Middle English Period 2 + Canterbury Tales

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

5V Literature

The Middle English Period, Language and Literature Part II

When did the Normans invade England?

1. 911 AD
2. 966 AD
3. 1066 AD
4. 1086 AD

What was the offical language at the beginning of the Middle English period?

1. Dutch
2. English
3. French
4. German

Which was NOT one of the Germanic tribes to cross the English Channel

1. Angles
2. Celts
3. Jutes
4. Saxons

When did English become the official language?

1. 1300
2. 1399
3. 1400
4. 1499

Medieval Literature

Mostly written in Latin or French

Book production expensive (handwritten on animal skin)

Books were kept in monasteries (content mostly religious)

During 1530s monasteries were destroyed, few books survived

Geoffrey Chaucer: First to write in English (father of English poetry)

The Canterbury Tales

ca 30 pelgrims and Chaucer himself travel from London to Canterbrty to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket

The Canterbury Tales

• Frame story: Story telling contest
• General prologue introduces all pelgrims and the contest
• Pelgrims represent all layers of society
• Stories reflect life and language all these layers, therefore good insight for historians
• Only 24 stories finished

The Nun's Priest's Tale

A beast fable: Animals talk and act like human beings, animals have human feelings and emotions

It has a moral lesson to share

Characters involved: Widow + 2 daughters (owners of the farm)

Chanticleer the rooster

Lady Pertelote, Chanticleer's favourite hen

Russel the fox

Which characteristic would you associate with a fox?

Which characteristic would you associate with a rooster?

Now read the fragments on p. 19-21 and discuss the questions on p. 22