Medieval England

Medieval English Literature

AD 499/500-1400. The English Journey through time begins here.

First Up

• Explain the contributions to language and literature made by the early Britons, the Celts, the Romans, and the Anglo-Saxons.

• Identify characteristics of the Old English language.

• Explain the role of the poet and the oral tradition in Anglo-Saxon society

• Identify and describe the Anglo-Saxon literary forms of epic, elegy, riddle, and verse.

Early Britons

• Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of the British Isles. What is known is that the early Britons mined tin and made bronze tools and weapons.

• They also may have built Stonehenge, located in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge is a circular arrangement of huge stones.

• Scientists and historians are still puzzled about the manner of construction of such an accurate and complicated calendar by a so-called barbarian people.

The Celts

• By 700 B.C. England was invaded by a group known as the Celts. Two groups of Celts developed in the British Isles.

• These Celtic people were aggressive warriors who worshipped gods of nature. Their religion involved magic and perhaps even human sacrifice

• The Celts made and dyed woolen cloth. They set up trade with other areas of Europe.

• When the Romans invaded England in 52 B.C., the Celts were forced into the hill country of northwestern England, thus escaping Latin influence.

The Romans

The Romans

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SajyHgJTy3E&t=1s

  The Roman Empire spread over most of the known world from northern Africa to most of Europe, from the Middle East to Spain, and even to Britain in the west. 

• The Romans built their empire as a result of many wars. To hold their newly acquired possessions, Rome established outposts and built roads.

• After his conquest of Gaul (present-day France), Julius Caesar directed his attentions toward Britain. Perhaps he had heard about the rich tin mines, woolen cloth, and other British resources from traders. Caesar was aware of the aid and protection the Britons had provided to his enemies, the Gauls

• Caesar invaded Britain in 52 B.C. The Britons resisted, but they were conquered. England was occupied by Roman troops for about four hundred years. 

• England flourished under Roman rule. Roman-built roads encouraged trade and the growth of towns. London became an important port.They also built forts for protection against the inhabitants of Scotland.

Summary So Far

The colorful yet violent history of England is often reflected in literature. Early English people who were called the Britons, were considered barbaric, though they were responsible for constructing Stonehenge, a complex and accurate astronomical calendar. The Celts invaded England by 700 BC. The Celts were warlike sturdy people who worshipped gods of nature, practiced magic and attempted to sacrifice humans. Roman influence was felt as early as 52 BC, when Julius Caesar conquered England. Romans stayed in England 400 hundred years and built many walls, roads and forts, which improved transportation and trade with other territories. When the Roman Empire left to return to their own Ailing empire's troops left Britain to fend of attacks happening in their home, Rome, Britain was invaded. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes took over the sout and the Scots & Picts attacjed the North. What Followed is known as the Anglo-Saxon Period.

Multiple Choice

The Romans came from...

• Romania

• England

• Italy

• Spain

Multiple Choice

The Romans were able to defeat the Celts because they were...

• richer and more powerful

• stronger and faster

• orderly and disciplined

• taller and heavier

Multiple Choice

What were the fierce, dangerous, blue-painted warriors of Britain called?

• Celts

• Britannia

• Blue Men

• The Warriors of the North

Multiple Choice

The Roman Emperor was called...

• Caesar

• Queen Victoria

• The King of Rome

• Boudicca

Multiple Choice

To entertain themselves Romans used to...

• watch TV

• watch drama and plays

• listen to rock music

• ride bicycles

Multiple Choice

The Celts and Romans lived around...

• 25 years ago

• 500 years ago

• 2,000 years ago

• 35 million years ago

Multiple Choice

Which 3 groups invaded after the Romans?

• Normans, Vikings, and Jutes

• Angles, Saxons, and Britons

• Angles, Saxons, and Gaels

• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

Multiple Choice

Why did the Roman rule end?

• There was a war and they surrendered.

• The Romans retreated home to defend the homeland.

• The Romans all died.

• The Romans just gave up the throne because they were tired of ruling.

Multiple Choice

Who invaded immediately after the Celts?

• Normans

• Romans

• Vikings

• Anglo Saxons

Multiple Choice

What are the major contributions of the Romans to the English Society?

• Old English language, roads and highways, and taxation system

• Christianity, Stonehenge, and taxation system

• Latin language, strong army, and Christianity

• Christianity, taxation system, and roads and highways

Multiple Choice

What are the Germanic tribes that settled in England?

• Gaels, Picts, and Britons

• Vikings

• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

• Roman Legions

The Anglo-Saxons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03x8Cl5SLDU

The Anglo-Saxons

The name Angle-Land, later England, was taken from the tribe called the Angles. The Anglo-Saxon period extends from about A.D. 449 to A.D. 1066. The legendary King Arthur was supposed to have reigned about A.D. 500.The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were Germanic tribes that crossed the North Sea to conquer Britain. By the end of the sixth century, they had conquered the territory.

These tribes settled in tiny regions. They had blended into larger kingdoms by A.D. 597 when Pope Gregory sent missionaries to England.

An English nationalism came early to these kingdoms. Conversion to Christianity and a common bond to ward off invaders encouraged a national spirit. The Anglo-Saxons, as these blended Germanic tribes came to be called, were hardy people. They were ruled by the traditional Germanic system of the leader, or chieftain, and his witan, or council of retainers. They called assemblies to discuss issues and to interpret laws. The Anglo-Saxons were also an artistic people. Their craftsmen produced brooches, helmets, and bracelets.

In early Anglo-Saxon society, the poet was a very respected member of society, often called a scop, he recorded rituals, accomplishments, beliefs and traditions. He told stories and embellished them often using many literary devices including alliterations and metaphors.

Anglo-Saxon English or Old English

The year A.D. 597 marks the beginnings of English history, mostly due to the works of Venerable Bede, who is known as the father of English Literature. The English had learned from Roman and Irish missionaries to make written records of historical events. By then the language was actually called English. The spread of Christianity brought increased learning. Some men learned to read and write Latin while training for holy orders

The Old English language. Most people have not read Old English verse in the original language because a speaker of modern English would not recognize most of the words. The language has changed greatly. The language was spelled in a phonetic imitation of the speech. 

Most of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) words that remain are basic parts of the modern English vocabulary. Such words as father (faeder), mother (moder), friend (freond), sheep (sceap), and heaven (heafon) are of Anglo-Saxon origin. Prepositions and conjunctions, as well as most pronouns, articles, and auxiliary verbs, come from the Anglo-Saxon.

Due to Danish Viking invasions destroying monasteries and learning establishments, an Anglo-Saxon leader Alfred the Great developed a law known as the Danelaw, that restricted the Danes to a portion of eastern England. Though the Anglo-Saxon Culture, Learning & Government was nearly destroyed by the Norman Conquest in 1066, the surviving English traditions and language gradually blended with Norman influences, giving birth to Medieval England.

Anglo-Saxon Literature

• They produced a rich variety of poetic forms, including:

• Due to the tradition of oral expression, many the poet of scop developed poetic idiom, rhythm, alliteration and beautiful double metaphors called kennings(usually hyphenated eg. worm-eater, nest-maker, cushion-filler).

• Another product of the oral tradition was an epic poem called Beowulf, though the specific writer/creator is unknown, many Anglo-Saxon customs, traditions and beliefs are revealed through Beowulf, including the culture of comitatus, which refers to the relationship and loyalty between a leader and his retainers. An epic poem is a long narrative poem that is usually heroic in nature

• Another peice that reflected the language and culture of the Anglo-Saxons was an elegy called Widsith. It is about a travelling scop and is probably the oldest poem in English. An elegy is a song or poem expressing serious sorrow or reflection.

• Other peices include: gnomes (maxims & short sayings), elegiac (pertaining to a formal poem, serious meditation.

Multiple Choice

What helped English to survive during and after Middle English when compared with Celtic?

• body of literature and adminstrative use

• oral tradition and language for education

• body of literature and used by the Church

• body of literature and oral tradition

Multiple Choice

One of the principal functions of the Anglo-Saxon scop or poet was to

• provide dance music

• lead religious exercises

• translate Latin hymns

• recite songs, tales, and history

Multiple Choice

The Anglo-Saxon period is said to date from

• 55 BC to AD 43

• AD 1 to 449

• 449 to 1066

• 1066 to 1485

Multiple Choice

What is another term for the Anglo-Saxon language?

• Middle English

• Modern English

• Frisian English

• Old English

Multiple Choice

What religion gradually takes over in the Anglo-Saxon culture?

• Christianity

• Norse Religion

• Islam

• Animism

Multiple Choice

What is said to be the greatest specimen of Anglo-Saxon literature?

• The Ecclesiastical History of England

• Caedmon's Hymn

• Anglo-Saxon Chronicles

• Beowulf

Multiple Choice

What is the origin of the word "England"?

• Angle Land

• Angels Land

• English Land

• Eagle Land

Multiple Choice

Who is the Father of English Learning?

• Caedmon

• Beowulf

• Venerable Bede

• Alfred the Great

Multiple Choice

Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from?

• Northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland

• Northern Germany, China and northern Holland

• Northern Germany, Denmark and Italy

• Southern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland

Multiple Choice

The Anglo-Saxon period began in

• 449 AD

• 500 BC

• 43 AD

• 60 AC

Multiple Choice

Anglo-Saxon poets held an honored position in society primarily because they —

• preserved heroic deeds in the collective memory of the people

• became great warriors for their lords

• painstakingly copied old manuscripts

Multiple Choice

The Christian monasteries served Anglo-Saxon society by —

• fostering learning and preserving literary works by writing them down

• developing innovative agricultural theories and methods

• Burning down old Anglo-Saxon places of worship.

Multiple Choice

Anglo-Saxon society was dominated by —

• devotion to monastic principles and beliefs

• A strict code of loyalty between leaders and their noblemen and soldiers.

• industry and dedication to a strict work ethic

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a kenning?

• sky-candle

• shiny-sword

• battle-dew

• whale road

Multiple Choice

"Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before" is an example of

• kenning

• metaphor

• caesura

• alliteration

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of epic poetry?

• contains a hero that is a leader

• is told in common/everyday language

• contains elements of boasting

• contains elements of the supernatural

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a characteristic of an epic poem?

• includes a quest

• includes a hero

• must be short in length

• contains larger-than-life characters

Next Up

• Explain the impact of the Norman conquest upon Anglo-Saxon society, language, and literature.

• Describe the types of literature that dominated the transitional period between A.D. 1066 and A.D. 1300.

• Recognize the Middle English language.

Middle English Literature

• 12th Century literature consisted of sermons, saying and historical works

• The folk ballad arose from the oral tradition of the early Anglo-Saxon period and entertained medieval people.

• Other literary types from time include religious and didactic (lesson-teaching) works: sermons, rules and poems. The Beastiary, or short allegorical animal poems were popular forms of didactic literature.

• An allegory is a symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a meaning not explicitly set forth.

The Norman Conquest

• The years between the Norman Conquest & the 14the century were transitional giving rise to feudalism, which in turn, led to the increase of church power & Influence and to the emergence of trade, population centers and a middle class.

• The Normans brought their own systems of government and language, took over much of the land and set up their own ruling class.

• Peasants/Commoners or Serfs paid 50 percent of their harvest to the feudal lord of their region, but the church provided stability and meaning to peasants and commoners, taking care of him form birth to death. Thus religion played a central role in Medieval English and this fact is reflected in literature, drama and architecture of that period.

Fourteenth Century Literature

Fourteenth Century England was the culmination of forces exerting influence upon medieval society. Geoffrey Chaucer the greatest Early English writer presented a realistic picture of medieval England, its people, its customs and its institutions.

Multiple Choice

Great Britain has been invaded and settled by all of the following peoples except —

• Normans

• Vikings

• Romans

• Greeks

Multiple Choice

The years of war between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes came to an end with the —

• departure of the Romans after the collapse of the Roman Empire

• acceptance of Christianity by both groups under Alfred the Great

• the evolution of a modified Greek form of government.

Multiple Choice

Alfred is the only British monarch in history to hold what title?

• The Tyrant

• The Great

• The Terrible

Multiple Choice

Who invaded and defeated the Anglo-Saxons in 1066AD?

• The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

• The Romans

• The Celts

• The Normans

Multiple Choice

Also called the Middle Ages

• Renaissance

• Enlightenment

• Medieval Era

• Modernist Period

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was a collection of stories written in Middle English?

• The Canterbury Tales

• Cambridge Songs

• Carmina Burana

• Beowulf

Multiple Choice

The lowest group in the feudal system.

• knights

• vassals

• serfs

• students