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