The Middle Ages

1066 - 1485

Elements of Literature – 6th Ed.

Literature of Britain with World Classics

Pages 72 - 88

The Norman

Conquest

Led by William, Duke of Normandy, the Normans (from France) invaded in 1066. The King of England was killed in the Battle of Hastings, and William emerged victorious.

During the next several centuries, the Old English language and culture merged with Old French.

They continued to be two separate languages, but many French words and customs were incorporated into the English way of life.

Duke William of Normandy

Although William was a ruthless & efficient soldier, he wanted to rule the Anglo-Saxons, not eliminate them.

One of William’s great administrative accomplishments was an inventory of nearly every piece of property in England including land, cattle, & buildings in the Domesday book.

The Domesday

BookThe Domesday Book, which means Doomsday Book, created a comparison between William’s judgment of his subject’s financial worth & God’s final judgment of their moral worth.

Its name implies not only a judgment of worth, but also the fact that all are judged without bias.

Feudalism

Feudalism was more than a social system and acted as a caste, property, & military system based on a religious concept of hierarchy with God as the supreme overload.

William the Conqueror could stand firmly at the top of the pyramid and could appoint certain barons for his personal objectives.

Feudalism

The feudal system did not always work because a vassal may choose not to honor his obligation if they perceived their overlord to be weak.

This feudal system created a sense of manners and form within life, art, & literature during the Middle Ages.

Knighthood

Due to the primary duty of males above the serf class being military duty, many boys were trained to be knights early in childhood.

Once a boy’s training was completed, he was dubbed a knight by being tapped on his shoulder.

Knighthood was rooted in the feudal ideal of loyalty and involved a complex system of social codes.

Women in Medieval Society

Women of higher station were occupied with childbearing and household supervision.

High-status women might manage entire estates in the male’s absence.

Women had no political rights in the feudal system based on the military.

A woman was always subservient to the man in the family and her status was established by her husband or father’s social standing.

Peasant women lived a life of ceaseless childbearing.

Chivalry & Courtly Love

Revering & acting in the name of a lady would make a knight braver & better was central to courtly love in chivalry.

Chivalry was a system of ideals and social codes governing the behavior of knights & gentle-women.

Observing certain rules of warfare such as never attacking an unarmed opponent

Adoring a particular lady for achieving self-improvement

Adhering to oath of loyalty to the overlord

Chivalry & Courtly

LoveChivalry brought about an idealized attitude about women, but it did not improve their actual position.

A woman’s perceived valued remained tied to the value of the lands she brought to the marriage.

Chivalry gave rise to a new form of literature called romance.

The Hundred Years’ WarThe first national war was by England against France.

Fought in Europe, the war was unsuccessful for the armored knights, but were well-represented by Yeomen with the longbow.

The long arrows could fly over castle walls and pierce the armor of the knights.

The Bubonic

Plague or The Black

DeathThe black death was highly contagious and spread by fleas from infected rats.

The deaths that decreased the nation’s population by a third caused labor shortage and gave the working-class more leverage on their overlords.

History – “The Black Death”