the middle ages

A Historical and Literary Introduction

The Middle Ages

Background History

The Norman InvasionNormans were descendents of

Vikings who had been living in France

1066: William of Normandy defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings and becomes king

Anglo-Saxon nobility suppressed, Normans control government

Business conducted in Norman French or Latin; English becomes used only by the lower classes

The feudal system is put into place

The PlantagenetsHenry Plantagenet (Henry

II) came to the throne in 1154, ending Norman rule in England.

Came into direct conflict with the church

Appointed Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to uphold royal policy within the church.

Becket did not, and in 1170 Henry had him murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.

FeudalismInvolved an exchange of

property in return for personal service

King owns all land; gives land to nobles in return for their support

Lords give some land to lower lords, who in turn give some to knights

Peasants and serfs work the land

The Medieval ChurchPope was the head of

the ChurchBishops controlled

diocesesMany mid and lower

ranking clerics belonged to orders and lived in monasteries

Members of religious orders take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

Occupations in the Medieval ChurchAbbot: head of a male

monastery, usually Benedictine

Monk: male who lives within a religious community and takes religious vows

Friar: male who belongs to a mendicant order and works among the faithful

Parson: a parish priestPardoner: a person who

sells religious pardons to raise money for the church

Secular Medieval OccupationsKnight: a military soldier

who undergoes long and extensive training and often has a social rank. They are educated in areas such as combat, poetry, dancing, and manners.

Squire: a young boy or man who serves a knight and is in training to become a knight himself

Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey ChaucerBorn around 1340 A.D. in

Ipswich.Son of a family of well-to-

do wine merchantsServed as a page in a

noble householdEducated in the French

style.Held many jobs, including

a soldier, Parliament member, diplomat, and forest official

Wrote thousands of lines of poetry

Geoffrey ChaucerTranslated works from

French and Italian into English.

Most famous for writing The Canterbury Tales

Died on October 25, 1400

Was the first poet buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey in London

The Canterbury Tales: Overview

A collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury.

Frame tale – a story within a story.

It is the most famous frame tale.

Character portraits give the reader a very detailed description of each pilgrim.

The Canterbury Tales: Organization

“The General Prologue”Introduces the

overall plot of the entire story

Contains pilgrim portraits –very detailed descriptions of each pilgrim

Pilgrim ProloguesThe Tales

Some tales are originals, created for the workSome tales were borrowed or reworked from

preexisting storiesThe tales vary in genre and include:

Beast fableExemplumFabliauFairy TaleMetrical RomanceMiracle StoryMock Epic

The Canterbury Tales: The Tales

Pilgrimages

PilgrimagesJourneys that a person

undertakes for a religious reason

Three purposes of pilgrimages:Travel to venerate a

specific placeTravel to ask for

supernatural aidTravel to fulfill a religious

obligationPopular Destinations: the

Holy Land, Canterbury, Lourdes, Fatima, the Wailing Wall, Mecca

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Picture Sources