The European scene (late 4

1
The term Middle Ages refers to a period of
several centuries
Classica era
Renaissance new birth
Revival of the classical cultures of the past
Greece and Rome
2
Poetry

• Epic poetry Beowulf, oral tradition, legends,
  history, alliteration, caesura, kennings, bards,
• Legend Arthurian cycle
• The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer (1387)
• Ballads popular form, oral tradition, anonymous,
  memorised, regular form, simple stories of
  everyday life, the supernatural, legend

3
Medieval Drama

• Liturgical drama in church
• Mystery Cycles in processions, outdoor, guilds
• Morality plays travelling companies

4

• Christianity expansion
• Feudalism hierarchical structure
• Travel pilgrimages, voyages of discovery, trade
• Values based on Anglo-Norman chivalry
• Birth of the English nation political,
  linguistic (language of common people with words
  of mainly Anglo-Saxon origin), social, economic
  motivations
• Morality based on Christian values
• Middle Ages Women The Roles of Women in the
  Middle Ages are connected with the Church. The
  Catholic Church also maintained an ideal of
  morality. The women of the Middle Ages were
  totally dominated by the male members of their
  family. Women of the royalty lived luxuriously
  and when chivalry was finally introduced, they
  were more respected by men.

5

• Caxton printing press (1475)
• Architecture Norman style, Gothic style
• Music bards, sacred music, ballads
• Art decorated, jewelled objects, illuminated
  manuscripts