Unit 2:
The Medieval Period
1066-1485
Classwork
Read: “Intro to Medieval Lit”
pages 73-88
Do: Study Guide
The Norman Conquest-1066
Norman = north men = Vikings
Former
Vikings from
France
The Battle of Hastings
The
Normans
defeated
the Saxons
Rise of Feudalism
exchange of property of personal service
• lord/overlord: granted property
• vassal: promised service to his lord
• All land belongs to the ruler
Rise of Feudalism
A Shifting Language
Normans spoke French, so French became
the official language.
Old English was for the common (Saxon)
person.
The winner makes the rules.
The Growth of Towns
Trade with
Europe
and the
Middle East
Crusades
disease
And
death
money
crowded
towns
Later Middle Ages
•
•
•
•
14th-15th centuries
The feudal system suffered
The Plague killed every third person
Few serfs
Chivalry
Learning and Literature
Cambridge
2nd University
1st University
Poetry of the Middle Ages
• Geoffrey Chaucer “The Canterbury Tales”
• Reveal the changes that were taking place
in the English language and society as a
whole
Lyrics and Ballads
• Lyre: harplike instrument
• Lyric Poems
– Secular
• love and nature
– Religious
• praise God or prayer of supplication
• Ballads: folk song that tells a story
– Robin Hood
Drama of the Middle Ages
• Part of religious services
• Miracle & Mystery Plays
– Retold Bible stories
• Morality Plays
– life of an ordinary person
– teach a moral lesson