inglese - middle ages

8/9/2019 Inglese - Middle Ages

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HISTORY

Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066.

y Celts and Romans.- The firstsettlers of Britain weretheCelts.-

The first Romansto campaignextensivelyin Britain werethe forcesof JuliusCaesarin 55 and 54BC, butthe firstsignificant conquestdidnot begin until AD 43, under Claudius.

- The Romans cementedthe province'snorthern borderwith Hadrian's Wall(122-128) becausetheydidnt want Scottish people(calledCaledonians) toinvadetheirterritory.

- Celts, wholivedin Britannia, adaptedto roman civilization and becameChristian, becauseChristianity was firstlegalized byConstantine andimposed by Theodosius.

y Anglo-Saxoninvasionandthe Vikingelement.- Whenthe Romansleftin 409a.D. todefend Romeagainstattacks from the Visigoths,northern

tribes(Angles, Saxonsand Jutes)invaded Britain:they were from Germanyand foughtagainsttheCelts, whoretreatedto Wales. TheirfoughtagainstinvadersproducedalotofstoriesabouttheleaderKingArthur.

- English history wasasuccessionof wars betweensmallkingdoms,like Northumbria, MerciaandWessex. Theyalso foughtagainst Norwegianand Danish, Vikings,andsomeyearslaterkingAlfred

dividedEngland with them. A centuryanda halflater,Canute becamekingofallEngland.

Middleages, 1066-1485

y The NormanConquestandadualkingdom.- The Norman conquestofEngland beganin1066 with theinvasionofthe Kingdom ofEngland by

thetroopsof William, Dukeof Normandy, and hisvictoryatthe Battleof Hastings: Normans were

Vikings who hadsettledonthenorth of France.- William I theConquerorintroducedthe Normanorganization(feudalsystem)andinthe meantime,

England was filled with castles builtinelevatedpositions.

- England wasnow divided;in fact,they were moreoftenin FrancethaninEngland:there wereabsenteerulerssincethe conquest.

The clash between crownand church: Thomas Becket.UnderHenry II there camethe first clash,and hepromulgateda codeoflaws, TheConstitutionsofClarendon, which restrictedecclesiasticalprivilegesandlimitedthepowerofthe courtsoftheChurch

andthepapalauthorityinEngland. Thomas Becketimposedthis measureandspentsixyearsinexile.

On hisreturn, fourknightskilled him and he was madesaint bythe Roman church.

MagnaChartaandthe Parliament.- John I imposeda heavytaxationandencounteredaresistance bythesociety. Heenactedthe

MagnaCharta(1215)toproclaim certainrights,andtorespect certainlegalprocedures- Henry III createdthe Parliament,anassembly composedofnoblesand clergy.- Someyearslater,tworepresentatives(commonpeople)ofeach localadministration were called

totheparliament, formingthe HouseofCommons: underEdward I its called Model Parliament

becauseofimprovementsand changements.


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The Hundred Years Warandthe Warofthe Roses.- Theantagonism with France,theattackonChurch privilegesandtherevoltagainstexcessive

taxation werethreedecisiveprocesses. The warwith France brokeout whenEdward III claimedthevacantthroneof Franceand he wasthegrandsonofking Philipthe Fair. The warlasted116years. The most famousvictory wasgained by Henry V atAgincourt, butthe conflict wasofteninterrupted bytragic eventslikethe bubonic plague . JoanofArc managedtodrivetheEnglish outof France:allkingspossessions werelostexceptCalais.

- The Warsofthe Rosesisa civil warbetweenthe housesof Yorkand Lancaster. It wasso-calledbecauseofthe whiteandredroses figuredina Shakespearespublication. The winnerwasthehouseof Lancasterand Henry VII became kingofEngland: beginningofthe Renaissance.

SOCIETY

- Anglo-Saxonperiod:allthenortherntribesthatinvaded Britain hada Germanicheritage. Theywere warriors who fought with kinglyvaluesliketheancient Greeks:theygaveimportanceto

haveakingly behavior;they believedinindependence. The warlikeidealimpliedthattheking hadtodoalltheessentialthingstothatsocietyand he hadto be willingtoriskthelifein battle(supreme honor). The Germanicaristocracy wasaristocratic:kings hadtoprovethemselvesbetterthanthecommonpeopleespecially bymen;it wasasocietyruled bymen, women were

mentionedrarely.- MiddleAges: the Feudal System. It wasintroduced bythe Normansandisa centralizedstatein

which the kingistheownerofallthelandsthatgivestothe barons who hadtodefendthem.

Barons hadto follow the kingin battle with their knights:theseones,receivedtheirlands from thebaronsandinexchange forit,they follow the baroninthe war. The peasants wereinthelowestlevelofsociety:they workthelands. Titles were hereditaryandtheChurch isalsoorganizedhierarchically(pope, bishop, priest).

CULTURE

-Anglo-Saxon period.Theearliest writtenrecordsarea few inscriptionsthat hadsome magical functionsormeaningexpressedinstrange characters knownasrunes. The heroic prevalentideal wasthatthe king wasstrivingalsoafterenduring fame. Agloriouslife hadto besung bya poetora scop. The poetic genreforthesingingofthe heroic livesanddeeds wastheepic (es. Beowulf). Christianity hadanenormouseffecton culturallifeingeneral:the conversionimplied familiarity with the written word, Bibleaboveall. Christianity broughttheideaof writtenliterature, mostofitin Latin.

-The middleages.The Normans broughtarefined civilizationandthe French language. OldEnglish isspoken bycommon people, Latin bytheChurch and French by upperclasses. Theyexemplifiedtheliterature

works:new genresand forms, with French and Italianinfluence;they werealso writtenin MiddleEnglish (ex. Chaucer). Later,theresa French influencein written works:theromances,secularlyricsand fabliau. Theallegorical poetryisa French and Italianinnovation. The most popularform ofartis

drama,itsa public show dividedintwo main forms: Mystery Plays(Bible)and Morality Plays(moral-allegoricalreadingof manslife) writteninEnglish. Causesoftheappearance:riseof middle class,growth oftownsand formationofreligiousandtradeguilds.


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Window: Features and forms.Epic = longnarrativepoemdividedinto booksorpartsmythic or religiousin theme(Beowulf).

Narrative Poem= poemthatdescribesnot a single episodeor stateofmind but along storyor setofreflections(Chaucer, TheCanterbury Tales).Ballad = formofpopularverse composed by the commonpeople to be sungor recitedinpublic (LordRandal, Geordie).

Window: Literary tools.Alliteration = repetitionof the sameinitial soundin words at the endof the same line.Assonance = repetitionof avowel sound with different surrounding consonants.Kenning = is a much-compressed form of metaphor, expressedin two wordphrase:is a wayofmentioning something without use his actualname.

Epithet = is adescriptive term (wordorphrase) accompanying aname.

Onomatopoeia = the useof words whose soundimitates the sound that theydescribe.Simile = is a figureof speech that creates a comparison between two elements.Metaphor = is an analogy between twoobjectsorideas, conveyed by the useof a wordinsteadofanother.Symbol = is the useof multiple symbols representingdifferentiated termsin a system which conveysmeaning.Personification = is anontological metaphorin which a thingor abstractionis represented as aperson

Text1: Beowulf.

Author: anonymous

Date:10th century

Introduction:Beowulfis an OldEnglish heroic epic poem of unknown authorship. The text has come

down to usin a manuscriptprobably from thekingdom of the West Saxons. Beowulfdoesntdeal withEnglishmen but with their Germanic ancestors: the Danes and the Geats, two southern Scandinavian

tribes. The epic tonepervades the wholepoem, butitis sometimes softened by adiffuse sadnessmixed with Christianideals.

Story: toldin 3182 lines, thepoem relates thedeedsof Beowulf,nephew of the Kingof the Geats.Beowulfgoes to the aid of the Kingof Denmark, Hrothgar, whose royalpalaceis haunted by themonster Grendel, andkills the monster and his mother. Some fifty years later, the hero fights against a

dragon and, though he wins, loses his life.

Thecoming ofBeowulf.Inthispassage, Beowulfis goingtosailthestormy Baltictoreachthe land infested bythemonsterGrendel. Therearevariousalliterations(es. Lines1,3)andthreekennings(swan-road = thesea,theship laywaiting = the boat,foamy beak likeflying bird = boat,the initialpart oftheshipthatfoamswhensailingfast). Inthispassagewecandistinguishtheheroic,warlikequality ofBeowulfandhisfollowers. Thehero isstrongerthanthe othermenand eventhethings likeships,horsesandarmorshare inthesame idea ofstrength. Beowulfdecidestosailtosailthe Baltictohelp Hrothgar,andsets


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out with fourteen menafterviewingtheomens. Afteraday's journey,theylandontheshore,thanking

God forconductingthem safely.

Text2: TheCanterbury Tales.

Author: GeoffreyChaucerDate:1386-93,14th century

Introductionandstory: TheCanterbury Talesisa collectionofstories writtenin Middle-English byGeoffreyChaucerattheendofthe14th century. Thetalesaretoldaspartofastory-telling contest by

agroupofpilgrimsastheytraveltogetherona journey from Southwarktotheshrineof Saint ThomasBecketatCanterburyCathedral. TheoriginalintentionofChaucerwasto haveeach of hispilgrims,

including himself,telltwotalesontheroad from LondontoCanterburyandtwoonthe way back, with

atotalof120tales,plusdetailedportraitsofthepilgrimsinthe General Prologue. Thetellerofthebesttale would beawardeda freesupperbythe hostofthe Tabard Inn, wherethey meetto beginthe

journey. In fact,only23 pilgrimstellastory,andChaucerhimselftellstwo.

General prologueTheGeneral Prologueisthekeyto TheCanterburytalesthat narrates aboutthe gathering of a groupof peoplein aninnthatintendto go on a pilgrimagetoCanterbury(England) next morning. Inthe

General Prologue,the narrator of TheCanterbury Tales, whois one oftheintended pilgrims, providesmore or less accuratedepictions ofthe members ofthe group anddescribes why and how TheCanterbury Talesistold. If wetrusttheGeneral Prologue,Chaucerdeterminedthat each pilgrim

shouldtelltwotales onthe waytoCanterbury andtwotales onthe way back. The host oftheinnoffersto be andis appointed as judge ofthetales asthey aretold andissupposedtodeterminethe

best hence winningtale. As mentioned before, TheCanterbury Tales was never finished.

The Wife ofBathTh

e wife ofBath

is askilled weaverwh

olives in Bath

. Judgingfromh

erdescription,sh

e could eith

erbe an old ora middle aged woman, whoseems tohave ashort temperand takepride ofhersocialstatus. She is an emancipated woman, whohad been marriedseveral times andhadseverallovers.She often wearsscarletred clothes(whosymbolizesensuallove), made ofthefinest weave, andoverdresses. It ishinted thatshegoes onpilgrimages to meet men,ratherthangoingforreligiousdevotion, becauseshe is "gap toothed" and therefore apromiscuous woman.-The wife isfrom nearBath,notso beautiful butvivacious. She was alittle bitdeaf. She makes clothesbetterthat Ypres and Ghentspeople. Ifsomeonehadpassed infront ofherto make the offer,shewould became angry andshe wouldflies offthehandle. Herkerchiefs were thin andhertight werescarletred. Hershoes werenew andsoft. Hisface was impertinent andhercheeks werered. She was


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fullof worths:the Wife had beento Jerusalem, Rome, Boulogne, St JamesdeCompostellaand

Cologne. She had few teeth andshe wasgoodinriding. The Wife hasalarge hatlikea bucklerorashield. She hada flowing mantleandshe wasgoodingivingloveadvice.

Window: GeoffreyChaucer(1343 -1400).He was bornin Londonina middle class. Later, he becamea Prince Lionelspageandcamethepatronageof Johnof Gaunt(Lionels brother). He was capturedduringvariousexpeditionsin Franceandransomed foralarge sum. He wentto Italyand Flandersandbecame Justiceofthe Peaceand Knightof Shire forKent. Hediedin1400and wasburiedin WestminsterAbbey.

Hisproductionsaredividedintothreephases: -French: heknew French much betterthan Italian; hispoe tic models werelongallegoricalpoemson courtlylove(which hetranslatedintoEnglish.-Italian:duringthisphase, he wrote his first masterpiece TroilusandCriseyde wherehediscussesofthenatureof humanlove. Hetakestheinspiration from Dante ,Boccaccioand Petrarch.-English: his best composition was TheCanterbury Tales,a collectionofversetales.

Chaucerprobablytook hisinspiration from Boccaccios Decameron. Headaptedthismodel bypresenting histalesastold bytenspeakers whot ellataleeach fortendays:theyaregatheredina castleinthe countrysidenearFlorence,to which they haverepairedtogetaway from plague.

Text 3:Lord Randal.Author:AnonymousDate: XVIII century

Story:Thisisa Scottish ballad consistingofdialogueandit beganto bediffusedinits

traditional form inthe middleAges. It wassetto music. WhenLord Randalreturnedhome, hespoke with his motheraboutalikelypoisoning made by hisgirlfriend, but hismotherdidnt careaboutitandshe cont inuedtoask howsgoneat work. Whensherealizedthat he wasgoingtodie,shestartedtoask who wouldgetthe heritageinthefamily. Itsadialogue betweena motherand herson.


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Text4: Geordie.Author: AnonymousDate: Unknown

Story: Thisis an anonymousEnglishballadprobablydatedinthelate Middle Ages. Ittalks aboutthestorytellerwho met ayounggirl whoislamentingthe fateofherlover.

ShesridingonhishorsetoLondonsCourtof Justice whereshe found manylords and ladies,to whom shepleads forthelifeof Geordie, butitstoolate:hes already beensentenced. So,she askedtolet Geordie behanged withagolden chain becausehehadroyal blood and courted avirtuouslady.

Text 5:Everyman.Author: AnonymousDate:1485

Story:GodlooksdownonEveryman from onhigh. HeseesthatEverymaninhisseeking forriches andpleasurehas forgotten God andheis muchdispleased forthis. He callshis messenger, Death, and bidshimtaketoEverymanthe messagethathe mustgoon along journey;thathe mustprepareto makehis accountingbeforehe arrivesto God.Everymanisoppositetodie. Hepleads Deathtoreprievehim.Deathrefuses:Everymannextinquiresifhe will be allowedtoreturn afterhehasrenderedhis accountto God.Deathassureshim that from theplaceto whichheisgoingthereisnoreturning. Atlast,however, DeathconsentsthatEveryman maytryto findsomeoneto bearhim companyonthe journey.

First approaches Fellowship whoinquiresthe causeofhissadness. Fellowshipproteststhathe willdoanything forEverymanevento avenging a wrongdonehim attheriskofhisownlife. When,however,Everymaninvites Fellowshipto joinhim inthe journeyof Death, Fellowshipdeclines and aboundedhim.Indespair,hespoke withhisrelatives:they answeredhim withgood words andspeech, butthey alsorefused.Everyman approacheshis worldly Goods withno fortune. She assureshim thatshe couldonly bringhimstraightwayto Hell.Atlastherecallshis Good Deeds. Sheisso weak andhelpless byEveryman'ssinsthatshe cannotstand:heaskedhertogivehim an advice, andshe answeredtogoto KnowledgeKnowledge agreeto accompanyEveryman andthanked God.

Everymans Death: Good Deeds and Knowledge advisehim totake withhim onthe journey Discretion, Strength,and Beauty, and, as counsellors,his Five Senses. Whenhereachesthegrave, Beauty makeshastetodepartandis followed by Strength. Atlastonly Knowledge and Good Deedsremain byhisside. Good Deeds


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accompanies him tothe Heaventoplead his cause before his Maker,and Knowledge,remaining behind, hearsthe joyfulsongsoftheangels. Finally,Everymanstanded beside God.

Survey:

- Historical origins: Medievaldrama takes his origins bychurch ceremonies,especially the Mass, which re-actseveryday the Passion ofChrist in adramaticform, and the greatChristian festivals likeChristmas andEaster.

- Liturgical origins: Biblicalevents, from Genesis to the Day of Judgement,couldbe transformed into series of brief plays if all theevents wereperformed insequence on the sameday.

- Guilds take-over: Religious drama was taken by town corporations orguilds, themostpowerful medieval organizations. Pageants wereperformances held onfloats

- Miracle (mystery) plays: they are so-called because they were performedonCorpusChristi Day and represented themajor eventsof the Bibl e, performed incycles inmanyEnglish towns.

- Morality plays: two featuresdistinguish them: they are single plays,not cycles,anddramatized conflict betweengood andevil,not biblical stories. The aim is

didactic.

Religious Drama:

- Christianity hadanenormouseffectonEnglish culturallifeingeneral.- Drama wasthe most popularform ofartinthe middleages.- Theriseofdrama writteninEnglish islinkedtotheriseofthe middle classesand

the formationofreligiousandtradeguilds.

Medievaldramaknowstwo main formsoftheatre:the Miracle Plays(which dramatizeepisodes from the Bible, both the Oldandthe New Testament)andthe Morality Plays(which dramatizethestruggle betweengoodanddevilovermanssoul.

The moralanddidactic natur eof medievalartisperfectlyexemplifiedintheso -calledMorality Plays,agenrealso commonintherestofEurope. Theyare allegoricalmedievalplaysin which humanvirtues,vicesorabstractqualitiesarepersonifiedand


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becomeactual charactersonstage. Thestoriesarentstrictlyrealistic. Theiraim iseminentlydidactic.

Text 7:Le Morte Dartur.

Author: Thomas MaloryDate:1470

Introduction:isoneofsome French andEnglish Arthurianromancesof Thomas Malory. Theromanceisanadventurousand fantastic storytellingthedeedsofknightsinthe Middle Ages. We havetwoversionsoftheoriginalstructure:oneisdividedinto21 books,anotherin8partsseparatedintheirright.

Story:theadventuresingeneraldeal with thedeedsofthe Knightsofthe Round Table and KingArthuristhesovereign:Lancelot,Gawain, Tristanet Percevalarethe mostimportant Knights. The

bookstarts with Arthurs birth. Then,itdescribestheseparateadventuresofthe Knightsofthe RoundTable. Itends with thedestructionofthe Round Tableandthedeathsof King Arthur, his Queen

GuinevereandLancelot.

The Death of KingArthur.Arthur, who wasdying from his mortal wound,ordered Bediveretothrow Excaliburintothelake.

Bedivere wenttothelake but wasreluctanttothrow the magnificantsword. Bedivere hidExcaliburbehindatree,andreturnto hisking, claimingthatExcaliburnow isinthedepth ofthelake. WhenArthurasked Bedivere what hesaw atthelake, Bediveresaid hesaw nothing. Arthurknewimmediatelythat Bedivere hadnotthrowntheswordintothelake. Again,Arthurordered Bediveretothrow theswordintothelake. Bediverereturnedtothelake. Again Bediveredisobeyed hisking. Theknightthrew hisownswordintothelake, beforereturningtoArthur. Arthurbecameangry with Bedivere whentheknightsaid he

saw the waterslappingand wavesdark. Arthurtold Bediverethatif hethrow Excaliburintothelake,Bedivere would bekilled by him. Bediverereturnedtothelake forthethirdtime. Theknightthrew Excaliburintothe middleofthelake.A handraisedoutofthelake,revealingitsarm uptoitselbow. The hand caughttheking'ssword,

brandishedthe bladethreetimes, beforethe handandExcaliburdisappearedintothelake. Excaliburhad finallyreturnedtotheLadyoftheLake, who hadgiventheswordtoArthur.After, Bediverethrew Excaliburintothelake; Morganle Fayarrived with threeotherwomen-the

Queenof Northgales, Queenofthe WasteLands,and Niniane(Nimue),theLadyoftheLake. They weretakingArthurtoAvalon whereshe could heal his wounds.

Thenextday however, Bedivere came uponthe bodyofArthurina hermitage, but Malorysaysthatwasprobablynotthe "real" Arthur.

Thomas Malory(1405 -1471).

Life: Perhaps he has bornin1405. He hadlandin Warwickshireand has beena MemberofParliament. In1451 he had variousproblems with thelaw:in fact, he wasa man with violenttemperament.


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Perhaps, mostorallthestoriesof LeMorte Darturwere writteninprison,anditsprobablythatMalorydiedthere.

Romance: Hegotthe material from thelaterproseversionsofthe Arthurianstoriesandused

French andEnglish alliterativepoem. LeMorte Darturisoneofthe mostimportantpiecesofprose: hesucceedsincombiningepiceloquence with thenaturalEnglish speech ,eliminatingemptychivalricphraseology.

The kinglyideal: His messageispoliticalandpractical:the RoundTableisapoliticalsymbol,anexpressionofunityandidealism; he fail becauseits membersarereal men with humanweaknesses. Theideathat KingArthuroneday would bereturn from thedead,sug gestthat hesa modelof kingship(Arthurstomb).

The Romance.

Origins:it hasassubjectsthe deedsof knights . Theageisthe12 thand13thcenturies:itwastheexpressionofthe highlycultivatedaristocraticsocietyof France.

Characters:theexterioraspectsofromanceare:an elaborateetiquette forsocial

intercourse,the formalisationofacodeoflove andthe formingofritualsaround

activitieslike hunting, feastings,tournaments.

Objective: he wantedtocelebrateEnglands mythicalpastandtosetanethnicaland

politicalexample forcontemporaryand future Britain .

The Renaissance(1485 -1625)

HISTORY

y The first Tudorking: Henry VIIHenry VII wonthe Warofthe Rosesin1485,inthe Battleof Bosworth. He waskingofEnglandandthefirst monarch ofthe Tudorsdynasty. Underhisrulethere have beensomeperiodsofpeaceand

prosperity: Hereorganizedthearmy,thenavyandthestateadministration. He createda mercantile fleettopromotethetrades with theothercountries.


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Henry VII createssomepoliticalalliances: hiseldestson Arthur, marriedCatherineof Aragon, because

heruncleisthe futureemperorof Spain,and he wanttoobtainthesupportofthisstate; hisdaughterMargaret married James IV of Scotlandtoobtainthealliance with thestate. Henry VII foundedthehumanism andstartedtopromoteaprogram with a Renaissance character.

y Theaccessionof Henry VIIIHe wasoneof Henry VIIsson, who completed his fathersprogram. Inthisperiodappearedvarious humanistscholars,like Erasmusof Rotterdam:itsthe beginningofanew GoldenAge. Thisking hadalotofgoodqualities: he wasa soldier,apoet,amusicianandagood horseman. He wasneverthelesstoshapeEnglish historydecisivelyandis consideredthe first monarch of ModernEngland .

y ReformationandtheEnglish ChurchHenry VIII isimportant forhisEnglish reformation. HesupportedtheCatholicism and he wasagainstthe Protestantism: he has beenproclaimed defensorfidei bythe Pope because he wasstrongagainstMartin Luther. Whenthe Poperefusedtogrant Henry from adivorce from his first wife,CatherineofAragon,theking broke with Rome: with theActof SupremacytheChurch declaredindependence. The bishops weresubjecttothekingsauthorityand Henry VIII becomethe HeadoftheChurch. With thereformation,thelandsand wealth oftheold monasteries were confiscatedandsoldto Protestant families.

inglese - middle ages

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