england during chaucer's time
TRANSCRIPT
ENGLAND DURING CHAUCER’S TIME
PRESENTATION BY MRS.DAYAMANI SURYA, Research Associate, District Centre Scheme, English and Foreign Languages University,
Hyderabad
Chaucers EnglandENGLAND 1340 AD TO 1400 AD
The English language was oppressed for almost four hundred years. English Earls and aristocracy lost their lands.
The most important change during the lifetime of Chaucer was the breakup of the feudal manor.The Black Death (1349-50) killed about one third of the English population.
The labour market divided itself between landless labourer and the Yeoman farmer. Parliamentary Justices and Laws kept wages down amongst landless labourers and this led to the Rising of 1391 AD.
The English ‘working man’ was born. Itinerant preachers such as John Ball and tales of Robin Hood fuelled the Rising and other forest based outlaws. Some of Wycliffe’s Lollard Preachers were also involved.
The English state itself was changing. It has relied heavily on clergy to do its administration. This kept the Pope very knowledgeable on state affairs.
Wool was the chief export of the English. But, soon weaving itself was enhanced by the advent of the Weavers’ Gilds in many towns
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 25 October 1400)
He was known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey
ENGLISH AND ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTThe invention of the printing press expanded education, communications, and the awareness of social problems which resulted in a new epoch of universal knowledge and interests.
A REPERTORIUM OF MIDDLE ENGLISH PROSEThe development of MIDDLE ENGLISH prose waited on the decline of French as the language of aristocracy and government and of Latin as the dominant language of religion and learning. There was therefore little demand for vernacular prose in the Middle Ages and as a result it was generally poorly structured in comparison with Latin. However, the vernacular sermon added persuasive rhetorical strength to some English prose texts, notably in the writings of John WYCLIFFE, Geoffrey CHAUCER, and William CAXTON.
HISTORY OF ENGLISH
In Middle English name was pronounced "nam-a,"five was pronounced "feef," and down was pronounced "doon." In linguistic terms, the shift was rather sudden, the major changes occurring within a century. The shift is still not over, however, vowel sounds are still shortening although the change has become considerably more gradual.
Writings in the Middle English period
Richard II meets the rebels on 13 June 1381 in a painting from Jean Froissart's Chronicles
Late 14th-century picture of Richard II
English soldiers landing in Normandy, c. 1380–1400, during the Hundred Years War
Peasant long bowmen at practice, from the Luttrell Psalter, c. 1320–40
Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411)
The Great Plague of London, in 1665, killed up to 100,000 people
15th-century representation of the cleric John Ball encouraging the rebels
Late 15th-century picture of the Tower of London and its keep, the White Tower
Late 14th-century depiction of WIlliam Walworth killing Wat Tyler; the King is represented twice, watching events unfold (left) and addressing the crowd (right)
An illustration from Vox Clamantis by John Gower, a poem describing the revolt
14th century rural scene of reeve directing serfs, Queen Mary's psalter
Historian William Stubbs, who considered the revolt "one of the most portentous events in the whole of our history"
The Coronation of Henry IV of England. From a 15th-century manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles.
English RoyaltyHOUSE OF LANCASTER
Coat of Arms of King Henry IV (France Ancient)
Coat of Arms of King Henry IV (France Modern)
Relation with Richard II
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel; Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester; Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham; Henry, Earl of Derby (later Henry IV); and Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, demand Richard II to let them prove by arms the justice for their rebellion
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was the uprising that saw tens of thousands of England's poorest countrymen come close to overthrowing the establishment
The Romaunt of the Rose is a partial translation into Middle English of the French allegory, the Roman de la Rose
Opening title of “The Dreame of Chaucer”, commonly referred to as “The Book of the Duchess”, Geoffrey Chaucer's first own work, which was written probably between 1368 and 1372; published 1532 in the first collected edition of Chaucer’s works, edited by William Thynne.
Framing, both as an actual artistic method and as a topos, was widely used in the Middle Ages, both in secular art and in works bent upon religious instruction. For example, in The House of Fame, Geoffrey Chaucer describes Josephus on a pillar framed by bearing on his shoulders “[t]he fame […] of the Jewerye” (lines 1430-1436, 365)
House of Fame