ACP Early Brit Lit: Test 1: 12th

Review Notes--Early Brit Lit—First Test

Be familiar with the selections we read for class and the following information.

Look at preface to the tale on p. 213 for nun’s priest’s tale

Beowulf

started as oral tale and was first written down in its somewhat modern form by an unknown Anglo-Saxon poet around 700 CE; Based on references to figures and events, the story is set about 500. (Initial invasion of England by Germanic tribes occurred in 449.)

Beowulf

has mix of Paganism and Christianity bc it was passed down through oral tradition when the Anglo-Saxons converted from paganism to Christianity—that leaves some mixture of themes and behaviors throughout the story; most biblical references are old testament

Beowulf

Code of Honor in Beowulf—somewhat akin to chivalry. Feudal system in place. Warrior leaders.

Beowulf

this manuscript was largely IGNORED BY LITERARY CRITICS AND STUDIED BY HISTORIANS who wanted to learn more about the time period; gained interest with a 1936 essay by J.R. R. Tolkein (Lord of Rings)

Beowulf

Although Beowulf is often regarded as the first major work of English literature, it had little effect on the literature which followed as it was NOT WIDELY KNOWN OR STUDIED UNTIL RECENT YEARS.

Beowulf

Written in Old English—heavily GERMANIC in style. Before the Norman Conquest of 1066, so there is LITTLE FRENCH OR LATIN INFLUENCE.

Beowulf

Old English poetry featured a CAESURA in the midst of each line and relied on extensive ALLITERATION, Also heavy use of KENNINGS

Kennings

compoung noun expressions with a metaphorical impact; ex. whale road, sleep of the sword, sky candle

Bede

“The Venerable Bede” (672-735)

Bede

Early “Doctor of the Church” began MONASTIC TRAINING AT 7

Bede

THEMES: Study and prayer and Interpretation of scriptures

Bede

Most famous work: Ecclesiastical History of the English People—731; This work SERVES AS A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN ENGLAND, but is ALSO THE MOST COMPLETE EARLY HISTORY OF ENGLAND IN GENERAL. Earliest references to GREGORIAN CHANTS in England.

Bede

credited with writing one of the first Lives of the Saints

Bede

“the Father of English History” According to Durham Heritage Site

Bede

Wrote in Latin. The spread of Christianity in England helped spread the Roman alphabet—and literacy in general.

Caedmon

c. 675 Perhaps the oldest known English poet

Caedmon

Mentioned in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Caedmon

According to Bede, Caedmon was a WORLDLY MAN WITH LITTLE INTEREST IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS. In a dream, God called him to write poetry, to “sing.” In the dream, he began to write his songs and poems and wrote them down after waking.

Caedmon

wrote more poetry which was brought to the attention of religious figures who TALKED HIM INTO BECOMING A MONK. Continued to write poetry until his death. However, his “Hymn,” originally meant to be sung, is his only extant work (work that still exists)

Gawain Poet

appeared in second half of the 14th Century

Gawain Poet

a new style of writing appeared in England but it CONTINUED THE ALLITERATIVE STYLE popular in Old English and possibly originating in early German literature

Gawain Poet

his style is evident in Beowulf (although written much earlier), Piers Plowman, and other works of the time; these stories were often a celebration of Chivalry, but not always. Often included religious themes.

Gawain Poet

Gawain Poet

Aka pearl poet

Gawain Poet

not only wrote in Middle English, he also used an obscure country dialect. Not many people read that dialect today without translations—although many read the Middle English of Chaucer.

Gawain Poet

man who is believed to have written a series of works, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Pearl, but there is no definitive proof

Gawain Poet

Little is known about his personal or professional life. However, he seems to have been familiar with chess, hunting, architecture, law, sailing, farming, the Bible, and the work of blacksmiths.

Gawain Poet

Modern scholars often suggest he was a lawyer or perhaps an aide to a medieval lord.

Gawain Poet

Seems to be LESS INTERESTED IN INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR IDIOSYNCRASIES THAN CHAUCER WAS and seems more INTERESTED IN RURAL LIFE. There are some connections between the stories of the two writers, so at least one may have been familiar with the other.

Marie de France

late 12th Century pseudonym for the first woman poet writing in French—but she lived in England.

Marie de France

Perhaps the ILLEGITIMATE HALF-SISTER OF KING HENRY II. Her stories reveal she was well-educated and familiar with the ways of Kings and courts.

Marie de France

wrote 12 stories in verse—short, rhymed romances called Breton Lais. Her stories sometimes retell Aesop’s fables or Arthurian tales. They often deal with LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE EROTIC POWER OF WOMEN.

Julian of Norwich

1342-1416; When she was thirty, she suffered from a serious illness and ALMOST DIED; saw . series of “VISIONS” as she recovered which led her to DEVOTE THE REST OF HER LIFE TO PRAYER AND DEVOTION; became known as a counselor for those seeking guidance

Julian of Norwich

wrote a book, REVELATIONS OF DIVINE LOVE, a meditation on God’s love. The book, considered the first in the English language by a woman, focuses on her visions.

Chaucer

1340?-1400; Not a great deal is known about Chaucer’s personal life, although official documents indicate various employment and activities involving him.

Chaucer

Served as a PAGE TO A COUNTESS and MARRIED A LADY-IN-WAITING to the Queen

Chaucer

He lived through the Black Death and served as a SOLDIER IN FRANCE DURING THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR. He was actually captured by the French and ransomed for 16 pounds (1360).

Chaucer

Traveled as a DIPLOMAT (at various times to Spain, Italy, and France) and SERVED AS A VALET AND SQUIRE IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF KING EDWARD III. For his services—which probably included storytelling and poetry recitation—he was granted a small pension.

Chaucer

Also served as “CLERK OF THE WORKS” for Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, and other royal estates. He also served as a Justice of the Peace and in other official duties. He managed to avoid intrigues which resulted in a King being deposed and some of his associates being executed.

Chaucer

Wrote throughout his life, but probably started the Canterbury Tales around 1392. Parson’s Tale and Nun’s Priest’s Tale among the last two written in the last two years of his life.

Chaucer

Canterbury Tales are told in VERSE

Chaucer

Most often the TALES ARE IN RHYMING COUPLETS and LINES REFLECT IAMBIC PENTAMETER.

Chaucer

often credited with creating the “heroic couplet,” a couplet in iambic pentameter.

Rhyme Royal

A couple of the Tales (Lawyer, Prioress, Clerk) are in this rhyme scheme created by Chaucer ; he used this scheme in several of his other famous works including Troilus and Criseyde and Parlement of Foules

Rhyme Royal

ABABBCC.

Chaucer

one of the first to write his popular stories in Middle English, the vernacular. Most literary and religious works were in French or Latin.

Chaucer

According to James Russell Lowell, he “found his English a DIALECT and left it a LANGUAGE.” Before Chaucer, English was broken into four major dialects—after him, his EAST MIDLAND DIALECT BECAME THE STANDARD LITERARY LANGUAGE OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY; half his words are new formations he created based on existing words.

Chaucer

credited as oldest extant source with about 2000 words by Oxford English Dictionary

The Canterbury Tales

many connections to The Decameron by Boccaccio (1313-1375) probably finished in the mid 1350’s. In Boccaccio’s work, a group of young people seek safety in the countryside after the plague hits the major cities of Italy; they tell stories to pass the time; Boccaccio even includes an apology of sorts for his sometimes inappropriate stories, writing, “Such tales were not to be told among ladies.” Chaucer’s pilgrims are on a journey to the cathedral at Canterbury to visit the shrine to St. Thomas Becket (1118-1170).

Chaucer’s retraction

chaucer’s apology that revokes his works that have sin in them, including some of the canterbury tales, asks for mercy from God and prayers that he isn’t punished for his works

The Knight’s Tale

Theme = Fate—Wheel of Fortune.

The Knight’s Tale

Perhaps a Christian connection in this story as it hints that things will work out in the long run. There is a plan from a benevolent God.

The Knight’s Tale

Courtly Love—warped sort of romance. Duty, honor, but who cares what she wants?

The Knight’s Tale

Mythology mixed in—Theseus, Creon, Venus, Mars, & Diana (mix of Greek and Roman)

The Knight’s Tale

two main characters Arcite and Palamon; cousins in jail both fall in love with Emily; arcite become free; both fight for Emily and theseus makes a spectacle out of it; Palamon prays for Emily and Arcite Prays to win; Arcite does win but dies; Palamon and Emily feel bad getting married and Theseus’s dad says get over it get married

Miller’s Tale

Response to the Knight’s Tale

Miller’s Tale

Courtly Love--Wheel of Fortune-- Chivalrous behavior?

Miller’s Tale

moral = people don’t get what they deserve; carpenter is in the right but gets cheated on and nicholas gets alison but commits adultery

Miller’s Tale

example of Medieval Fabilaux

Medieval Fabliaux

comic, often inappropriate, story with some complex plot elements often revolving around a trick of some sort. Originated in France—name from the French for “little fable.”

Nun’s Priest’s Tale

The priest is not described in the general prologue except for a brief mention of three priests who accompany the Prioress, a chaplain of sorts.

Nun’s Priest’s Tale

The host speaks somewhat roughly or familiarly to the priest and notes his horse’s lack of quality. He’s probably not a wealthy man or an exceptionally proud one—he accedes to the host’s demand for a merry tale.

Nun’s Priest’s Tale

His story is a fable—the animals speak and act in human fashion. Even though animals have spoken in fables throughout literary history, it is a little different when they speak on deep philosophical topics as Chanticleer and Pertelote address.

Nun’s Priest’s Tale

Sometimes a medieval fable was used to convey a message in a sermon, so it makes sense for the Priest to use that form. In places, the tale almost takes on a “mock epic” tone. The story also addresses dreams and their interpretation—and according to the literature website at CUNY, Chaucer had a fascination with the origins and significance of dreams.

The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

moral = don’t trust a flatterer; ex. fox tricks chanticleer and then chanticleer flatters the fox to escape

Pardoner

comes after the darkness of the Physician’s Tale (a father kills his own daughter to protect her virginity), the host asks for something with “myrthe.” This character afrees to tell a moral tale after stopping at a tavern for some ale

Pardoner

suggests an inability to come up with something moral without having some time and a few drinks to ponder the matter. Before telling the tales, he boasts of his interest only in liquor and women.

Pardoner’s tale

somewhat paradoxical as it does indeed present a moral: however, the Pardoner himself lives a life contradictory to that moral. Some critics suggest the Pardoner may be a representation of an old church doctrine that even a sinful man can do the work of God.

Pardoner’s tale

Throughout the tales, he is presented as a despicable figure, interested only in vice and money. He makes his living by selling relics and indulgences—taking advantage of the poor, the guilty, the gullible, and the ignorant.

Pardoner’s tale

moral = Greed is the root of all sin, and the wage of sin is death

Wife of Bath

Perhaps better known for her prologue than her tale.

Wife of Bath

One of the few truly strong women characters in early British Literature. Certainly in medieval times, literature seemed to attack women—perhaps a reflection of their low position in society. Women were often pictured in literature as evil seducers or as virginal ideals. Chaucer offers few variations from that theme, but Alyson, the Wife of Bath, is perhaps one. She certainly seems lusty in her nature, but she is presented as a reasonable character who bemoans the place of women in her society and rails against violence and intolerance toward women.

Wife of Bath

While the Wife of Bath seems to have a degree of independence and certainly takes charge in many aspects of her life, she also fits into the stereotype for Chaucer’s time in her own reflections on the use of sex in controlling her husbands. At times, pragmatic, at times emotional, she rails against the institutions of her time that subjugate women.

John Gower

c.1330-1408; Probably acquainted with King Richard II and King Henry IV. Believed to have been a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer.

John Gower

When Chaucer went to Italy on a diplomatic mission, he gave power of attorney to this person. Chaucer also dedicated Troilus and Criseyde to Gower, while, in one of his works, Gower has a character voice praise for Chaucer.

John Gower

wrote in three languages, most often in French, but also in English and Latin. His themes often involve moral behavior. In his works, he appears to side with the aristocracy against the commoners in political matters.

John Gower

100 years after his death, he was considered an equal (or near equal!) to Chaucer, but his reputation has waned over the centuries. Many find his works a bit dull and didactic. Still considered one of the founding fathers of English poetry.

Mystery Play

dramatization of events from the Bible which concern the spiritual mystery of the redemption of mankind.

Morality Play

poetic drama from the late Middle Ages presenting a dramatic allegory. Abstract virtues and vices appeared in personified form as characters in the play who battled over the soul of an individual.

Sir Thomas Malory

(1405-1471)—Credited with being the author of Morte Darthur (The Death of Arthur), finishing the work while he was in prison.

Morte Darthur

Malory’s work that collects various legends from various times and various cultures and weaves them together into a story about Arthur. The book helped cement the concept of noble chivalry in the past.

Sir Thomas Malory

noted for his smooth and natural style of writing—rarely seen in the literature of the time.

Robin Hood

first literary references appeared in 14th and 15th century ballads celebrating

Robin Hood

“a violent yeoman who lived in Sherwood Forest with his men and frequently clashed with the Sheriff of Nottingham.”

Robin Hood

portrayed as “an anti-establishment hero, and was perhaps based on a real character from the 12th century.

Robin Hood

By the 13th century, legal records show “Robehod” and “Rabunhod” as nicknames for criminals. Over the centuries, the image of Robin Hood became less violent and other characters were added to the stories.

Sir Thomas More

(1478-1535)—wrote Utopia in Latin in 1516.

Sir Thomas More

Influenced by Plato’s Republic, the work itself influenced a variety of writers from Francis Bacon and Jonathan Swift through modern science fiction writers.

Sir Thomas More

Told as a travel story to an imaginary place (Utopia means “nowhere”), Utopia promotes his social ideals including the abolishment of private property and reforms in government.

Erasmus

1469-1536 He's not English, but he was a big influence: Leading educator and scholar of the HUMANIST MOVEMENT OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

Erasmus

Rejected the predestination concepts of Luther while also rejecting Papal power and corruption and ecclesiastical abuses; REJECTED LUTHERANISM AND PAPAL CORRUPT POWER

Erasmus

spent some time in England and became a close friend and colleague of Thomas More. Erasmus believed in the unity of the church and rejected Luther’s separation tactics. He also spoke against all religious persecutions of his time.

Erasmus

Eventually driven to debate Luther in a series of publications in which Luther stressed predestination as a manifestation of the absolute power of God while Erasmus argued for the power of free will in obtaining salvation. Until his death, he continued to BELIEVE THAT LUTHERANS AND CATHOLICS WERE ONE IN BASIC BELIEFS AND SHOULD BE REUNITED. Although a powerful voice in his lifetime, his views lost influence in the decades after his death as the divide between Catholic and Protestant became deeper and few wanted to find a middle ground for discussion

Erasmus

studied both classical ancient texts and Biblical texts helping lay the groundwork for a rebirth of classical inspiration in the Renaissance.

Renaissance

arrival of this art in England is delayed because of the religious nature of the early Renaissance.

Renaissance

Early art from this period, especially in Italy, had a strong connection to the Catholic Church.

Renaissance

RELIGIOUS ART NEARLY DISAPPEARED IN ENGLAND DURING THE TUDOR PERIOD. English art revolved around portraits and landscapes—the big contribution to art from Renaissance England seems to be the MINIATURE PORTRAIT. Visual arts don’t flourish in England until after the Renaissance. The ENGLISH RENAISSANCE EXCELLED IN LITERATURE.