THE MIDDLE AGES From Beowulf to Chaucer Lugnan

THE MIDDLE AGES From Beowulf to Chaucer Lugnan Viviana & Testolin Francesca

Historical context • 5 th Century: Anglo-Saxon invasions • 1066: first and last conquest of England from Normans • Birth of feudal- system • 1215: Magna Charta: the process of negotiation between barons and the King. It limited the royal power • 1381: Peasants Revolt • 1453 -1485: The war of the Roses • 1485: the Middle Ages came to an end

Anglo-Saxon literature: BEOWULF • The first epic pagan poem • It had been orally transmitted before being recorded on paper (10° Century) • It was written in Old English (mix of germanic dialects) • It represents Anglo-Saxons’ values • Beowulf is the hero of the poem

Medieval Society • Pyramidal, hierarchical organization • Privileged code is the religious one regular code • People were interested in salvation • William I the Conqueror instituted the feudal system lands distribuited among knights and barons

Women condition • Wives or nuns • Underrated inside the society • Often considered as witches (people believed in supernatural) • Private and domestic sphere considered a woman’s world • Restricted education

The ballad • • • Narrative poem Orally transmitted Revived during the romantic period For common people Characters simply sketched Themes: tragical events, supernatural, demon love, battles on the boarder between Scotland England • Use of music

Medieval literature • Mystery plays: stories taken from the Old Testament, the Creation and Fall to the last Judgement. Performed inside the church and later brought outside • Morality plays: allegorical tales in which human qualities were personified (vices and virtues)

The Canterbury tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) • Written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer • First masterpiece of English literature • Inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron • Series of linked stories • Pilgrimage to Canterbury • Characters belonged to different social classes • Characters both individuals and stereotype