English Literature Chapter 7 Middle Ages Who s on Fiirst? Knights, ladies, swashbuckling adventure--who could ask for more? The Middle Ages were a time of conquest, division, and invention. But it also was a time when someone could be sentenced to death without ever knowing what he or she did wrong--or turning the corner to see and smell piles of rotting corpses courtesy of the Bubonic Plague. However, unless you study this period or situation closely, like Abbot and Costello s famous comedy routine, things can get a little perplexing. If you are confused about this era, don t worry you re not alone. Chaos and a sense of wandering characterized the Middle Ages. Feudalism (the form of government at that time) is defined by the breakdown in the power of a central government. The damsel in distress was society itself, and who could come to her rescue? More Powerfull than a Locomotiive With so many rulers and kings, the only unifying force of the time was the Catholic Church. Yet even the Church had its problems including its conflict with Henry II on deciding who would hold the authority to try clergymen. Would it be the civil or Church-run courts? With lack of a central government and chaos all around, the church became a force of stability for secular as well as spiritual needs. 1
When Angry, Fiirst Count to Ten Henry II definitely left his mark on England and on the floor of Canterbury Cathedral. He introduced trial by jury and circuit courts. He changed the rule of law from revised Roman to Anglo-Saxon. He founded the Plantagenet royal house. He made these and other positive contributions. Now the bad news. Unintentionally, he initiated the custom of pilgrimages to Canterbury. In response to the King s fit of rage at a banquet, four of his knights left the party to murder Thomas à Becket. The Archbishop had sided with the Church against the King. As a result of this murder, traveling to Canterbury became a sacred pilgrimage to honor the site of Becket s death. Thomas à Becket was declared a saint, and Henry II was forced to concede to the church the authority to try its own members in legal disputes. Parllez Vous Françaiis? Charles the Simple, King of the West Franks, had given Normandy to the Vikings in 911 AD to stop their raids. Rollo, leader of the Vikings, in turn pledged his allegiance to Charles, was baptized, and defended the land against future Viking invasions. In 1066 the Normans invaded England because William, Duke of Normandy claimed that the now deceased Edward the Confessor, the English king, had promised him the throne and had given him the authority to be king. After the bloody Battle of Hastings, the victorious Duke of Normandy had won a new title King William I. As a result of this decisive conquest, the Normans contributed a great deal of French words and gave English the ability to have nuance of meaning for the same term. Though the victory sometimes appears more obvious on the battlefield, the real changes take place in the way people think. 2
For a glimpse of Viking raids on Europe, check out: Feudiing and Feudalliism During part of the Norman kings reign, a system called Feudalism took root. In its simplest form, the king would give land to men (called barons). In exchange for the property, the baron was obligated to return taxes on the land and provide knights to fight wars for the king. Oh Riichard, You Shoulldn t Have Even in the Medieval times, death and taxes were part of life. Though, sometimes it is as hard to collect taxes as it is to pay them. King John reigned in England after Richard I. Unfortunately for John, he inherited much of the debt passed on by Richard. As a result, John was forced to sign the Magna Carta because he needed the barons to cooperate and pay taxes. By agreeing first to meet with the barons before taxing their lands, he avoided the prospect of a civil war. Wars of the Roses Yet despite his and other kings attempts to maintain peace, a civil war eventually broke out under Henry VI called the Wars of the Roses. The roses symbolized the two warring houses, Lancaster and York. The white rose represented the House of York, and the red rose stood for the House of Lancaster. The wars lasted from 1455 to 1485. The bloody seesaw of the battles has never been forgotten. The last of all royal houses in the Middle Ages was the strong House of Tudor, which imposed order on the English political scene. 3
Although war brought death and hatred to many of the European countries, it did provoke trade between the warring European countries and the Middle East. As a result, trading centers, the largest being in London, England, were created and towns grew in size and population. Because of all the trade, the people instituted a new kind of organization the guild to protect the interests of the workers and assure the quality of work of its craftspeople. Both good and bad emerged from the growth of the towns. Wealth was no longer restricted to land ownership, yet because people were forced to live so much closer together diseases (like the Black Death) spread like wildfire and destroyed a greater number of people. While the Black Death stalked England and other countries, feudalism began to decline due to the massive labor shortage. These were exhilarating times, as the decline of feudalism saw workers enjoy a greater sense of freedom once they were paid in cash, peasants revolts, and new towns being built. The increase in trade simply made feudalism unnecessary. The Kniights Who Say Nii * Chivalry was a code of conduct that required loyalty, valor, and reverence for a lady, the standard to live by in the medieval period. Knights may have been required by duty to fight in the Crusades, joust for a maiden s favor, or rescue a lady in distress. The Celtic King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were the ultimate example for what we regard as chivalry today. Sports figures help to fill this void in the modern heart with champions, courageous, willing and able to confront all challengers. Whether history or legend, two well-known stories inspired by King Arthur were Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Morte d Aurthur. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a modern adaptation of the legend, the Bridgekeeper intones, or chants, the following warning: 4
He who would cross the Bridge of Death Must answer me These questions three Ere the other side he see.* Spoof, on the rocks, or straight, enjoying the tales of King Arthur are a great way to spend some time. *From Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a movie about the King Arthur legend. How Can You Keep Them Down on the Farm Once They ve Read Too Many Books? In Medieval times as well as today, knowledge is a magic key to freedom, money and success. The doors to the prison of the Dark Ages creaked open when Johann Gutenberg perfected moveable type for printing presses. Remember that the peasants were agricultural slaves, many living in mud-floored huts with animals, animal droppings, disease, and many varieties of filth. Many poets and writers could now transfer thoughts from their minds to other minds without ever speaking to the person. Like the first candle burning at an evening celebration service, the printing press shone the light of knowledge to all corners of the earth dispersing the Medieval ghosts of feudalism and ignorance. The first moveable type press in England was owned by a man named William Caxton. One of the first things he did after starting to use his press was to print Geoffrey Chaucer s greatest achievement, The Canterbury Tales. This work ranked Chaucer second to Shakespeare as England s greatest writer. Another man whose works became published by Caxton was poet William Langland. His sympathies, which went out to the 5
poor and oppressed, aided in inspiring his most famous poem, Piers Plowman. Along with the poem was also the ballad, a folk song that told a story. A legendary hero who appears in a several medieval ballads is Robin Hood, a character we still know and love. Europeans might sing their ballads accompanied by a lyre, a harp-like instrument that adds that requisite, or necessary, angelic touch to their verse. Saturday Niight at the Moviies Early dramas were also taking place. One early type of drama depicted the life of an ordinary person. It was called a morality play. The most famous surviving morality play, Everyman, which was originally from the Netherlands, did not make its way to England until about the year 1500. The first dramas, however, were the miracle plays. These took place often in the Church and retold stories from the Bible. England also encountered a little renaissance when learning and studying grew at great lengths. The first university in England, located in Oxford, graduated the most famous scholar of the Middle Ages Roger Bacon. Although accused of heresy, his influence still remained some fifty odd years later when William of Ockham, a Franciscan scholar picked up the intellectual ball that Roger Bacon had started rolling. Ockham was also accused of heresy. Bacon died in obscurity at Oxford. The language of the universities and the government at this time was Norman French, while the main language of the Church was Latin. This would soon begin to change, as John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English, so the common people would be encouraged to read it. 6
An Idea Is A Wiindow Into the Future Our question now is not Who s on First, but who is first. Gutenberg (invented moveable type), Wycliffe (first translated the Bible into English), Henry II (first introduced trial by jury to England) all distinguished themselves by doing something no one else had done before. With an original idea, hard work and the courage to see it to completion, the world was transformed. Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that to believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all that is genius. 7