Part One The Middle Ages (449/450-1485/1500)
The Middle Ages lasted from the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon invasion to the end of the War of Roses. It can be
further divided into two periods: The Old English Period (or The Anglo—Saxon Period) from 449 to 1066, and the Middle
English Period (or The Anglo-Norman Period) from 1066 to 1485.
Chapter One The Old English Period (449—1066)
§I. The making of the nation ( The English people are of the mixed blood)
1.1 Cave men
Men first came to the land before the great Ice Age were called cave men or the stone age men.
1.2 Iberians:
At about 3,000 BC, Iberians came from the Mediterranean lands and some of them settled in the land.
1.3 The Beakers (Beaker folk/people):
From around 2000 BC, the Beaker folk arrived from the areas now known as Holland and the Rhineland.
1.4 The Celts:
From about 750BC, the Celts tribes began to settle in the country.
The first to come were the Gaels, whose language is still spoken in Scotland.
From about 500BC, another group of the Celts called Britons from whom the island got its name—Britain.
The third group came around 100BC from Gaul.
Roman Invasion
Britain was invaded by the Romans under the leadership of Julius Caesar in 55 BC. But Britain was not completely
subjugated to the Roman Empire until AD 78. The Roman occupation in Britain ended in AD 410. It was during the Roman
rule that Christianity was introduced to Britain. The Roman’s influence was limited.
1.5 Angles, Saxons and Jutes:
In the middle of the 5th century, Britain was invaded by three Germanic tribes from the Northeast of Europe: the
Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes
At first they established some small kingdoms in Britain which by the 7 th century were combined into a united
kingdom called England (the land of Angles). Its people were called the English or Anglo-Saxons.
The three dialects spoken by them naturally grew into a single language called Anglo-Saxon or Old English.
In AD 597, St. Augustine and his monks landed in Kent. Then England was Christianized part by part in the 7th
century.
1.6 Danes:
From 787, the English began to be troubled by bands of Danish Vikings (Scandinavian sea robbers).
The great hero of the time was King Alfred the Great (849-901), who succeeded in driving off the Danes. The Danes
finally occupied England in 1013 and held it for about 30 years.
1.7 Normans:
French—speaking Normans, under the leadership of Duke William (William the Conqueror) came in 1066. After
defeating the English at Hastings, William was crowned as the King of England. The Norman Conquest marks the
establishment of feudalism in England.
Formula:
Cave men
Iberians
Gaels
+
Celts
Beakers
Britons
Gauls
Angles
+
Saxons
+ Danes
+ Normans
= English
Jutes
§II. The Old English Literature (The Anglo-Saxon Literature)
I. The general view:
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The literature was almost verse literature in oral form.
There were two literary divisions during the period: one was pagan and the other was religious. And the main literary
forms are poetry and prose.
II. Poetry:
2.1 Religious poetry
Caedmon: the first known religious poet of England, known as the father of English song, representative work:
Paraphrase.
Cynewulf: representative work: The Christ
2.2 Pagan poetry
The Song of Beowulf was regarded as the national epic of the English people. It was a folk legend brought to England
by Anglo-Saxons from Northern Europe, passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before written down in the
10th century, which was the most important work of the Old English literature.
2.2.1 The Structure: Prologue + 43 fits (3182 / 3183 lines)
Part One: Beowulf’s fight with Grendel and his slaying of the she-monster
Part Two: Beowulf’s victory over the Fire Dragon
2.2.2. Features of Beowulf
The most striking feature is the use of alliteration which is characteristic of all Old English verse.
The second feature is the use of kenning (metaphors) and of understatements.
The third feature of the poem is the mixture of pagan and Christian elements.
III. The Anglo-Saxon prose
The Anglo-Saxon prose appeared in the 8th century, which was represented by two great persons.
Venerable Bede (673~735): the first scholar in English literature, the father of English history
Work: Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Alfred the Great (849-901):
Contributions:
1.
There were lots of his translations from Latin of which some were very useful in his day.
2.
His second contribution lay in his rather free way in translating from the Latin works, which helped him to write
in a natural style in English.
3.
3.His third contribution was his role in the launching of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (The Old English
Chronicle, AD 1~1154 )
Terms:
Alliteration:
It means the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
Kenning (or Metaphor):
In old English poetry, kenning refers to an elaborate phrase that describes persons, things or events in a metaphorical
and indirect way.
Understatement:
It is a figure of speech that deliberately represents something as very much less in importance than it really is.
Chapter Two The Middle English Period (1066—1485)
§ I General Background
1.
The Norman Conquest marked the beginning of the Medieval / Middle English literature.
2.
Feudalism was established in England.
3.
Both the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) and the War of Roses (1455-1485) took place.
4.
Tudor Dynasty was founded.
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§ II The Middle English Literature
The general view
1.
The literature was a combination of French and Anglo—Saxon elements and chivalry was introduced.
2.
Romances were the most prevalent kind of literature.
3.
Popular literature developed, chiefly ballads and plays.
4.
Geoffrey Chaucer was the most important writer.
I. Romance:
1.1 Romance: A long composition in verse or prose, about knights—adventures or love stories
1.2 Three major groups: the matter of France, the matter of Rome, the matter of Britain
1.3 The most important romance of the period: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
1.4 The first English version of Arthurian romance: Brut by Layamon
1.5 The best Arthurian romance: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
II. Popular literature:
2.1 Piers the Plowman written by William Langland (1332?- 1386 ?/ 1400): a realistic picture of the medieval England
2.2 Ballad / Popular Ballad: a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas with the 2nd and the 4th lines rhymed.
(Robin Hood Ballad )
2.3 Early English drama: Miracle plays, Morality plays and Interludes
III. Geoffrey Chaucer: the father of English poetry
3.1 Life
1. He was born into a wine merchant family.
2. In his life Chaucer underwent a great variety of occupations, as courtier, soldier, ambassador, legislator, and burgher of
London.
3. Chaucer died on October 25, 1400 and was buried in what has since become known as the Poet’s Corner in Westminster
Abbey.
4. In his day, Chaucer was not known as a writer but as an accomplished man of affairs who wrote poetry in his spare time.
3.2 Literary career:
Chaucer’ literary career can be roughly divided into three periods according to his life experience: The
French—Italian—English periods.
The first period extends from 1360 to 1372, when Chaucer wrote under the influence of French literature. In this period
he imitated French poetry and even translated French poems himself. The outstanding poem of this period is The Book of
the Duchess.
The second period is from 1372 to 1386 when he wrote under the influence of the Italian literature. The most
outstanding work is Troilus and Cryseyde. Other poems of this period are The Parliament of Fowls and The House of Fame.
The third period covers the last fifteen years of his life. The Canterbury Tales was written in the years between 1387
and 1400.
The Canterbury Tales:
the story, the main characters and the selected readings
3.3 Contributions:
1.
He introduced from France and Italy the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry instead of the old
Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse.
2.
He was the first great poet who wrote in the current English (Middle English). His excellent poetry was an
important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country.
3.
He did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.
Terms: Romance, Ballad, Miracle plays, Morality plays, Interludes
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