The Medieval Period English: The Formative Years 1066-1611
William the Conqueror The Battle of Hastings 1066 A.D French Win Language Changes!
Norman Rule brings Feudalism Class system Power = LAND Watch for the motif of commoner vs. aristocrat in British lit!
FEUDALISM monarch divides land into feuds or fiefs lords allied to monarch build private estates knights = soldiers/armies serfs = workers each estate a self-sufficient town
CHIVALRY cheval (French for horse) knightly behavior reverence to women service to their lord allegiance to church fair play in combat fight bravely & well keep your word
The Magna Carta beginning-of-end for feudalism spark of representative democracy & a voice for the common man 63 clauses - written in Latin everyday demands for fair treatment DATE?
The Rise of Villages free peasants become yeomen outlaws rebel vs. harsh lords merchant class sells to nobles wool industry the birth of guilds set work standards & prices train apprentices
The Black Death bubonic plague killed almost half population changes social structure workers scarce higher wages better working conditions
The Church Roman Catholic Church in charge independent govt. system absolute control of both noble & low classes discontent develops with corruption & lack of reforms
Church Life Church leaders highly educated Cathedrals, churches, & abbeys constructed Friars & monks work among common people Monasteries & nunneries flourish with land ownership
Church Architecture Westminster Abbey
Church Architecture Old Canterbury Cathedral
Church Architecture Canterbury Cathedral
Educational Advances Church controls education Universities founded Oxford Univ. (1167) Cambridge Univ. (1209) Teaching done in Latin the Liberal Arts education
Seven Liberal Arts Grammar Logic Rhetoric Arithmetic Geometry Astronomy Music
The Crusades recapture Jerusalem from Moslems European traditions come to England trade routes bring Oriental (Eastern) ideas to England
What is this?
An illustration from The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville, Knight A 14th century guidebook for pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem, by an author with a MARVEL ous imagination. ants that made hills of gold dust the fountain of youth werewolves or wolfmen Cyclops women men with heads below their shoulders a race of men with feet as big as umbrellas
More Maundeville Marvels
Development of Middle English written language = French spoken language French among nobles English among common people Middle English blends them expanded vocabulary - two into one!
Latin remains the language of the Roman Catholic Church until the mid-1900 s!
Folk Ballads authorship anonymous oral tradition typically poetry circulated among common people examples: The Wife of Usher s Well Sir Patrick Spens Daemon Lover Robin Hood tales
Literary Advances the romance Long tales of love or adventure Focus on courtly love Examples: King Arthur tales Sir Gawain & the Green Knight the lyric (poetry of emotion) the drama
Poetry Advances French poems depend on... rhyme stanzas Meter Anglo-Saxon roots... alliteration & assonance die out
Drama mystery plays & miracle plays developed to teach common people NOTE: services in Latin recount Bible stories performance moved from church to public areas staged on platforms or wagons morality plays not Bible stories, but moral themes actors portray abstract qualities Everyman & Death
A Church Drama
Characters from Everyman Beauty Fellowship Everyman
Emergence of Writers Geoffrey Chaucer student of human nature John Wycliff translator of Bible into English Sir Thomas Mallory recorder of Arthurian legends William Langland protester vs. social injustice
The Printing Press Changes History
The Printing Press credited to Gutenberg in Germany William Caxton in England (1476) Chaucer s Canterbury Tales Malory s Morte d Arthur Vergil s Aeneid
Medieval Summary Language blends English & French Feudalism brings order, but rigid class system Church - a strong influence education architecture drama Rise of middle class The printing press revolution First great English writers Romance, lyric poetry, & drama develop
Medieval Extra Credit The Medieval Feast poster in the Honors English classroom contains at least 24 errors or anachronisms. Working on your own, create your list of 24 out of place or time items and submit it to the teacher by the end of the school day on November 26th.