CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Introduction to the Medieval Period
The Medieval period can be thought of as a "transitional" period between the Anglo-Saxon and the Renaissance Period. Sometimes called the Middle Ages, the term is used to indicate its position between the classical and modern world. Unlike the previous period of the Anglo-Saxons, the Medieval period, however is completely different. They differ in their languages, cultures, attitudes, and more. Through the study of Medieval society and culture, one can understand the literature written during this prosperous and interesting period in English history. The Medieval period technically started after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Conquer and the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons.
The Medieval period was characterized by castle building, chivalry, "Knight in shining armor", and the feudal system. The knight was the symbol of chivalry. Chivalry developed in the twelfth century, the same time that the Crusades took place. Courtly love was rampant in the twelfth century. The concept of "the Lady" came into play because of the people's adoration for the Virgin Mary. This adoration helped spur on the development of medieval poetry and prose. During the late 11th century, a major emphasis was placed on love lyrics. It reached its climax in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The first finished chronicle of the rise and fall of King Arthur's kingdom was included in The History of the Kings of Britain, writtein 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. English literature during the Norman period was generally restricted to Bible stories and sermons in verse.
When we think about the Medieval Period or the Middle Ages we often have a romanticised image of what life was like. Cinema is largely responsible for us associating such images with the period. Some of the common images of this period include knights in shining armour, lavish banquets, wandering minstrels, kings, queens, bishops, monks, and pilgrims. In reality, however, life in the Middle Ages, was not necessarily so glamorous.
CHAPTER II
CONTENT
2.1 The Medieval Period
(Middle English)
The middle ages marks a period roughly from the collapse of the Roman Empire up until the Renaissance. Scholars forever debate when periods begin and when they end, but for our purposes, the middle ages run from roughly 500 to 1400 AD. After the middle ages is the beginning of the Renaissance, which we will cover in the last half of the course.
One of the greatest acheivements of the middle ages was the cathdral. They are miracles of architecture, planning, craftsmenship and construction. There are some scholars who are dedicated to interpreting the imagery and iconography in stained glass windows.
Although the Roman Catholic Church and a solidified social structure created a certain continuity to this long period in history, the middle ages are a lot more varied than we tend to think. Despite stereotypes about “the Dark Ages,” there were many centuries during the middle ages of vast advancements in philosophical, theological and economic thought. We do not have as much literature from this period because the middle ages occurred before the printing press, which was not ubiquitously utilized until the 16th and 17th centuries, and well before the publishing industry revolution. On top of the absence of a print-culture, poetry and fictional writing was not valued as highly as philosophical writing, so a piece of creative work was less likely to be “scribed.” In order to reproduce writing, scribes would have to make diligent copies of the original. For important works, like the Bible, or Aquinas’s philosophy, there were gigantic “scribe factories” of scholars and translators madly reproducing works.
There was more than likely a great deal of imaginative literature spoken and written during the middle ages that simply has not survived because it either was not scribed, or whatever reproductions were produced became lost over time. Therefore, any creative piece of writing we have from this 1400 year period is a gift.
The Middle Ages in England and Europe was fully part of an oral tradition. Since there was no printing press, and around 98% of the population was illiterate, any story, history, philosophy or religion was transmitted orally. It is difficult for us, surrounded by print, visual and audio media in 2009, to imagine a culture that transmitted all of its literature orally. In particular, Christian faith was almost entirely based upon an oral tradition–most people knew the Bible through the ear alone–until the print revolution that occurred during the Reformation. One cannot underestimate the shift in world and religious view for an individual when people begin to read the Bible as opposed to hear the Bible.
Like the ancient Greeks, history and stories developed through mythology and years of transmitting stories and information for medieval England. Everything we read up until the Renaissance comes to us as a rare gift of being a poem or narrative that was both scribed and survived the passage of time.
We will divide the literature of the Middle Ages into three different linguistic movements: Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Norman England and Middle English Literature. The invaders of the British island from Angel and Saxon– Nordic tribes–brought a tough, Germanic language. As I said, these were pagan cultures whose language valued kinship, bravery in battle, doom and death. There was virtually no language of love, which would not become part of the English language until after the Norman Conquest.
The Anglo-Saxons became Christian around the fourth century, approximately 150 years after their invasion. However, they rapidly assimilated Christianity, combining it with their gloomy world-view to create a sense of hope and renewal that awaits us upon death. This can be seen most readily in “The Dream of the Rood.” There still rage many debates as to whether Beowulf, the only surviving epic poem from the Anglo-Saxon period, is pagan or Christian. Some scholars argue that the Christian nuances of resurrection at the end of the poem were added on at a later date.
Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) poetry combines a sense of heroism and Christianity. In “The Dream of the Rood,” Christ is referred to in warrior like terms. In The Wanderer, Christian and heroic themes are wonderfully blended. The narrator of the poem suffers the worst fate for an Anglo-Saxon: estrangement from one’s king (kinsman) and the tribe. But the poem also juxtaposes transient earthly gains to God’s eternity. The poem falls in an Old English genre that still thrives today known as ubi sunt, or “where did they all go?” This type
of poem is usually a lament about the ineluctable passage of time, a reflection upon loved ones and communities who have died, and the pain of aging.
As I said, Old English poetry presents a dominantly harsh world. The only place that seems to be cheerful is the mead hall, where warriors eat and drink in fellowship with their kinsmen. But even there, thoughts always return to battle and the transience of life.
There is hardly any Romantic love in Old English poetry. There was not much of a vocabulary for Romantic love. The introduction of a language for love does not enter poetry until after the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the influence of the French language. The Norman Conquest begins Middle English poetry, and some of the great pieces of English literature, such as Sir Gawaine and the Greene Kinght, and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
The use of language for love in poetry in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is really the invention of Romantic love, which I believe is one of the most miraculous occurrences in language and literature.
CHAPTER III
SUMMARY
3.1. Conclusion
The term "medieval" comes from the Latin meaning "middle age." The term medieval (originally spelled mediaeval) wasn't introduced into English until the 19th century, a time when there was heightened interest in the art, history and though of the Middle Ages.
There is some disagreement about when the Medieval Period started, whether it began in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th century AD. Most scholars associate the beginning of the period with the collapse of the Roman empire, which began in 410 AD. Scholars similarly disagree about when the period ends, whether they place the end at the start of the 15th century (with the rise of the Renaissance Period), or in 1453 (when Turkish forces captured Constantinople).
Much of the early literature of this period consists of sermons, prayers, lives of saints, and homilies. Somewhat later than the religious writers, the English secular poets appear. The figure of King Arthur, an ancient British hero, attracted the attention (and imagination) of these early writers. Arthur first appeared in literature in the Latin "History of the British Kings" (around 1147).
From this period, we see works like "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (c.1350-1400) and "The Pearl" (c.1370) — both written by anonymous authors (perhaps the same author?). We also see the works of Geoffrey Chaucer: "The Book of the Duchess" (1369), "The Parliament of Fowls" (1377-1382), "The House of Fame" (1379-1384), "Troilus and Criseyde" (1382-1385), the very famous "Canterbury Tales" (1387-1400), "The Legend of Good Women" (1384-1386), and "The Complaint of Chaucer to His Empty Purse" (1399).
