Middle English Literature Practice Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary cards covering key authors, genres, and historical developments in Middle English literature as detailed in the lecture notes.

Middle English Period

The period of literary history spanning from 1066 to 1516.

French (literary use)

The language used by the nobility during the Middle English period.

Latin (literary use)

The language used by scholars and clergyman during the Middle English period.

English (literary use)

The language associated with the lower classes during the Middle English period.

Roman de Brut

A 12th century work written in French by the Anglo-Norman writer Wace.

Roger Bacon

A 13th century Anglo-Latin writer and the most significant philosopher of his time.

Exempla

Short narrative tales told by a preacher to illustrate a moral point.

Chivalric romance

The most widely practised literary genre of the Middle Ages in Britain and France, based on the French idea of courtly love and featuring a duty-bound knight.

Matter of France

The group of legends centered around Charlemagne.

Matter of Rome

The legends concerning Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.

Matter of Britain

The body of legends about King Arthur.

Matter of England

A group of legends including King Horn and Havelok the Dane.

Nennius

A 6th century Welsh historian who mentioned Arthur in his Historia Britonum.

Geoffrey of Monmouth

An early 12th century Bishop from Wales who wrote History of the Kings of Britain in Latin.

Chretien de Troyes

A French writer who added the legend of the Holy Grail to the Arthurian matter at the end of the 12th century.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

A 14th century alliterative poem written by the anonymous Pearl poet concerning temptation to adultery.

Le Morte d'Arthur

A 15th century prose work by Sir Thomas Malory that serves as a mosaic-like collection of Arthurian stories.

William Caxton

The first official English printer and publisher who released Le Morte d'Arthur in 1485.

Allegory

Derived from 'telling otherwise', it is an extended metaphor with a hidden moral meaning.

William Langland

The 14th century author of The Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman, which used alliteration and dream vision.

John Wycliffe

A preacher and political reformer whose revolutionary theories partly inspired William Langland.

John Gower

A 14th century poet who wrote in Latin, French, and English, known for his work Confession of a Lover.

Geoffrey Chaucer

A 14th-century writer (1340-1400) and diplomat often considered the forerunner of the English Renaissance.

The Canterbury Tales

A work by Geoffrey Chaucer written between 1387 and 1392 that utilizes a pilgrimage structure to explore different social classes.