, I should a

knight coward be, I could not be excused. Noy, Ill fare to the Chapel, whatever

chance may befall (85). Sir Gawains unwavering bravery further justifies his

rightful title as an ideal knight. ...

The use of colors reflects his noble position as the protector of Camelot and King

Arthur, as Sir Gawain is equipped with armor in the regal color of red, which

symbolizes royalty. The ideal knight was also expected to serve the royal family,

and to protect the king in times of need, as Sir Gawain had put it, I find it

unfittingyou yourself be desirous to accept it in person, while many bold men

abRout you on bench are seated.(29). One could not help but notice Sir Gawains

show of selflessness when he offers to sacrifice his life for King Arthurs even

when none of the other elite knights would dare to do so. The knights free-

giving nature could also be observed when Bertilaks offers him a beautiful ring

that was worth wealth beyond measure. (75). Sir Gawain promptly refuses the

offer, arguing that he had nothing to offer in return. When he promises to hide the

green girdle that the lady presses upon him, it was a mistake that was not

committed for his own interests, but rather one to protect anothers reputation. This

selflessness reflects Sir Gawains loyalty to his duty as a knight to protect those

who are less superior and to serve the weak.

Through living up to the expected virtues of knighthood such as chastity,

selflessness, bravery, and piety, Sir Gawain proves himself time and time again his

worthiness to be recognized as the ideal knight. Each time the knight faces a

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different challenge or trial, his consequent decisions reveal a little about his

character. It is nearly impossible to compare the virtues and criterion of the ideal

knight to Sir Gawains actions and not recognize the stunning. As Sir Gawain and

the Green Knight closes to an end, the reader is left with the impression that Sir

Gawain had indeed fulfilled his duties as the ideal knight. [27]

2.2.2 The concept of Courtly love in the Middle English epoch

As it was mentioned above in ancient epic romances the idea of love and

service to a lady were shadowed and did not play any important role. Contrary to

this epoch in medieval literature a woman became a center of attention; all heroic

deeds were done only for the sake of winning her heart. The poets in their turn

were inspired by entirely new motives i.e the idea of courtly love [4:104-105].

The idea of courtesy was tightly connected with the knight culture. The

phrase courtly love refers to a set of ideas about love that greatly influenced the

literature and culture of the Middle Ages. In the 11 th century, poets throughout

Europe promoted the notions that true love only exists outside of marriage; that

true love may be idealized and spiritual, and may exist without ever being married;

and that a man becomes the servant of the lady he loves. This idea is extended to

that love is a torment or a disease, and when a man is in love he cannot sleep or

eat; therefore, he undergoes physical changes and sometimes to the point of

becoming unrecognizable. Although very few people's lives resembled the courtly

love ideal, these themes and motifs were extremely popular and widespread in

Medieval and Renaissance literature and culture. They were particularly popular in

the literature and culture that were part of royal and noble courts.

In theory "courtly love" has been seen as the other side of the coin of

antifeminism. Scholars have used the term to designate a set of literary

conventions that supposedly idealizes women and makes them into objects of

worship. The lady is wooed, usually at a distance, by a knight who fights in her honor, calls himself her "servant," and suffers insomnia, anorexia, pallor, chills and


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fever, and other symptoms that, he insists, will be his death if he does not obtain

her "mercy." (Ex. St. George, the Redcross Knight, is Una's protector, her knight.

Sir Philip Sidney's lyrics is based on courtly love.) The relationship between the

knight and the lady is an inversion of the relationship between lord and vassalunder feudalism. Because aristocratic women were married off for rank and

property, and husbands enjoyed total authority over their wives, it has been argued

that courtly love was incompatible with marriage and thus necessarily clandestine,

although in Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" and "Franklin's Tale" courtly suitors woo

and marry their ladies. Whether courtly love had any bearing on actual social

custom in the Middle Ages is a vexed question, but one may safely assume that the

literature reflects a new deference toward "ladies" that still governs much of our

social behavior [27:13-16].

2.2.3. The idea of piety and development of a religious dominant

Parallel to the chivalrous dominant another ethno-cultural majorant that

considerably influenced the literature was developing. Christianity with its ideas

about the perishable nature of earthly blessings and riches offering an eternal blissin heaven displaced the accent from the materialized symbols of the military epoch

to the spirituality. It is noteworthy that through the suffering and redemption even

a rejected looser could find a consolation in Christian idea. In whole, relations

between a human and community moved on to a new footing. By putting in the

forefront individual salvation, freedom of will Christianity raised the value of

humans personality put in direct relation with God. Christianity did change theethno-cultural dominant of the Anglo-Saxon giving them motivation for

reappraisal of already established models of behavior in line with the new

imperatives. All this prepared the ground for the forming of young and unique

Anglo-Saxon ethnic system [3: 208].

With Christianization England became a significant part of the western

Christian super-ethnic system. It promoted literacy, brought a substantial body of

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Latin literature to England, and inspired Anglo-Saxon poets to write on Christian

subjects. The birth of vernacular poetry is associated with the name of Caedmon.

His famous Hymn to God the creator is an illustration of how the content and form

of old Germanic heroic lay of praise was transferred to religious poetry.

As far as medieval literature is concerned the relation between God and

human beings is one of the main points. The scene of peoples praying or pleading

appears every now and then, no matter to the God or even to some other people

who own power. Traditionally, whenever people meet obstacles or need helps,

they turn to God and reverentially pray for fulfillment of their wishes with their

piety and respect in return. Knights tale is not an exception. Before the publicfight in the arena, Palamon and Arcita go praying in the shrines of Venus and Mars

respectively and both swear to be the most pious followers if they succeed, one in

winning Emily and the other in having the battles victory. Beside these two

warriors praying, Emily, treated as the prize in the battle, also shows up in the

temple of Diana, the goddess of Chastity, hoping for keeping her virginity and

chastity earlier the day of fight. These threes very alike action of praying in the

shrines clearly reveals peoples tendency of praying to gods while confronting

challenges. In other words, people see their religions as one way to seek for helps

or to get strength [26:1-2].

There was a good deal of religious writingworks like the Ormulum a

translation of some of the Gospels read at Mass, made by the Bo&V 1 Orm about 1

zoo. There is the Ancrene Riwle advice given by a priest to three religious ladiesliving not in a convent but in a little house near a church. This is rather charming,

and it seems that, for a time in the literature of England, there is an awareness of

woman as woman a creature to be treated courteously and delicately, in gentle

language. There is a connection here with the devotion to the Blessed Virgin,

Mother of Christ, a cult which the Normans brought over, practiced by them in

prayers and homage even when it was forbidden by Rome. Chivalry, whichdemanded a devotion to womankind almost amounting to worship, is another myth


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of old Europe, killed finally by Cervantes in the satire Don Quixote, written in

Shakespeare's time. There is a curious book written about 1300a translation from

the French spoken in England by Robert Mannyng, called Handlyng Synne,

setting out in verse stories the various paths of sinsatirical, amusing, as well asedifying. There is the Pricke of Conscience , probably written by Richard Rolle about

which deals with the pains of hell in horrifying detailthe damned souls, tortured

by thirst, finding that fire will not quench it, suck instead the heads of poisonous

snakes. Demons yell, strike with red-hot hammers, while their victims shed tears of

fire, nauseated by unspeakable filth and smells of an indescribable foulness

[14:153].

CONCLUSION

In this work we endeavored to consider a huge layer of English literature i.e

English medieval literature. Having analyzed this complex epoch we have come to

the following conclusions.

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The process of the formation of new ethno-cultural dominants proved to be a

very long and gradual process the slight traces of which can be seen at the early

stages of the English literature development. Many centuries elapsed until they

become the cementing elements of the culture affecting various aspects of life of

culture bearers.

The chivalrous culture was one of the main ethno-cultural dominants. The

phenomenon of Knighthood proved the appearance of several new directions in

West-European and English literature in particular there merged Courtly love

literature.

The literary culture of the Middle Ages was far more international than

national and was divided more by lines of class and audience than by language.

Latin was the language of the Church and of learning. After the eleventh century,

French became the dominant language of secular European literary culture.

Edward, the Prince of Wales, who took the king of France prisoner at the battle of

Poitiers in 1356, had culturally more in common with his royal captive than with

the common people of England. And the legendary King Arthur was an

international figure. Stories about him and his knights originated in Celtic poems

and tales and were adapted and greatly expanded in Latin chronicles and French

romances even before Arthur became an English hero. Indeed, this period was an

important time for literature in Britain. The works of the Middle English period

helped to distract people from their everyday fears; today they also provide us with

doorways through which we can see what everyday early English life was like.

By the mid 15th century, as this period of British history was coming to a close,

Gutenberg finished development of his printing press, thereby giving lower and

middle class people their first opportunity to be able to afford to purchase books

and other literary works; and expanded literacy in Britain, leading to the

emergence of the Renaissance.


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