The Old English Period The Middle Ages

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The Old English PeriodThe Middle Ages
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Important Dates

• 43-420 Roman invasion and occupation of Britain
• 450 Anglo Saxon Conquest
• 1066 Norman Conquest
• 1200 Beginning of Middle English literature
• 1485 Caxtons printing of Malory

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The Middle Ages

• Covers time span from collapse of the Roman
  Empire to the Renaissance
• Time period of more than 800 years
• 1485 end of the Middle Ages

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A Time of Change

• Roman Catholic Church provided continuity
• Norman Conquest added French words to the
  English vocabulary
• Cross-currents of languages and literatures
  during this period
• Literature in English was performed orally,and
  written throughout the Middle Ages, but uniquely
  English literature does not exist before the late
  14th century.
• English began to displace French at the end of
  the 14th century in Parliament and courts of law.

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Anglo-Saxon England

• From 1st to 5th century, England was province of
  Roman Empire
• Named Britannia
• When the Romans withdrew during the fifth
  century, island was invaded by Germanic seafarers
• These belonged to three tribes the Angles, the
  Saxons, and the Jutes.

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Conversion to Christianity

• Britons became Christian in the fourth century
• In 597, a Benedictine monk was sent by Pope
  Gregory as a missionary to King Ethelbert of
  Kent and missionaries from Ireland became to
  preach Christianity in the north.
• Within 75 years, the island was Christian.
• The first extended written specimen of Old
  English (Anglo-Saxon) language is a code of
  laws.
• England produced many distinguished Churchmen,
  including Bede.
• ,

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Invasions by the Danes

• In the 9th century, Christian Anglo-Saxons were
  subjected to invasions by the Danes.
• They were stopped by King Alfred.
• King Alfred was an enthusiastic patron of
  literature.

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Old English Poetry

• Oral tradition
• Literacy was restricted to men of the church
• Most of Old English literature is religious
• Most of Old English poetry is contained in just
  four manuscripts.

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Heroic Values

• Heroic values of Germanic society continued to
  inspire clergy and laity in the Christian era.
• Heroic Values - Tribe is ruled by king who
  surrounds himself with a band of retainers. He
  leads men to battle and rewards them with gifts
  and treasures. Retainers are obligated to fight
  for their lord to the death
• Blood vengeance is a sacred duty.
• The best poetry of the period is both Christian
  and heroic.

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Characteristics of Old English Poetry

• Harsh world view
• Formal speech
• Elevated language
• Irony
• Contrast Pagan and Christian
• Fate
• The Past
• Violence
• Values of warrior society

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Anglo-Norman England

• The Normans took possession of England in 1066
• They adopted French language and Christian
  religion
• Henry II, first of Englands Plantagenet kings

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Languages

• During the Anglo-Norman period, four languages
  co-existed Latin, French, English, and Celtic.
• The Latin Bible provided subject for Old English
  poetry and prose
• Attraction to Celtic legends
• Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes wrote
  romances
• King Arthur and his court acquired immense
  popularity
• Romance involves a knight proving his worthiness
  through nobility of character and brave deeds
• Religious literature aimed at women saints
  lives, The Ancrene Riwle.

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Middle English Literature in the 14th Century

• Old English replaces French in literature
• Thirty Years War
• The bubonic plague wiped out one-third of
  European population
• A time of social unrest
• Church becomes target of resentment because of
  its wealth and worldliness
• Great European poets of the 14th century include
  Dante, Petrarch, Marie de France, and Boccoccio
• English writers of the 14th century include
  Chaucer, William Langland, the Pearl poet, and
  the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

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The Fifteenth Century

• War of the Roses between Lancasters and Yorks
  ended with King Henry VIIs ascension to the
  throne
• Performances of mystery plays and morality plays
• Mystical writings Julian of Norwich and Margery
  Kempe
• Lydgate
• Malory
• Caxtons printing press introduced in 1476.
  Caxtons publication of Malorys Morte Darthur.

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Middle English Literature

• Religious literature
• Popular literature
• Romance
• King Arthur
• Allegory
• Morality
• Authors looked at themselves as craftsmen
• No emphasis on originality
• Ptolemaic view of the universe earth centered
• Gothic Church as symbol of Middle Ages height
  and light