English Literature in the 14th Century

8/12/2019 English Literature in the 14th Century

1/49

English Literature in the 14th

century

Instructor: Professor Ecaterina Haniu PhD


2/49

England in the 14th and 15thcenturies - General presentation

The 14th and 15th centuries werecharacterized by conflict in the political andmilitary fields both at home and abroad,and also in the daily life of villages.

War with France continued intermittentlythroughout the period, and included theHundred Years' War from 1337 to 1453.

Chivalry ideals were cultivated by the Kingand his courtiers as a useful way of

persuading men to fight, by creating theidea that war was a noble and gloriousthing.


3/49

Dieu et mon droit

(God and my right) Edward III (13271377) and his

eldest son, the Black Prince, weregreatly admired in England fortheir courage on the battlefield andtheir courtly manners. Theybecame symbols of the code ofchivalry. Edward III founded theOrder of the Garter in 1348, from astory that is even now famous.

Once, a lady at court dropped hergarter while dancing, and EdwardIII noticed some of the courtierslaughing at her. He picked up thegarter and tied it to his own leg,saying in French Honi soit qui maly pense (Let him be ashamedwho sees wrong in it.). Edward

chose as members of the Order 24knights, the same number thelegendary King Arthur had chosen,who decided to meet once a year,on St Georges Day at WindsorCastle. The custom is still followedand the motto has remained in theroyal family up to the present day.


4/49

Richard II and Henry IV

The English never rebelledagainst Edward III, but RichardII, Edwards grandson, was

less fortunate. He didnt haveeither the diplomatic talents ofhis grandfather, or thepopularity of his father, theBlack Prince, and as he wasonly 11 when he became aking, it is obvious that others

governed for him. Towards the end of the 14th

century, Richard II was killedby ambitious lords. Young andproud Richard quarrelled withthe nobles in 1388 andimprisoned his uncle, John of

Gaunt, the third son of EdwardIII, who was the most powerfuland wealthy noble of the time.John of Gaunts son latercame to the throne of Englandas Henry IV.

Henry IV (13671413)


5/49

The Black Death

The 14th century in England didnot mean political and

government problems only. Theoutbreak of the Black Death in1348 brought about profoundsocial and economic changes.The disease killed between onethird and one half of thepopulation, and was followed byfurther outbreaks in 1361 and

1369. This population declineresulted in severe labourshortages and in theabandonment of a large numberof villages.

People's attitudes towardsmusic and art changed as theybegan to see the depression

surrounding them. The horrificnature of the Black Death wasreflected in the realisticdepictions of human sufferingand carnage as well as thesymbolic use of the skeleton.

"The Dance of Death"

by Hans Holbein the Younger


6/49

The Peasants Revolts

Higher wage rates were demanded byhired labourers, now fewer innumber, and food prices fell. Peasant

tenants, also fewer in number, askedfor better conditions.

As early as 1349, a royal ordinanceprovided that wages should be nohigher than the pre-Black Deathrates. This was followed after theplague had died away by the famousStatute of Labourers, which forbade

men to leave their parish on pain ofimprisonment.

In 1377 the Poll Tax was first leviedthroughout the country, largely topay for the ruinously costly Frenchwars.

The resulting resentment wascombined with a strong religiousmovement, which questioned theinequalities of the feudal system.

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was oneresult of this social tension: itsleaders, John Ball, Wat Tyler, andJack Straw, all lost their lives fortheir views.

The end of the revolt: Wat Tyler killed by

Walworth while King Richard II watches


7/49

The 15thcentury

Towards the end of the 14th century,there appeared some otherrevolutionary movements, and the

beginning of the war between Englandand France (13371453) brought itscontribution to the development ofsocial contradictions as well.

The 15th century was a period oftransition: the Middle Ages werecoming to an end, and the foundationsof modern society were being laid. The

epoch of feudal chivalry was replacedby that of discovery and commerce.Social conditions were disturbed, asthe French Wars of the three Henrys, IV,V and VI, had an exhausting effect.

Conflict at home dominated the middleyears of the 15th century, with the Warsof the Roses between two noble houses

having as emblems a white rose (theYorks) and a red rose (the Lancasters).Finally, King Henry VII (14851509)married Elizabeth of York in order toput an end to the feud and unite the twofamilies.The two emblems were placedtogether in order to form the Tudorrose.

Portra i t of Henry, hold ing a red

Lancastr ian rose


8/49

LITERATURE IN CHAUCERS TIME

It is surprising to observe that under the givencircumstances, the second half of the 14th century

marked a great developement of literature. Wonderfulartistic works appeared, describing in a more or lessexplicit way, life in that eventful period.

In spite of the many continental influences, mainly Frenchand Italian, the basis of a national English literature in thetrue sense of the word was created then.

Four important writers defined the spirit of the time in

their literary creations: William Langland

John Gower

Geoffrey Chaucer

and

a poet whose name has remained a mystery up to thepresent day, the anonymous creator of the controversial

long poem Sir Gawain and the Green Kn ight. As the greatest of all remains Geoffrey Chaucer, this

period in the history of English literature is often calledthe age of Chaucer.


9/49

THE ANONYMOUS POET OF THE 14TH CENTURY

Sometime in the 17thcentury, Sir Robert Cotton,whose hobby was to collectantiques and discovered alot of old English poetry inthis way, got an old bookcontaining four poems inMiddle English ; The Pearl,Cleanness, Patienceand SirGawain and the GreenKn igh t. The auhtorship ofthese poems is muchdiscussed by the critics, butas the style is very similar,

the general opinion is thatall the poems belong to thesame author, whose nameis still a mystery, but who issometimes referred to asThe Pearl Poet.

The original GawainManuscript


10/49

John Gower (c. 13301408)

John Gower was a contemporary of WilliamLangland and Geoffrey Chaucer. He isremembered primarily for three majorworks, the Mirro i r de l 'Omme, VoxClamantis, and Confessio Amant is, threelong poems written in French, Latin, andEnglish respectively, which are united bycommon political and moral themes.

The learned people of the 14th century hadthe choice of French, Latin and some formof English, and Gower - who was a richlandowner in Kent and had a solidaristocratic learning - was capable of usingall three with equal facility.

The Middle Ages aristocratic education hadleft its hall-mark on Gowers works, butsome influences from Italy, where a freshhumanistic spirit was in bloom, can also beobserved.

Nevertheless his mind was narrowlymedieval and showed nothing of Chaucerscreative imagination. Chaucer was notwrong when he called his contemporarymoral Gower, as he was indeed amoralizing poet.


11/49

William Langland (ca.1330-1387)

William Langland is the author of TheVision of Wil l iam Conc erning Piers thePloughman, a long didactic poem inthe form of an allegory and written inalliterative verse.

The Vis ion o f Wil l iam Concerning PiersthePloughmanwas written on the eve

of the great Peasants' Uprising (1381)and it reflects the religious andpolitical unrest of the time, thesituation of the peasants as comparedto that of the feudal lords. The frequentallusions to John Wycliff, Wat Tylerand John Ball, veiled in allegoricalfigures, connect the poem to the

events of the time. In the character of Piers the Plowman,

the worthy guide of the pilgrims ontheir road to The Castle of Truth,Langland glorifies labour, as a soundbasis for the welfare of society.


12/49

The structure of the poem is medieval. It is written in the form ofa "vision", an allegorical work of a religious, didactic andsatirical character, presented by means of a succession ofpictures or images seen in a dream.

The poem is full of fantastic elements, just like the story about

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but these are of a differenttype and the whole atmosphere of the poem is different. Theauthor does not want to present the refinement of the knightsmoral principles, but the problem of earning ones living. Thewhole poem is a keen satire, a call addressed to the people, awarning to the upper classes.


13/49

The Visions

The dream that the poetpretends to have had whilesleeping on a beautiful Mayday on the grass onMalvern Hill includesseveral parts: a) the visionof Lady Meed, Lady Profitand the Castle of Truth, b)the vision of repentance

and the allegory of Piers asthe only one who knows theway to the Castle, c) Piersssearch for Do-Well, Do-Betand Do-Best .

Piers the Ploughmancamedown to us in a largenumber of manuscripts (47

in all), proving thatLangland's poem hadenjoyed much popularity atthe time it was written.

Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the

Four Last Things


14/49

The Seven Deadly (Capital) Sins

and the Seven Heavenly (Holy) Virtues

1. Lust (Latin, luxuria)

2. Gluttony (Latin, gula)

3. Greed (Latin, avaritia)

4. Sloth (Latin, acedia)

5. Wrath (Latin, ira)

6. Envy (Latin, invidia)

7. Pride (Latin, superbia)

In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven

holy virtues are

1. chastity 2. abstinence

3. temperance

4. diligence

5. patience

6. kindness

7. humility.

The Middle Ages is often referred to as the Age of Faith as during thisperiod religion dominated all aspects of life from architecture, literature, art

and music. Tales of Sin and Virtue were an almost-daily treat, inspired from

the daily struggle between Good and Evil. Which side will win? was a

common question. Saving ones soul was a permanent concern.


15/49

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 13431400)

Geoffrey Chaucer is regarded asEngland's first poet of worldimportance who deserves to becalled the morning star ofEnglish poetry.

The novelty of his poetic artistryand his deep interest in theaspects of his society prove thata new spirit was already at work

in the 14th century Englishliterature.

A realistic spirit, opposed to thetheological and scholasticinterpretation of phenomena andto the traditional versification ofmediaeval poetry, is to be felt inChaucer's works. He did not only

present life in a realistic way, buthe also worked on the languageand was an inovator in the poeticfield.


16/49

While William Langlandexpressed in his workthe protest of thepeasants, of the poor

and needy in general,and John Gower voicedthe opinion of the upperclasses, Chaucer wasthe first to adopt a

neutral attitude and togive an all-roundpicture of the society inwhich he lived.


17/49

Geoffrey Chaucer-His life and literary activity Chaucer was born in

1343 in London,although the exact dateand location of his birthare not known. His

father and grandfatherwere both Londonvintners and beforethat, for severalgenerations, the family

were merchants inIpswich. His name isderived from theFrench chausseur,meaning shoemaker.


18/49

Chaucerslife is known primarily throughrecords pertaining to his career as a courtier

and civil servant under the English kingsEdward III and Richard II.

In 1359 he was taken prisoner in the Frenchwars and was ransomed in 1360. On hisreturn to London, Chaucer became thekings attendant.

Later on, he travelled to France again in1369, in Italy during 1372-73, then in othercountries too, being sent on several

diplomatic missions. Once more he visitedFrance in 1377 and Italy in 1378.

At home he detained several officialpositions: as a controller of customs in theport of London, where he could meet lots ofmerchants and tradesmen; as a Justice ofPeace in Kent, and so on, besides travellingabroad on royal business.

Towards 1386 Chaucers situation began to

deteriorate. Little by little he lost theprotection of the noblemen and finally heeven lost his royal pension. In 1399 he wrotea poem entitled Complaint to His Pursewhich he sent to the new king. He regainedhis pension, but he could not enjoy it for avery long time, as he passed away in 1400.


19/49


20/49

The Chaucerian Stanza

Comp laint Unto Pi ty,

composed during the Frenchperiod, has a special interestfor the new type of stanzaused by Chaucer. Althoughintroduced by Chaucer inEnglish literature, this newdevice came to be called therhyme royal, because KingJames I made use of it in TheKing is Quair. The stanzaconsists of 7 lines, eachformed of 10 syllables andrhyming ababbcc. It becamethe fashinable stanza and itheld position until the

appearance of theSpenserian stanza, createdby the Renaissance poetSpenser. Here is a sample ofrhyme royal, orChaucerian stanza.

Pity, that I have sought yore ago

With heart sore and full of busy

pain,That in this world was never wight

so woe

Without deathand, if I shall not

feign,

My purpose is to Pity to complain

Upon the cruelty and tirany

Of Love, that for my truth doth me

die.


21/49

The Italian Period

The terms galaxyand

Milky Wayfirst appeared

in the English language in

Chaucers work:

"See yonder, lo, the

Galaxy

Which men clepeth the

Milky Wey,

For hit is whyt." Geoffrey Chaucer The

House of Fame, c. 1380.

The influence of the great Italianpoets (Dante, Petrarch,Boccaccio) can be observed inthe works created by Chaucerbetween 13721384, and evenin his Canterbu ry Talesthereare some ideas or characters

that are inspired from Italianliterature.

Among some of the minorworks of this period we canmention The Life of Saint Cecily(later made the Second NunsTale in The Canterb ury Tales)

and the Story of Constance. Thelonger and more importantcreations are The Parl iament o fFowls, Troi lus and Criseyde,The Legend of Good Womenand The House of Fame.


22/49

The Canterbury Tales

Chaucers plan of collecting tales and unitingthem by a central idea was already evident insuch early works as The Parliament of Fowlsor The Legend of Good Women. By doing so,

he was inspired by such successful chains ofstories like The Arabian Nights, BoccacciosDecameronand others. In England, this kindof writing was actually known beforeChaucers time (e.g. John Gowers Confessio

AmantisThe Lovers Confession).


23/49

The Canterbury TalesStructure of the Work

Chaucers CanterburyTalesappeared quitenaturally, as to tellstories or to go onpilgrimages was in theair of the time.

Somewhere about 1386,the poet planned tocollect about 120 to 124tales and to put themtogether in one singlework, as told by anumber of about 30pilgrims on their way tothe tomb of Thomas--Becket in Canterbury.


24/49

The initial plan wasnot carried outthough, as only 24tales were composed

and 3 of them were leftunfinished, but theyare enough to revealChaucers qualities asa poet, as an excelent

psychologist, histalent of drawingrealistic portraits, hishumour and wit.


25/49

The Canterbury Talesis a complex link-

and-frame work, consisting of:

a General Prologue in which the

story-tellers are presented and

described,

and the tales preceded by their own

minor prologues.


26/49

The Canterbury Pilgrimages - Thomas Becket and Henry II

Thomas Becket was born in around 1120,

the son of a London merchant. He was welleducated and became an agent to Theobald,

Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him on

several missions to Rome. Becket's talents

were noticed by King Henry II, who made

him his chancellor and the two became

close friends. When Theobald died in 1161,

Henry made Becket archbishop. Beckettransformed himself from a pleasure-loving

courtier into a serious, simply-dressed

cleric.

The king and his archbishop's friendship

was put under strain when it became clear

that Becket would now stand up for thechurch in its disagreements with the king. In

1164, realizing the extent of Henry's

displeasure, Becket fled into exile in France,

and remained in exile for several years. He

returned in 1170.


27/49

On the 29th December1170, four knights,

believing the king wantedBecket out of the way,murdered Becket inCanterbury Cathedral.

Henry II was horrified whenhe heard the news as he

believed that it was hiswords that had been thecause of Beckets death.As an act of penitence hedonned sackcloth andashes, and starved himselffor three days.

Becket was made a saint in1173 and his shrine inCanterbury Cathedralbecame an important focusfor pilgrimage.


28/49

The General Prologue to Chaucers Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue initself is the splendidcreation of a genius. Itbegins with a briefdescription of nature inspring time, not extremely

ornamented, but verysuggestive. It is April,everything exhales an airof joy, the birds aresinging, the sun is shiningand the flowers are in

bloom. The relationshipbetween man and natureis observed, even if in arather mocking tone.


29/49

The General Prologue to Chaucers Canterbury Tales (Excerpt)

When the sweet showers of April fall and shoot

Down through the drought of March to pierce to the root,

Bathing every vein in liquid power From which there springs the engendering of the flower,

When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath

Exhales an air in every grove and heath

Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun

His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,

And the small fowls are making melody

That sleep away the right with open eye

(So nature pricks them and and their heart engages)

The people long to go on pilgrimages,

And palmers long to seek the stranger strands

Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands And specially from every shires end

In England, down to Canterbury they wend

To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick

In giving help to them when they were sick.


30/49

The pilgrims meet

at the Tabard Innin Southwark (asuburb of London),agree to sleep atthe inn and start

on their journeyearly in themorning thefollowing day. Thepoet, who was

already at the inn,is accepted to theirfellowship.


31/49

The description of all thepilgrims comes next,beginning with the Knight,his son - the young Squireand their servant, a worthy

Yeoman. Somerepresentatives of the clergyfollow, such as a Prioress, aMonk and a Friar, together

with other pilgrims, such asa Merchant, an OxfordCleric, a Habrdasher, a Dyer,a Carpenter, a Weaver, aCarpetmaker, a Doctor, aWoman of Bath, a Miller, aPardoner, a Ploughman etc

After describing all of themin his usual half-serious,half-mocking manner, thepoet introduces HarryBailey, the Innkeeper.


32/49

The merry heartedinnkeeper has the idea of astory-telling contest: each of

the pilgrims was to tell twostories on the way toCanterbury and two more onthe way back. He alsodeclares himself the judge ofthe competition, able toappreciate which of the

stories is more interesting.The winner of the contest isto be offered a square dinnerat the expense of the others.Harry Bailey is a typicalrepresentative of the middleclass people, full of common

sense and the joy of life,whose ideas are quicklyaccepted by the others.


33/49

The other pilgrims are representatives of almost all thesocial strata existing in Chaucers time:

the poor peasants (represented by the Ploughman)

the nobility (the Knight, the Squire)

the clergy (the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar)

the middle class townsfolk, representatives of the liberalprofessions (the Merchant, the Weaver, the Carpenter)

and of the learned liberal professions and science (theDoctor)

the law (the Man of Law, the Oxford Cleric)

the rural middle class

the landed gentry (the Franklina small landowner)

All these were genuine members of the 14th centurysociety. In spite of the very large and detaileddescription displayed in the General Prologue, thereare some social groups that, for evident reasons,Chaucer did not want to speak about, such as the courtaristocracy or the high clergy.


34/49

Chaucer as Portrait Painter

Chaucers peculiar technique of drawing portraits isremarkable. He describes each character in a few linesonly, yet the portraits are life truthful. The pilgrims'portraits, drawn in the General Prologueand then further

rounded off by the Minor Prologuespreceding the tales,minutely observe the essential physical and moralfeatures of each character which the author delineateshumorously and sometimes satirically. His satire isdirected towards the dishonest representatives of clergy,

middle-class townsfolk and country people, but heregards with sympathy the hardworking, honest men,such as the parson and the ploughman.


35/49

WILLIAM BLAKE'S CANTERBURY PILGRIMS

c. 1808


36/49

The Use of Details

The physical portraits ofthe characters areaccompanied by thedescription of their wayof speaking, theirmanners and so on,

pointing to theireducation and revealingtheir moral features too.Every small detail isimportant to Chaucer,who often goes so far as

to insist on his heroesclothes, shoes, horses.

There was a Knigh t , a mos t dist ingu ished man


37/49

The Knight

There was a knight, a most distinguished manWho from the day on which he first beganTo ride abroad had followed chivalry,Truth, honor, generousness and courtesy.He had done nobly in his sovereigns warAnd ridden into battle, no man more,As well in Christian as in heathen places,And ever honored for his noble graces

He was of sovereign value in all eyes.And though so much distinguished, he was wiseAnd in his bearing modest as a maidHe never yet a boorish thing had saidIn all his life to any, come what might;He was a true, a perfect gentle-knight.Speaking of his equipment, he possessed

Fine horses, but he was not gaily dressed.He wore a fustian tunic stained and darkWith smudges where his armour had left mark;Just home from service, he had joined our ranksTo do his pilgrimage and render thanks.


38/49

The Knight

In the narrator's

eyes, the Knight isthe noblest of the

pilgrims, embodying

military courage,

loyalty, honor,generosity and good

manners. The Knight

conducts himself in a

polite and mild

fashion, never saying

an unkind word about

anyone.


39/49


40/49

The Yeoman

This Yeoman wore a coat andhood of green.

He had a sheaf of arrows,bright and keen,

Beneath his belt positionedhandily

He tended to his gear mostyeomanly,

His arrow feathers neverdrooped too low

And in his hand he bore amighty bow.

His head was closely cropped,his face was brown.

The fellow knew his woodcraftup and down.


41/49

The Wife of Bath

There was a WIFE of BATH, or a near city ,

Who w as somewhat deaf, wh ich was apity.

At making c loth she had a ski l l fu l hand

She bettered tho se of Ypres and ofGhent.

Her kerchiefs were of f inely wovenground;

I dared have sworn th ey weighed a good

ten pound

The ones she wore on Sunday, on herhead;

Her ho se were of the finest scarlet red

And gartered t ight ; her shoes were sof tand n ew...

Easi ly on an ambl ing horse she sat

Well wimpled up and on her head a hat

As b road as is a buckler or a shie ld;

She had a f lowing mant le that conc ealed

Large hips, her heels spu rred sharplyunder that.


42/49


43/49

Chaucer's Prioress: Simple and Conscientious, or Shallow and Counterfeit? There also was a Nun, a Prioress,

Her way of smiling simple was and coy.Her greatest oath was only By St Loy!And she was known as Madam Eglantyne.And well she sang a service, with a fineIntoning through her nose, as was mostseemly,And she spoke daintily in French,extremely,After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;French in the Paris style she did not know.

At meat her manners were well taughtwithal;No morsel from her lips did she let fall,Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce toodeep;But she could carry a morsel up and keepThe smallest drop from falling on herbreast.

For courtliness she had a special zest She wore a coral trinket on her arm,

A set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green,Whence hung a golden brooch of brightestsheenOn which there first was graven a crownedA,And lower, Amor vincit omnia.


44/49

Chaucers galleryof portraits isfascinatingindeed. Ranging

in status from aKnight to ahumblePloughman, they

are a microcosmof 14th centurysociety.


45/49

The Tales

The tales present varied themes, as their sources of

inspiration were also varied, and the characters only retellthem. They belong to all types of medieval literature. Theywere inspired from:

the chivalry romances (e.g. the Knights tale, the Squirestale);

the burlesque of chivalry romance (e.g. Chaucers tale of Sir

Thopaz) adaptations of the Arthurian cycle that have become folk

fairy tales (e.g. the Wife of Baths tale)

stories based on medieval scriptural stories which have amoralizing tendency (the Sergeant of Laws Tale, theMonks Tale. The Nuns tale)

the French fabliaux (the Millers tale, The tales of the Reeve,Merchant, Friar, Summoner, Cook, Shipman)

one tale sugessted by the French romance Le Roman deRenard( the Nuns story of the cock Chanticleer, whomanaged to cheat on Russel, the fox).


46/49

Due to the success of his work, Chaucer had a lotof disciples and imitators, both in England and inScotland. Among them John Lydgate (13701450), Thomas Occleve (13681450), StephenHawes (14741523), John Skelton (1460?1529)the greatest of Chaucers English imitators,famous for his Colin Cloutin which some notes ofsocial satire are to be felt, not to mention KingJames I of Scotland (13941437), famous for his

Kingis Quair, an allegory set in the form of adream, written in Chaucerian stanza.


47/49

Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in 'Poets' Corner',Westminster Abbey, London. He was the first poet to be

buried in the Abbey.


48/49

Chaucer introducedin the General

Prologue and in

some of the tales a

side of medievalculture now

unfamiliar, the

carnival world of

medieval popular

life.


49/49

The Most Important Person in the 15thcentury Cultural

Britain

Johann Gutenberg invented the printingpress in Germany around 1450, butWilliam Caxton(1422?-1491), was the firstEnglish printer. His translation and print ofThe Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, in1474, was the first book printed in English.

Caxton printed nearly 100 publications,about 20 of which he also translated fromFrench and Dutch. The more notablebooks from his press include TheCanterbury Talesand Troilus andCriseydeby Geoffrey Chaucer andConfessio Amantisby John Gower. Fewerthan 40 of Caxton's publications still exist.

Following the introduction of a printingpress into England by William Caxton in1476, vernacular literature flourished(literature written in the vernacular - thespeech of the "common people).

Documents

English Literature in the 14th Century