Introduction Middle English Period + Sir Gawain

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• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

5V Literature

Middle English Period, Language and Literature Part 1

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When did the Normans invade England?

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

What was the purpose of the Domesday Book?

1. to carry out a census of all the conquered English peoples
2. to reorganize the English legal system along Norman lines
3. to record the details of how the Normans won the battle of Hastings
4. to record the population and ownership of every piece of land in England

Which of these was NOT introduced to England by the French?

1. Domesday Book
2. Feudal System
3. Language
4. Magna Carta

Changes in Language

French was only spoken in higher circle, common people still spoke English

Early Middle English consisted mostly of Ango-Saxon vocabulary

Changes in Literature

Form: Alliterative verse replaced by (French-type) end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns.

Content: Germanic poetry was replaced by a more elegant form of poetry. No more death, war and glory, but courtly love.

Women now had a more prominent place in literary works

Genres: Ballads - narrative poems intended to be sung

Romances – tales about quests for a noble cause by brave knights.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• 14th century Arthurian Romance
• Author unknown
• Old English elements (alliterative verse)
• French courtly tradition

An important theme in this story is chivalry, what is chivalry?

What comes to mind when you think of the colour green?

Read Stanza 13 

• What does the Green Knight mean when he calls Arthur's knights beardless children?
• What is the game he wants to play and what is the reward?

Read Stanza 19

• What happens when Sir Gawain cuts off the knight's head?

Read Stanza 23+24

• What is the deal Bertilak makes with Sir Gawain?

Day 1

Day 2

Read Stanza 29

• What is Lady Bertilak's offer on the third day?

Day 3

Why does Gawain keep the girdle a secret?

Read the rest of the story

What do you think is meant with the last two lines of the poem?

What is the moral lesson to be learned here?