Medieval Literature

Lectures on English Literature by Paweł Kaptur

Time frames
 1066 – 1485
 Norman invasion, Battle of Hastings – 1066
 Battle of Bosworth, the Tudor Dynasty – 1485
 The name Middle English refers to the form of the English
language which succeeded the Old English language.
The Language
 It was a simpler language with a simplified grammatical
system.
 It had also absorbed many French words which existed
side by side with the original English words.
 Double words – unbelievable-incredible, understand-
comprehend, answer-response
 money, career, bottle, table, chair, farm, forest, lamp,
eagle, mountain, push, return, tennis, apartment, large,
police, brave, stupid, arrest, attack, join, invent,
disappear, paint, prince, air, flower, hotel, royal, army,
image, garden, success, plate, beef…..
The Lord’s Prayer
 The Lourdes Preyere

Oure fadir that art in heuenes,

halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene.
Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis, as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Amen.
Culture and society
 The Norman conquest put an end to the old heroic world
in literature and opened a way to a more sophisticated
culture based on the feudal system characterized by a
complex pattern of rank and landownership taking various
forms of service from vassals to tenants.
 With time, the system evolved from customary service to
„a money economy” (characteristic of capitalism)
Literature
 In the early Middle Ages France was the centre of avant-
garde literary trends which provided European literature
with new literary themes and techniques.
 The most important of the new concepts which came from
France was that of romantic love (‘amour courtois’).
 It was the idea of love as a voluntary and ennobling
service of a knight to lady of his choice, for whose sake he
was ready to suffer all kinds of humiliation and
discomfort.
Literary genres and themes
 Chivalric romance – narrative poetry
that replaced the old heroic epic. It
dealt with love and adventure and it
involved a knight hero who followed the
code of chivalry (courage, honour
courtesy and magnanimity) and served
his three masters: God, the King and the
lady of his heart.
 Three sources of inspiration: Arthurian
legends (The Matter of Britain), stories
about Charlemagne (The Matter of
France) and tales about classical heroes
(The Matter of Rome).
Literary genres and themes
 The best examples of chivalric romance are Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale (based on an Italian tale by
Boccaccio).
 The finest prose Arthurian legends were written by Sir Thomas Malory -
Le Morte D’Arthur (1470) published by the first English printer William
Caxton in 1485.
 Secular lyrics deal with many topics: the coming of spring and joyful
revival of nature (Cuckoo Song), the pleasures and pains of love (Alisoun),
didactic meditations of the passing of time (Ubi sunt), philosophical
subjects (The Owl and the Nightingale).
 Religious lyrics deal with such subjects as the lives of Jesus and Mary, the
Nativity, the Passion of Christ, the motherhood and virginity of Mary.
Literary genres and themes
Types of narratives in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales:
 Chivalric romance – The Knight’s Tale
 Breton Lay (short, rhymed romance, usually with supernatural elements and
the Celtic idea of a fairy) – ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’
 Fabliau – a story of low, down-to-earth life, realistic, aimed at non-
aristocratic audience – ‘The Miller’sTale’
 Beast fable – prose or verse short story with a moral, where animals
represent human feelings and motives. – The Nun’s Priest’s Tale
 Exemplum – a tale offering a moral instruction, a moral anecdote – The
‘Pardoner’s Tale’
Literary genres and themes
 Ballads – songs telling a story. Most English or Scottish
medieval ballads were not written down until the 16th or
17th century.
 Allegory – a narrative, in prose or verse, in which the
characters and the setting represented moral qualities or
other general concepts related to different spheres of life. It
is based on an extended metaphore which was to teach the
reader some Christian doctrine that should help him to gain
the salvation of his soul.
Piers Plowman – William Langland
The Pearl – anonymous elegy
Everyman – morality play
 Medieval Drama
 English drama had its beginnings in the
church ritual in the Middle Ages as parts of
the church service were presented in a
simple dramatic form.
 Later particular plays (mystery or miarcle
plays) in cycles on Corpus Christi Day by
the members of trade-guilds in the market
squares in most English towns. They
originally presented events of Biblical
history from the Creation to the Ascention –
the performances on movable peagants in
the open air lasted the whole day.
 Morality play – based on Christian teaching
they showed a conflict e.g. between good
and bad in an allegorical method.
Alliterative revival
 Between 1350 and 1500 there was a renewed interest in
using the alliterative verse (characteristic for the Old
English period) as a reaction against the foreign influences
on English national literature.
 Major works of the Alliterative Revival include William
Langland’s Piers Plowman and and the works of the Pearl
Poet: Pearl, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Included in a manuscript together with three other poems
written in the same unrhymed alliterative meter (Patience,
Cleanness, The Pearl).
 It is a story about the chivalric adventures of Sir Gawain
which is told in four narrative divisions (‘fitts’)
 The greatest Middle English romance describing chivalric
adventures enriched with folklore elements Christian
teaching.
 It is about moral victory and being able to resist
temptation.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 During a feast at Camelot the King asks to hear an adventure story.
 Suddenly a green giant figure on a horse rides into the hall and instead of
fighting he offers a game: someone can strike him once with his axe on
condition that the Green Knight can return the blow in a year and a day.
 Sir Gawain takes the challenge and beheads the Green Knight who does not
die but holds his head up and reminds Sir Gawian that they shall meet again
at the Green Chapel and he rides away.
 In a year’s time Gawain sets off and on his way he stops at a splendid castle
which belongs to Bertilak and his wife. There’s also an old lady who is
greatly honored by everyone. When Bertilak finds out about Sir Gawain’s
aim he says that the Green Chapel is only 2 miles away from his castle and
he should have a rest.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Before going hunting the next day, Bertilac offers a deal to Sir Gawain: he’ll give
him whatever he hunts in return for what he gains at his castle. Gawain agrees.
 When Gawain stays at the palace Lady Bertilac visits Gawain and tries to seduce
him but she only manages to steal one kiss from him.
 When Bertilac comes back and gives a deer to Gawain, he gives him a kiss without
saying anything.
 The next the situation repeats and this time Sir Gawain gives Bertilac two kisses in
return for a boar.
 On the third day, Lady Bertilac offers to give a golden girdle which, as she says, has
some magical power and can keep from all physical harm. Gawain relucntantly
accepts the gift. When Bertilac comes home, Gawain gives him three kisses in
return for a fox and says nothing of the girdle.
 The next day, Sir Gawain leaves for the green chapel with girdle. He finds the green
knight who is waiting for him and sharpening his axe.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Sir Gawain bends his neck and the Green Knight gives his first blow without really
hitting him. He does the same for the second time. When the Green Knight delivers
his third blow causing only a slight wound on Gawain’s neck.
 The game is over. Gawain stands up with his sword and a shield but the Green
Knight laughs at him revealing himself to be the lord of the castle Bertilac. He says
that the whole game was concieved as a trick by the old woman who turns out to be
a sorceress Morgan Le Fay – King Arthur’s sister who wanted to test her brother’s
knights’ courage and loyalty to their master.
 Gawain returns to Camelot wearing the girdle as a token of his failure to keep his
promise.
 The Knights of the Round Table forgive him the blame and decide to wear a green
sash in recognition of Gawain’s adventure and as a remider to be always honest.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 The ideals of Christian morality and knightly chivalry are
brought together in Gawain’s shield – the pentagle
represents the 5 virtues of a knight: friendship, generosity,
chastity, courtesy, and piety. These virtues are tested
through the poem.
 The poem criticizes the fact that chivalry values
appearance and symbols over truth.
 Chivalry provides a valuable set of ideals, but a person
must above all remain conscious of their own mortality
and weakness.
 Christian: penalty-reward, bad deeds-good deeds