Unit 3 The Medieval Period 1066-1485

• The Norman Conquest

• 878 Alfred the Great defeated the Danes

• Danes began looking for other lands, invaded northern France

• The Norse=North Man= Normandy

• 1066 English King died (Edward the Confessor); chose Harold II as king

• Duke William of Normandy (Edward’s cousin) claims the throne is his…invades

• Battle of Hastings 1066, William defeats Harold II

• 4 years of bloody fighting…killed all English nobility

• Set up “fiefdoms” (estates) ruled by French barons

• Norman Conquest ended Anglo-Saxon Period, brings in the Medieval Period

• 1095 The Crusades begin

• 1099 Crusaders win Jerusalem

Unit 3, slide 2Effects of Norman Conquest

• The effects on English language were shattering

• English becomes lower class language…Norman French is higher

• Very little ENGLISH Literature

• 1066-1260 ANGLO-NORMAN Literature (Norman French)

• Very practical, no nonsense; religious lit, not entertaining

• They imported French lit for entertainment (Marie de France)

• *Important innovation: rhymed stanzas

• 1066-1202 Normandy was part of England

• French influence declined, and English became primary language again.

Unit 3, slide 3Medieval Society

• William the Conqueror had brought the feudal system to England

• Feudalism: system by which England was run in Middle Ages

• “Vassalage”: loyalty that a lesser member of society owes to a higher member in exchange for favors

• King owns land…grants it to barons

• There were 180 “tenants in chief”

• Barons must be loyal to king, pay taxes, and provide soldiers

• Bottom of social order: peasants=villeins=serfs (gradually become “freemen” who become the tradesmen)

• From top to bottom: (vassals)

Pope

King

Earl

Duke

Knight

Serf

Unit 3, slide 4The Catholic Church & Themes

• Catholic Church was really powerful, had grand cathedrals

• Pope--Cardinal--Archbishop--Bishop--Parish Priest

• 1170 Murder of Archbishop of Canterbury: Thomas a Becket

• Common Themes in Medieval Lit: religion, Bible stories, saints, sermons, sin

• Common Themes:

1. “momento mori” (reminder of death)

2. “contemptu mundi” (contempt for the world)

3. “danse macabre” (dance of death)

• Bestiary: type of church-related lit that contains descriptions of exotic beasts and allegories

Unit 3, slide 5the 3 C’s

• CRUSADES (1095+): holy wars to recapture Jerusalem from Moslems

• Crusaders brought back Persian and Arabic stories, esp. Persian love poetry: idealized view of women

• Influences devotion to Mary

• CHAUCER: Canterbury Tales

Stories made up on pilgrimage to Canterbury, spot of martyrdom of Becket

• CHIVALRY: romance (means adventure)…standards of knightly conduct, trials, courtly love, quests (the Holy Grail)

• Example: King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table

• Ballads: oral poetry of common people, songs (like Robin Hood)

• Medieval Drama: originally in churches…Biblical skits.

• Moved into the courtyards: mystery plays (Bible), miracle plays (saints), morality plays (virtues & vices)

Unit 3, slide 6Politics

• Politics: feudalism, traveling judges, common law, Parliament (representative rulers)

• 1215 Magna Carta: document that limits rights of the king

• 1381 Peasant Revolt (begins the lower class’ struggle for liberty and human rights)

• 1339-1453 100 Years War – France vs. England over possession of French lands

• Joan of Arc (1412-31) France won back its land (she’s not the only reason)

• Oxford & Cambridge are founded

• Guilds, Middle Class…towns & population increase

• mid 1300’s Black Death (bubonic plague) kills 1/3 of England

• John Wycliffe (1330-84) translated Bible into English…eventually leads to Protestant Reformation

• 1476 William Caxton – movable type

• 1455-1485 War of the Roses (Lancasters vs. Yorks)