6V Literature - Middle English

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 6

Middle English literature

The Middle English Period

• 1066-1485: (later) Medieval England
• The Norman Conquest
• Social change: the feudal system
• A long war in France: the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)
• A bloody war at home: the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485)
• Linguistic change: a new language

The Norman Conquest

• 1066: the Battle of Hastings
• The Anglo-Saxons (King Harold) vs. the Normans (Duke William of Normandy)
• The Bayeux Tapestry
• England becomes a feudal state

The Bayeux Tapestry

Middle English (1) - History

• 1066 - c. 1300: two languages side by side
• Norman French: language of court, government, the law and trade
• Old English: language of the common people (peasants, townspeople)
• the two slowly merge into one language
• c. 1300: Middle English
• c. 1480: towards (Early) Modern English

Middle English (2) - Characteristics

• Many regional dialects
• A merger of Old English and Norman French
• Basic vocabulary is (Old) English > words connected with the body and basic human needs
• Many French words imported into the language (language of court, law, government, trade)
• simplified grammar
• end 15th c. : a new standard language emerges

Middle English Literature

Most works of literature are anonymous

One name stands out: Geoffrey Chaucer

• c. 1340 - 1400
• the father of English literature / the father of the English language
• A courtier and a diplomat (foreign travels)
• main work: The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales

• Frame-story
• Group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury > the shrine of the martyr St. Thomas Becket
• A cross-section of medieval English society (nobility, clergy and commoners)
• A panorama of medieval life
• Examples of many medieval literary genres
• Remained incomplete at Chaucer's death

1. When did Geoffrey Chaucer live?

1. 12th century
2. 14th century
3. 16th century
4. 18th century

2. Take a guess: Which of the following is not true about Geoffrey Chaucer?

1. He died fighting for the King of England
2. He served as a page & a squire under a knight
3. He became a forester (boswachter) late in life
4. He went on diplomatic missions to France

3. True or False "Geoffrey Chaucer wrote most of his works in Old English

1. True
2. False

4. Take a guess: Chaucer's most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, was written for?

1. The nobility
2. The illiterate peasants
3. Merchants
4. All of the above

5. True or False: "Geoffrey Chaucer was the first poet writing in English."

1. True
2. False

What is the time span of the Middle English period?

1. 1066 - 1340
2. 1066 - 1485
3. 800 - 1066
4. 1340 - 1400

Which language was spoken at court?

1. French
2. English
3. Latin

Geoffrey Chaucer also goes by other names - which?

Look up the following

What did Chaucer's father do for a living?

Who was St. Thomas Becket?

Besides poetry and his job as at court, what else was Chaucer interested in?

What did King Edward III gift Chaucer on St. George’s Day 1374?