Medieval Period

England1066-1485

Background• King Harold II of England vs. William the

Conqueror of Normandy at Battle of Hastings 1066

• Led to = Eventual merging of races– Celts: strong emotions, vivid imaginations– Anglo-Saxons: courage, endurance, action– Norman-French: logic, wit, color, refined living,

gaiety– Languages: Anglo-Saxon / French (language of

courts) hog/ pork- sheep/ mutton• 1485 = Battle of Bosworth Field – Final battle

of the War of the Roses (Lancaster vs. York) & Henry (Henry VII) defeated Richard III

Feudalism

• Feudalism (system of fixed social classes)– System of land division based upon class structure– Relationship between lord and serf– Fiefdom = Castle, chapel, farms, peasants, moat, etc.– Private armies, warfare between barons– King- owns land and allegiance from people– Baron- King gave them land and titles

• Baron, Viscount, Earl, Duke, Prince…– Knights- protected castle and fought for Lord– Serfs- peasants who worked land; Lord made all

decisions for them

Chivalry

Stages– Page: 7-14 years of age– Squire: 14-21 years of age– Knight: 21 or above

(usually knighted in church)

Code of Chivalry– Allegiance to King: fight

for or support king– Service to church: God is

spiritual master– Reverence to women:

protect them; master of the heart

– Knightly honor: high moral code

– Christian principles

Activities– Jousts

• Tournaments• Archery• Melee: last day of

tournament; last standing wins

• Queen of love and Beauty

A code of conduct for knights

Rise of the Common Man

• Contributing factor– Slow decline of feudalism and chivalry (long bow)– Black death: labor shortage (25 to 40% of populace

died)– Growth of towns: peasants paid in towns

• Guilds: artisans/surnames- weaver, smith, carpenter, dyer, cartwright– Set prices and wages– Trade unions

Middle Class

Literature

• Romances• Plays

– Miracle- Biblical Stories– Morality- Allegorical

• Folk poetry• Illuminated Manuscripts- born from the

traditions of monastic scribes/ decorative writing

Wars• Crusades 1095 and 200 following

– Regain holy land from Muslims– Introduced trade– Discovery of new world

• Hundred Years War– Joan of Arc– Claims of land for English– Strong sense of nationalism

• War of the Roses– Between the houses of York and Lancasters– Succession to throne– Henry (Lancaster) defeats Richard (York)– Henry married Richard’s niece to unite both houses

to form new house = TUDORS

Government

• William I- Henry II– English common law– Judicial districts

• Richard the Lion Hearted: crusades• John: signed at Runnymede (1215) Magna

Carta • Edward I: Model Parliament; 2 knights from

each shire and 2 citizens from each town gathered to parley (talk)

Torture Devices

• No laws supported the rights of prisoners

• Torture was seen as a legitimate way to obtain confessions and testimonies

• Most castles and fiefs had some sort of torture chamber

• Ripping out teeth / nails• Beating • Blinding• Boiling• Bone breaking• Branding and Burning• Castration• Choking• Cutting• Disfigurement• Dislocation• Drowning

• Flagellation, whipping and beating

• Flaying• Roasting• Genital mutilation• Limb/finger removal• Starvation• Tongue removal• Tickling• Compression of the limbs by

special instruments, or by ropes,

• Injection of water, vinegar, or oil, into the body

• Application of hot pitch• Starvation

Church

• Influence– Education: Cambridge, Oxford– Architecture: cathedrals– Ecclesiastical courts– Excommunication: denied reward of heaven– Corruption of Catholic church with selling of holy

relics• Struggle between Henry II and Thomas a

Becket (remember that name!)• Crusades: Rescue the Holy Land from the

Turks

Center of life for medieval society

Thomas a Becket,Saint Thomas of Canterbury

• Venerated as a saint and a martyr by the Catholic and Anglican Churches

• Murdered in 1170 for speaking out against King Henry II (Henry wanted power over the church)

• Murdered inside Canterbury Cathedral• Pilgrimages to Canterbury Cathedral

became one of the most common during the Medieval Period through today

“...The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, 'For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.' But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more.”

Geoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400)

• Greatest English Poet = to Shakespeare• Background:

– Father was a well-to-do wine merchant in London– Chaucer was a page and later a knight– When captured in France, he was ransomed by the

King– Married lady-in-waiting to queen– Fluent in French, Latin, Italian, and English– Buried in Westminster Abbey- first person in the

poet’s corner• Father of poetry, short stories, novels

The Cantebury Tales• Frame = a 70 mile

pilgrimage from London to Cantebury Cathedral to visit the shrine of martyr St. Thomas a Becket

• Original plan = of 29 pilgrims, each was to tell 4 stories: 2 on the way and 2 on the return… Chaucer only finished 24 tales

• Setting/ Time = Tabard Inn in Southwark south of London and continuing on the journey; Easter, spring

• Style = couplet (two lines, later called heroic couplet), iambic pentameter, MIDDLE ENGLISH

• Point of view = Chaucer as a naïve pilgrim who “admires” his fellow travelers/ Chaucer as a sophisticated poet, observing and understanding human emotion and motivation

Levels of Society

• Feudal Class: includes nobility and peasants– Upper class- code of

chivalry (honor to God, King, and women)

– Lower class- service to Lord of the castle and King, tithing to church, paying rent to Lord

• Ecclesiastical- Church– Vows of poverty– Vows of chastity– Vows of obedience to God

• Urban: new working class and trade guilds– Honesty in business– Hard worker– Good moral character– Congenial

• Chaucer’s judgment of pilgrims was determined by how well they followed the ideal characteristics of their level of society.

• Have you ever been on a “road trip” with people you didn’t know well or wouldn’t normally spend time with?

• Or, do you recall an unforgettable “road trip” that seemed to never end?

• What was your destination?

• Who was on the trip with you?

• How old were you?

• What happened and why do you remember this trip?

The Canterbury Tales (“The Great Medieval Road Trip”)