Chapter 2

The Anglo-Norman Period

(1066 ~ 1485)

I. Historical Background

The Norman Conquest (1066 ~ 1350 A.D.)

1. in 1066 A.D.: William ---- Harold (the battle of Hastings) → the conquest of England

2. consequences: feudalism medieval French culture Norm-French language

• French --- official language, used by the

King, Norman lords and courtiers

• Latin --- the principal tongue of the

scholars in churches and courts

• Old English --- spoken only by the

common English people

changes of the English language throughout

some four centuries

(1) Thousands of words were borrowed.

(2) Many old inflectional forms of native

English words disappeared.

(3) The formal grammar was considerably

simplified.

II. Medieval English Literature

1. 1066 ~ the mid-14th century: barren period2. the second half of the 14th century: Age of

Chaucer(1)Genres: Romances Three major themes:• The Matter of Britain• The Matter of France• The Matter of Rome representative work: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The features of Romance• The romance was a long composition,

sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero.

• Hero: usually the knight, a man of noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some goal -- to protect the church and the king, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or to obey a knightly command.

• The structure is loose and episodic; the language and style are simple and straightforward.

• It was written for the noble class, so it had nothing to do with the common people.

• It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues.

• It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ordinary life, even describes supernatural things.

☆ Definition of Romance

Romance: Any imagination literature

that is set in an idealized world and

that deals with a heroic adventures

and battles between good characters

and villains or monsters.

Popular Ballads

Introduction:

• Popular ballads are originally dance songs in verse form, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.

• There were several kinds of ballads: historical, legendary, fantastical, lyrical and humorous.

Ballads of Robin Hood

Features of BalladsDramatic developments of its plot with

vivid episodesBoth narrative and lyrical componentsRepetitionAlliterationVariety of themes

Middle English Prose

• Thomas Malory : Morte d'Arthur

(Death of Arthur)

(2) Writers

William Langland: Piers the Plowman

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales