Notes on The Medieval Period

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Notes onThe Medieval Period Canterbury Tales
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The Medieval Period (1066 1485)

• The Anglo-Saxon period is typically considered to
  have ended in 1066, with the Norman invasion.
  William the Conqueror was crowned king of England
  after the Battle of Hastings.
• With the invasion of Normans (Vikings who settled
  in the area France known as Normandy), came an
  introduction of French ways into the formerly
  Anglo-Saxon society.

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Feudalism

• A political and economic system in which the
  hierarchy of power is based on the premise that
  the king owns all the land in the kingdom.
• Image on next slide taken from webquest
• http//capweb.capital.k12.de.us/pub/dhs/dbeck/aweb
  feudal1.htm

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Rulers of the Medieval Period

• Henry II instituted royal courts throughout the
  country, established system of juries and formed
  English common law.
• His wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (former French
  queen) brought from France the code of chivalry
• Code of Chivalry ethics governing knightly
  behavior. Encouraged knights to honor and
  protect ladies and go on holy quests, like the
  Crusades (military expedition that European
  Christians used to wrest the holy city of
  Jerusalem from Muslim control).

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• Richard I a.k.a Richard the Lion-Hearted
• - spent most of his 10 year reign fighting in
  the Crusades
• While gone, his brother John (the villain of the
  Robin Hood tales) plotted against him.
• When Richard died and John became king, he
  discovered that the royal treasury had been
  bankrupted by overseas warfare.
• In 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta, which
  limited royal authority by giving more power to
  the barons.

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• Henry III - under him, parliament was officially
  established from the group of barons who served
  as an advisory council to the king, per the Magna
  Carta
• Edward I, the next king, included commoners in
  the parliament (House of Commons) as well as
  barons (House of Lords), and the British
  Parliament became a representative body of the
  people of the country.

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Trivial Pursuit of Medieval Times

• As a result of the Crusades, a money economy
  developed. Thus, the government established a
  _____ system to finance society.
• Answer TAX
• 2. Merchants and craftspeople formed guilds to
  help control the flow and price of goods. Today,
  guilds are more commonly known as _____.
• Answer UNIONS
• 3. As a result of the growth of towns on lords
  lands, _____ as a way of governing declined.
• Answer FEUDELISM
• 4. The downside to the formation of towns was the
  onslaught of widespread diseases, called ______.
• Answer PLAGUES
• 5. With the advancement of society came the
  desire for more education. Thus, __________
  (pl.) were formed for higher studies.
• Answer UNIVERSITIES

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Who were the characters in Canterbury Tales?
They were travelers making a religious road trip
called a
Pilgrimage- a religious journey undertaken for
penance and grace. Pilgrims traveled to visit
the remains of Saint Thomas Becket, archbishop of
Canterbury, who was murdered in 1170 by knights
of King Henry II. Soon after his death, he
became the most popular saint in England. The
pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales is not only
solemn, but offers the travelers a vacation.
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Importance of Social Class in Medieval Society

• The pilgrims represent a diverse cross section of
  14th century English society.
• Medieval society was divided into three broad
  classes called estates the military, the
  clergy, and the laity.
• In the portraits in the Prologue, the Knight and
  Squire represent the military estate. The clergy
  is represented by the Prioress (and her nun and
  three priests), the Monk, the Friar, and the
  Parson. The other characters, from the wealthy
  Franklin to the poor Plowman, are the members of
  the laity.

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Romance

• Romance - a style of heroic prose and verse
  narrative written in Europe from the Middle Ages
  to the Renaissance.
• The term originally distinguished popular
  material from scholarly and religious literature.
• Romance deals with traditional themes the
  adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, who,
  abiding chivalry's strict codes of honour and
  demeanour, fights and defeats monsters and
  giants, thereby winning favour with a beautiful
  princess.
• In later romances, particularly those of French
  origin, there is a tendency to emphasize themes
  of courtly love.
• Romance may or may not be realistic depending on
  the story and its events.

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Fabliau

• fabliau short, humorous, suggestive poems whose
  themes deal with domestic comedy full of sexual
  innuendo of the merchant and middle classes.
• They have local settings and almost inevitably
  involve a lovers' triangle, trickery designed to
  gain favors from a desired woman most likely
  married or otherwise unavailable (one of the
  cloth or one too young etc.), and / or trickery
  designed to delude an aging or otherwise
  undesirable husband to clear the way for a lover.
  
• Popular as elements of poetry in France of the
  12th and 13th centuries and first appeared in
  English about 100 years later.

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About the author and his times

• For Homework tonight learn about Geoffrey
  Chaucer!
• Read pages 107-110 online (www.classzone.com/eserv
  ices) and answer the 8 questions on the handout

http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_age
s_english.shtml