Despite the challenges of war, plague, and oppression, the Middle Ages was vibrant and its people creative and resilient. Today, we are indebted to the Middle Ages for many modern ideas and institutions, such as universities, governmental forms, and concepts of the world and of God. The medieval narratives that have survived reflect much of the time’s positive outlook, and many of them contain the same passion, humor, and sense of wonder we see today. For example, Geoffrey
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales covers the full scope of the medieval narrative, with its inclusion of romance, faith, and humor alongside darker, more humanistic themes. Medieval writers provide a vital link between the Middle Ages and the modern world. Through a combination of close reading and exposure to an array of texts, students observe how literature reveals some of the societal values within medieval literature and draws connections between literary form and philosophy. In addition, students consider how certain traits of and values in medieval literature can also be found in the art of the period: for instance, how characters have symbolic meaning both in literature and in iconography. Students write essays in which they analyze a work closely, compare two works, or trace an idea or theme through the works they have read.
RL.11-12.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
RI.11-12.2: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range or formal and informal tasks.
L.11-12.3(a): Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

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Students will understand the impact of history upon culture.
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Students will understand that medieval literary and artistic forms reflect the writers’ and artists’ philosophical views.
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Students will understand how authors use literary elements to convey meaning and intention.
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Students will understand how authors use satire to make a point.
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Students will understand the religious and social conventions embedded within medieval literature.
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Students will understand how the form of a literary piece contributes to its meaning.
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Students will understand how medieval literature and art represent the time period.
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How do certain periods in history influence the culture of the times?
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How are medieval writers and artists’ philosophical views reflected through literature and art?
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How do authors use literary elements to convey meaning and intention within a text or art form?
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How and why do authors use satire to make a point?
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What religious and social conventions are apparent in medieval literature?
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How does the form of a literary piece contribute to its meaning?
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What characteristics are apparent within medieval literature that reflect the time period?
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What characteristics are apparent within medieval art that reflect the time period?

Allegory
Archetype
Characterization
Chivalry
Culture
Epic
Foil
Framed narrative
Hyperbole
Icon (religious art)
Irony
Metaphors
Perspective (art and literature)
Pilgrimage
Romance Narrative
Satire
Similes
Symbol
OPTIONAL
Anonymity
Caesura
“Dance of death”
Fabliaux
Miracle, mystery, and morality plays
1. Analyze how medieval literature exhibits many tendencies rather than a single set of characteristics.
Note the literary elements (e.g., allegory, farce, satire, and foil) in medieval literary works and identify characteristics of medieval literary forms.
2. Explain how literary elements contribute to meaning and author intention.
(Note glimpses of the Renaissance in certain works of medieval literature and art.)
3. Explain how medieval literary and artistic forms reflect the writers’ and artists’ cultural and societal commentary.
4. Examine the literary, social, and religious satire in Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales or King Arthur.
5. Explain the role of the framed narrative in Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales, Dante’s Inferno, or other works.
6. Compare works of medieval literature and art, particularly their depiction of character and their focus on the society’s values.

Seminar: Compare and contrast Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and/or "The Knight’s Tale” or “Le Morte d’Arthur.” What are the qualities of the ideal knight? Do they differ at all? Use textual evidence from both texts to support an original, concise thesis. (RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.3, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2)
Seminar: Compare "The Monk’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales with Dante’s story of Ugolino in Cantos XXXII through XXXIII of
Inferno, paying special attention to depiction of character. Use at least one critical source. Use textual evidence to support an original, concise thesis statement. (RL.11-12.3, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2, W.11-12.7, L.11-12.3)
Seminar: Choose one of the Canterbury Tales. Explain how the main character shows his or her personality through narration.
How do fabliaux reveal the point of view of the character? Use textual evidence to support an original, concise thesis statement.
(RL.11-12.5, RI.11-12.2, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2)
Seminar: Discuss “The Pardoner’s Tale” or “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” as a satire. Is Chaucer satirizing human nature and/or the
Church as an establishment in “The Pardoner’s Tale?” Is Chaucer satirizing a woman’s role in society in “The Wife of Bath’s
Tale?” Use textual evidence to support an original, concise thesis statement. (RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.5, SL.11-12.1,
SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2)
In medieval society, is greed or desire the root of all evil? Use textual evidence from at least two of the pieces we have read to support an original concise thesis statement. (question works with Canterbury Tales and /or King Arthur and/or poems)
(RL.11-12.2, W.11-12.1, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.3)

Seminar: Read Dante’s Inferno. How does the allegory reveal the values of the Middle Ages? What sins are punished most severely and why? Do you agree with the hierarchical circles of hell that Dante creates? Use textual evidence to support an original, concise thesis statement. (RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.6, RL.11-12.5, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2)
Seminar: Is the Wife of Bath from The Canterbury Tales a feminist? Use textual evidence to support your position. (RL.11-12.1,
RL.11-12.3, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.2)
Seminar: “To what degree does medieval literature regard human existence as secondary to the divine?” Use textual evidence from one of the texts read in this unit to support an original, concise thesis statement. (RL.11-12.2, W.11-12.1, SL.11-12.1,
SL.11-12.3)
Seminar: Argue one side or another: Writers from the Middle Ages depict culture and society in a “dark” manner. (RL.11-12.2,
W.11-12.1, SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.3)
Compare earlier images from the medieval period to later ones. For instance, compare Giotto’s Arena Chapel frescos with
Masaccio’s at the Brancacci Chapel. How do we see depictions of man change? Do religious figures begin to take on earthly characteristics as the Middle Ages wane? What changes do you observe in the various depictions of Jesus, both as a child and as an adult (consider comparing both Maestà images)? (SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.2, SL.11-12.3, SL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.5)
Reflect on seminar questions, take notes on your responses, and note the page numbers of the textual evidence you will refer to in your seminar and/or essay answers. Share your notes with a partner for feedback and guidance. Have you interpreted the text correctly? Is your evidence convincing? (RL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.1)

Select one of the poems or excerpts from this unit, and answer the following. Include an introduction that states:
What the excerpt is from, Who wrote it, Why it exemplifies the medieval period (SL.11-12.4)
Please note: Students should explain what the excerpt is from, who wrote it, and how it specifically connects to this time period. They should provide three characteristics from the piece that prove how it exemplifies the medieval period based upon the discussions that have taken place in class.
Answer the essential question:
How do writers reveal the values of the Middle Ages? What values are praised most and why? What sins are satirized/punished most severely and why?
Use primary and secondary sources from this unit or outside of the unit to support an original thesis statement to answer the question. Cite at least three sources. The essay should reflect your reasoned judgment about the quality and reliability of sources consulted (i.e., why you emphasize some and not others), a balance of paraphrasing and quoting from sources, original thinking, the anticipation and addressing of questions or counterclaims, and the proper citation of sources. Your teacher may give you the opportunity to share and refine your initial research questions on the classroom blog in order to get feedback from your classmates. (RL.11-12.1, W.11-12.1, W.11-12.7, W.11-12.8, RI.11-12.7)
(E) indicates a CCSS exemplar text; (EA) indicates a text from a writer with other works identified as exemplars.
LITERARY TEXTS
Farce of Master Pierre Pathelin (Anonymous)
The Summoning of Everyman (Anonymous)
The Decameron (Giovanni Boccaccio) (continued in Unit Two)

“Dance of Death” (“Danza de la Muerte”) (Anonymous)
“I see scarlet, green, blue, white, yellow” (Arnaut Daniel)
Inferno (Cantos I-XI, XXXI-XXXIV) (Dante Alighieri) 1
“Lord Randall” (Anonymous)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Anonymous)
“The bitter air” (Arnaut Daniel)
The General Prologue in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“The Knight’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“The Crede of the Piers Ploughman” by William Langland
“In Taberna Quando Sumus” excerpt from Carmina Burana
“Dies Irae” attributed to Thomas of Celano
“Foy Porter” by Guillaume de Machaut
“The Monk’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“The Pardoner’s Tale”in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“The Ruin” in The Exeter Book (Anonymous)
“The Wanderer” in The Exeter Book (Anonymous)
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) (E)
“When the leaf sings” (Arnaut Daniel)
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS
Confessions (Book XI) (Saint Augustine) 1
Medieval Images, Icons, and Illustrated English Literary Texts: From Ruthwell Cross to the Ellesmere Chaucer
(Maidie Hilmo)
St. Thomas Aquinas (G. K. Chesterton)
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade (Susan Wise Bauer)

The One and the Many in the Canterbury Tales (Traugott Lawler)
How are women to act in the Middle Ages?
Cimabue, Maestà (1280)
Duccio, Maestà (1308-1311)
Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel frescos, Padua (after 1305): Joachim Among the Shepards, Meeting at the
Golden Gate, Raising of Lazarus, Jonah Swallowed Up by the Whale
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise (1425-1452)
Masaccio, The Tribute Money at the Brancacci Chapel, Florence (ca. 1420)
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Satire Links:
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http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/green--fazio/1357057
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwXCXOkkv-8
Expectations of women in Middle Ages:
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Full Prologue:
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