1 Introduction / Medieval Literature

gain an overview over all major periods of British literary history from the Anglo-Saxon period to present ➢ learn to think about the role of literature in wider social, political and cultural contexts ➢ be familiarized with particularly important writers and their works

British settlement (Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature)

oldest english is not native Germanics

politics of periodization: Old English vs. Anglo-Saxon Literature (since 19th c.)

(Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature)

~ never neutral always exclusive as a label (patriotic)

~ English was shaped by different cultures

Re- Christianisation & the Introduction of the Roman Alphabet

(Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature)

- late 6th c.: Christian missionaries (pope Gregory the Great, 7th c.)

- Germanics: own religions, cultures, runes but not literary

- Christians: literature important (e.g. Cuthbert's Gospel: pocket gospel from 7th c. AD, is oldest intact european book)

Anglo -saxon verse

(Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature)

initially purely oral form of literature performed at public gatherings

· before scribes produced written collections of Anglo Saxon verse in the 10th

century

· c. 30000 lines of Anglo-Saxon verse survive

· c. 20000 lines contained in the 4 most

significant volumes today:

Junius manuscript

Exeter book

Vercelli book

Nowell codex (Beowulf)

Epic Poetry BEOWULF

(Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature)

→ christianized paganism? Paganized christianity?

· epic: a long poem usually about exploits of warriors & heroes

· manuscript produced in the late 10th or early 11th century (oral version much earlier,

since ca. 6th c.)

Beowulf's poetic form: alliterative verse

can contain any number of syllables

falls into 2 half lines

each half line has 2 stressed sounds→ no fixed metre

alliterations linking two half lines

Beowulf: The Transition from Oral to Written Literature

Beowulf’s Nowell Codex Intertext: Wonders of the East

the Norman Conquest & the Bayeux Tapestry

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

Battle of Hastings 1066: Normans, led by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) invade England (last

Anglo-Saxon ruler Harold is killed)

Middle-English Romances

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

Mainly drew on three different historical subjects:

➢ The “matter” of Rome (classical legend)

➢ The “matter” of France (tales of Charlemagne and his knights; the French struggle against the Saracens)

➢ The “matter” of Britain (Arthurian legend)

Middle-English Romances: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th century)

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

➢ anonymous middle English romance; author probably came from Midlands

➢ deals with matter of Britain: partly set at the court of mythical King Arthur

➢ ambivalent exploration of the idea and practice of chivalry

‘I am at your command, to kiss when you like;
you may lip when you will, and leave when you wish
in a space.’
The lady bends her adown
and sweetly she kisses his face;
much speech they there expound
of love, its grief and grace.

[…]
‘I am at your comaundement, to kysse quen yow lykez,
Ȝe may lach quen yow lyst, and leue quen yow þynkkez,
in space.
' Þe lady loutez adoun,
And comlyly kysses his face,
Much speche þay þer expoun
Of druryes greme and grace.

→powerful, confident woman!

Courtly Epic: Idealism vs. Realism

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

courtly epic
-only chivalric courtly society is worthy of adventure

→they alone can undergo serious & significant experiences

-later, (esp. in italy) social strata of urban background took over courtly ideal and refashioned it

→concept of nobility became more personal, often contrasted with other concept of nobility based solely on lineage

→ideal did not turn less exclusive nontheless

!emphasis on inner values did not bring a closer approach to earthly realities!

Auerbach, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature (Princeton: Princeton UP, 2003), p. 139.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c. 1387-1400)

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

➢ narrates story-telling contest between ca. 30 pilgrims traveling from Tabard Inn, London → shrine of Thomas Becket, Canterbury Cathedral

➢ each pilgrim introduces him/herself & tells a story (stories written in style of different contemporary literary genres incl. legend, courtly romance, bawdy tale, etc.)

➢ heroic couplets (rhyming pairs of iambic pentameters)

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c. 1387-1400) From the Prologue to the “Wife of Bath’s Tale”:

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

Late Medieval Mystery Plays

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

➢ mostly based on biblical stories

➢ performed the middle ages (esp. 13th -15th centuries)

➢ staged on pageant wagons (movable carts, open air), audience typically surrounding the stage

➢ organised by medieval guilds

Late Medieval Morality Plays

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)

➢ surviving texts date from 15th and early 16th centuries

➢ didactic: how to live a Christian life; how to lead a virtuous life; how to prepare for death; etc.

➢ Important morality play: anonymously authored Everyman (c. 1495), featuring Everyman and cast of allegorical characters (incl. Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin)

Late Medieval Morality Plays text example

(Middle English Literature ; 11th-15th ct.)