1. The Middle Ages
450 – 1485

2. The Middle Ages
Started with the fall of Rome and ended with the Italian Renaissance
Longest stretch of literary history—over 1000 years

3. The Middle Ages The Dark Ages?
Poor spiritual conditions; belief in the supernatural
Hard social conditions; famine, war, disease
Great literary diversity
Strong emphasis on Christianity in literature

4. 15th century illuminations of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

5. Gold and jewel-encrusted book cover for one of the Gospels, c.840

6. The Middle Ages The Middle Ages can be divided into two periods
Old English Period
Old English: language brought by Anglo-Saxons
Middle English Period
Middle English: evolved combination of Old English and French

7. The Old English Period AD 450 – 1100 Angles + Saxons = Anglo-Saxons
Angleland  England
United under Alfred the Great

8. The Old English Period
Anglo-Saxon peoples did not have a system of writing for their language
In 579, Pope Gregory sent monks to England
Built monasteries and created a written version of Old English
So all Old English literature is marked by Christianity; no such thing as truly “pagan” literature during this time

9. The Old English Period Characterisitics of OE Literature
All poetry (alliterative meter)
Somber and serious, reflects their difficult lives
Comitatus: a relationship of unquestioning loyalty and mutual protection until death between the warrior (thane) and the chief or lord
Anglo-Saxon helmet

10. The Middle English Period
AD 1100 – 1485
Began with William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066
Consequences:
Feudal system: political arrangement based on a scale of privileges and responsibilities
Centralized power/government
Influence of French language

12. The Middle English Period
Social Conditions:
The Black Death wiped out 1/3 of Europe’s population
Labour shortage weakened the feudal system and created a middle class

13. The Middle English Period
Religion:
The Crusades
The 4th Crusade ended with the brutal sacking of Constantinople
This split the Western and Eastern churches
Roman Catholic Church was divided internally
John Wycliffe spread the seeds of the Reformation

14. The Middle English Period
Characteristics of Middle English Literature:
Literature in English written only by the common people until the 14th century (upper-class authors wrote in French)
Derivative: writers modelled their work after others instead of trying to be original
Varied: many styles, genres, and tones
Didactic: meant to teach or instruct
Critical: poked fun at/criticized social conditions