Poetry Unit Continued… - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Poetry Unit Continued…The Middle English Period

1066-1485Slide2

Vocabulary Words:Norman ConquestVassalDivine Right

Serf

Feudal system

Fief

Code of Chivalry

Lyrics-religious and secular

Popular BalladSlide3

Think back to the Anglo-Saxon period…

Alfred the Great

united all of England under

one

ruler around 886.

He supported Christianity, encouraged education, etc.

He died in 899.

For over a hundred years after his death, England was in a weakened state…

Slide4

The Norman Conquest of1066 - invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

Ended the Anglo-Saxons’ control over country.

Divided the conquered land among Normans, forcing most Anglo-Saxons to become

serfs

.

Ended Anglo-Saxon as the “official” language.

Norman French became the language of the aristocracy.Latin was the language of the Church (Holy Roman Catholic)

The weak gets taken…Slide5

William dies…and who takes the throne? There were lots of kings within 400 years…and lots of upheavals!

William II

Henry I

Stephen

Henry II

Richard I (Richard the Lion-Hearted)

John (think Robin Hood!) Magna Carta Henry III

Edward I 1272 (proclaimed himself king of Scotland, but not for long…the Scots claimed their independence in the

Battle of Bannockburn 1314

)

Edward II

Edward III 1327

(Hundred Years’ War began)

Great advances in literature and education during The Hundred Years’ War:

English poetry became important for the first time

Geoffrey Chaucer/ William Langland

Slide6

Richard II 1377 (Peasant’s Revolt)

Henry IV

Henry V 1413

Henry VI 1422 (House of Lancaster)

Nobles from the House of York wanted to overthrow him.

Resulted in

The Wars of the Roses.Edward IV (York - 1461)Henry VI (Lancaster -1470)Edward IV (York -1471)

Edward V

Richard III (self-proclaimed king) 1483-1485

Middle English Period ends in

1485

, with the ascension of Henry VII to the throne of England, thereby ending The Wars of the Roses. Slide7

Society of the Middle AgesSociety was organized into a social pyramid based on a

feudal system

(which was imported from France).

A feudal society is a world where oaths and obligations, vows and promises, and established expectations and customs provide the only stability possible. Loyalty to others and fulfilling one's oaths are the most important values in a feudal society.  If these

ties break down - then anarchy is possible.

Feudalism reached its height between the 800s-1200s. It disappeared in the 1400s.Slide8

Social StructureKing LordsVassals

Knights

Merchant class

Serfs

SlavesSlide9

KingSomewhat of a “

figurehead ruler.

”

Kings ruled by

divine right-

people believed God had chosen them to be king. The theory claimed that kings were answerable only to God and it was sinful for their subjects to resist them.

That, however, did not stop all of the rebellions!If a king was a strong leader, he could control the barons. If he was weak or indecisive, the barons would control him!*Magna Carta 1215- Nobles trying to control the unlimited power of the king.

Kings used lords to control parts of the country.Slide10

Swore loyalty to the king.Gave wealth and support to their vassals: money, land, or whatever treasure or goods were taken in battle.

Were responsible for protecting the family of any vassal who was killed.

The children were protected as wards of the feudal lord until they married (if a daughter) or became a vassal (if a son).

Widows, and their property, were also protected by the feudal lord. 

In essence, the vassal achieved a kind of insurance for his family by entering the service of a feudal lord.

LordsSlide11

Vassals

Had to swear an oath of loyalty to the king.

Had to provide soldiers (

knights

) to fight so many days per year.

Had to pay

homage to their lord - promising to always defend him/his lands. After paying homage, the vassal received his fief. Fiefs were estates granted by the lord (including the land, the buildings on it, and the peasants who worked it.)

He only received

possession of the fief

,

not

ownership. Slide12

The vassal could: receive what the land produced

collect taxes

hold court & execute sentences

obtain labor as needed on the castle, other buildings and roads of the fief (estate.)Slide13

Knights

Were granted land from their lord for their military service.

At first the knights lived with the lords & were fed, clothed & armed by them.

Later, some knights were given fiefs from the lord-vassal’s own fief estates.

Followed the

Code of Chivalry

. (see handout) Slide14

Code of ChivalryTo fear God and maintain His Church

To serve the liege lord in valor and faith

To protect the weak and defenseless

To give succor to widows and orphans

To refrain from the wanton giving of offence

To live by honor and for glory

To despise pecuniary reward

To fight for the welfare of all

To obey those placed in authority

To guard the honor of fellow knights

To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit

To keep faith

At all times to speak the truth

To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun

To respect the honor of women

Never to refuse a challenge from an equal

Never to turn the back upon a foeSlide15

The knights promised to defend the weak, be courteous to all women, be loyal to their king, and serve God at all times. HOWEVER…

The code of chivalry did not always extend to the peasants. The "weak" was widely interpreted as "noble women and children." The knights were often brutal to common folk. They could sometimes even rape young peasant women without fear of reprisal, all because they were part of the upper class.

The code of chivalry stated that knights must give mercy to a vanquished enemy. However, the very fact that knights were trained as men of war belied this code. They often plundered villages or cities that they captured, often defiling and destroying churches and other property. Slide16

Merchant classBy 1250, the steady growth of trade and industry led to a rising middle class-the merchants.

Merchant guilds

Craft guilds Slide17

Peasants

Worked the lord/vassal’s land and received a place to stay and some of the food they produced.

Half of the work week was spent on working the land belonging to the lord and the church: maintenance, wood cutting, land clearing, road building, etc.

The rest of the time they could work on their own land.

Sundays and saints’ days were holidays.

Had to give 1/10 of everything they produced to the church (crops, eggs, animals)…There were lots of rich bishops!

Huts were shared with livestock.Slide18

SerfsNot technically a slave, but bound to a lord for life.

Couldn’t own property.

Needed the lord’s permission to marry.

Couldn’t leave the land without the lord’s permission.

If a serf ran to a town and managed to stay for 1 year + a day, he was a free man.

Worked just as hard as a peasant, but had no days off/received no payment of crops, etc.Slide19

The Church and StateMedieval society was dominated by two great institutions:

feudalism

and

religion.

The idea of your social and legal obligations to your lord pervaded all aspects of daily life for all the lower levels of society.

The idea of the afterlife, and where you would be spending it, pervaded all aspects of society (and was used to manipulate

all levels of society.)Literature of the period can be grouped around these two institutions.Slide20

The Church King

Pope

Cardinals

Archbishops

Bishops

Monsignors

PriestsThe peopleSlide21

What was the net impact of all of this on our language?

Many new words, literary forms, and social attitudes had entered England from France, and the whole character of English language and literature had been altered.

The

net

effect was to enrich (rather

than to impoverish) English language and literature.

Latin (the language of the church and of scholars) influenced our language. Church controlled education

Oxford and Cambridge universities were established during this time period. Slide22

French was the official language of England and the language of the aristocracy. English vocabulary greatly enlarged; more than 10,000 French words were added to the English language.

“English in the barn, French in the kitchen.”

Words relating to culture, gov’t and “polite” terms generally have French or Latin roots, while the “little words of house and home” derive from Anglo Saxon roots.

cow, sheep, pig (Old English)

beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon (French)Slide23

It wasn’t until the 14th

century

that English

again

emerged as a literary and political language.

Partly due to the war with France, the English began to take a nationalistic pride in their country and their culture.

English (instead of French) began to be taught regularly in schools.Slide24

Principal Differences between Old and Middle English:

Grammar was simplified.

In the year 1000 the opening words of the

Lord’s Prayer

were written in Old English:

Faeder

ure thu eart on heafunum, si thin nama gehaigod

…

In

Wycliffe’s Bible

(1389) it begins:

Our

fadir

that

aart

in

hevenes

,

halwid

be

thi

name…

English thus made a giant stride from its Germanic heritage toward the language we speak today.Slide25

AS vs. ME literature

Vocab. & language seems foreign to us

Language is more recognizable to us

Northern, Scandinavian influences-vigorous, virile, stirring, but rather stark, humorless and forbidding

Southern influences- stressing love and tenderness as much as strength and courage; possesses a gaiety and delicacy

Hero of the old epic was the warrior

Hero of the new romance was the KnightSlide26

Warrior vs. Knight

Warrior

Brave

Male

Physically strong

Knowledgeable

offensiveCodes they lived by… loyalty to tribal king personal commitmentBoasting was acceptable

Knight

Brave

Male

Physically strong

Knowledgeable

defensive

Codes they lived by…

feudalism

code of chivalry

Knights were expected to be humble before others; boasting was not acceptable.Slide27

PoetryFour

types of poems were popular during the Middle Ages:

Religious lyric

Secular

lyric

Ubi

sunt lyricPopular balladSlide28

LyricsThe introduction of Latin hymns and the songs from the French troubadours (after the Norman Conquest) provided the English lyric with a new style an a new subject-matter:

Instead of alliteration—poems started to rhyme.

T

he

n

ew subject-matter:

courtly love and nature description, although religion continued to be the chief subject. Slide29

Religious LyricsReligious lyrics basically glorified the Virgin, a saint, or Jesus Christ. Slide30

Read: I Syng of a MydenSlide31

Not all literature of the period was Christian in inspiration. Some secular lyrics included topics about:

courtly love

life’s

transitoriness

natural scenery or earthly love.

S

ecular

L

yricsSlide32

Secular Lyric ~ Courtly Love Courtly love

was a concept that originated in the Middle Ages in Europe. There were certain

assumptions

associated with the idea of courtly love

:

1. The characters involved must be of a higher social class- must be from the

Court.2. There must be a certain amount of "ritual" associated with their relationship: a. the man must suffer, and it must show in the form of physical manifestations-i.e. lack of sleep, pallor, loss of appetite, etc. b. the woman must present herself as indifferent to his grief- at least in the

beginning

c

. there must be a rival for the woman's affections

Slide33

d. there must be an element of secrecy involved in their relationship-it may be caused by politics, other relationships, social differences, etc.

e. there may not be any physical expression of love

f

. it is unlikely the characters involved will marry (marriage was for political,

monetary

or social benefit)3. The love object was all the virtues personified- not a "real" person, but rather the embodiment of all the elements that make the “ideal” woman. Slide34

Courtly Love (handout)Slide35

Read AlysounSlide36

Secular Lyric-Nature/Earthly LoveThe nature lyric describes nature…duh!

The Cuckoo Song

was sung as a

round

.

Sumer is icumen in,Lhude sing cuccu!Groweþ sed and bloweþ medAnd

springþ

þe

wode

nu,

Sing

cuccu

!

Awe

bleteth

after

lomb

,

Lhouth

after

calve

cu.

Bulluc

sterteth

,

bucke

verteth

,

Murie

sing

cuccu

!

Cuccu

,

cuccu

,

wel

sings

thu

cuccu

.

Ne

swik

thu

naver

nu

.

Sing

cuccu

nu. Sing

cuccu

.

Sing

cuccu

. Sing

cuccu

nu!Slide37

Summer has come in,Loudly sing, Cuckoo!The seed grows and the meadow blooms

And the wood springs anew,

Sing, Cuckoo

!

The ewe bleats after the lamb

The cow lows after the calf.

The bullock stirs, the stag farts,Merrily sing, Cuckoo!Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;Don't you ever stop now,Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.

Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!

"

bucke

uerteþ

"

means

"the stag farts", a gesture of virility indicating the stag's potential for creating new life, echoing the rebirth of Nature from the barren period of winter

.Slide38

Secular Lyric ~ Ubi Sunt

Ubi

Sunt

poems lamented the

transitoriness

of human life.Used to convey sadness about the temporary nature of life and beauty.Ubi sunt literally means where are…?Slide39

Ubi Sunt Qui Ante Nos Fuerunt?

Where

beth

they

beforen

us

weren,Houndes ladden and havekes beren,...?They beren hem well swithe

heye

,

And, in a twinkling of an eye,

Hoere

soules

weren

forloren

.

--

Anon (later 13th century)Slide40

Where are they, who were before us, led hounds and bore hawks ...?They bore themselves very loftily,and in the twinkling of an eye, their souls were lost. Slide41

Popular BalladsPopular

ballads

-are songs that tell a story.

They

relate

violent or pathetic events of everyday experiences in a simple, memorable, repetitive

style.Their subject matter usually includes: love, battles, jealousy and/or revenge.Most are written about upper-class individuals or families.The material is drawn from history or from folklore. Slide42

Popular ballads/traditional ballads have unknown authors. Most were passed down orally.Ballads are unlike lyrics because they are objective poems, and the attention is on the characters and events of the story rather than on the personal views or feelings of the narrator.

They are usually composed of rhyming couplets or the ballad stanza.Slide43

Rhyming couplet: two lines that rhyme.There were three ravens that sat on a

tree

,

They were as

blacke

as they might

be.Ballad stanza: a stanza of 4 lines. Lines 2 & 4 almost always rhyme Lines 1 and 3 sometimes rhyme.“Late late yestreen I saw the new moone

,

Wi

the auld

moone

in

hir

arme

,

And I

feir

, I

feir

, my

deir

master,

That we will cum to

harme

.”Slide44

The Three RavensThe Twa Corbies