1. The Middle Ages

2. Map of England & Normandy
Who wouldn’t want to rule over both?
They really aren’t that far apart.
Some people can swim across the English Channel

3. Oct. 1066: The Battle of Hastings
In this corner, William, the Duke of Normandy (N. France).
In the other corner, the recently crowned King Harold of England.
Each one thought he was the rightful heir to the throne after the previous king’s death.
So, naturally, they decided to fight over it.

4. The Battle of Hastings
William was a skilled commander, and Harold’s army was exhausted from fighting off a Viking invasion.

5. William Conquered England…
But he didn’t destroy the Anglo-Saxons
He wanted to be their king
And as king, he needed money.
So he commissioned the Domesday Book, which inventoried everything in England so he could tax his people based on their property.

6. William the Uniter?
Remember, William was the Duke of Normandy and now became the King of England as well.
Also, William raised a stronger army by promising others some land in England if they helped him fight.
So he brought many other Normans (French) with him to England.

7. As a result…
England was closely unified with France (at least for now)
And William’s granting land to his followers brought the system of feudalism to England.

8. Feudalism: From the Top Down
This is based on the religious idea of hierarchy.

9. Feudalism is based on obligations
Those above provide land and protection to those below
Those below provide goods/services, money and military service to those above.

10. If obligations weren’t met…
It usually meant a fight.
But feudalism usually worked, and it led to a system of proper conduct which we call “chivalry.”
Chivalry was not just about male/female relationships. It also dealt with knightly virtues and honor.

11. Knights in Shining Armor
Males above “serf” or peasant class were trained from boyhood to be knights.
Loyalty is very important for feudalism to work.

12. Women in Medieval Society
A woman’s status was based solely on her husband or father’s status.

13. Chivalry and Courtly Love: Ideal but Unreal
Chivalry was a code of behavior for knights.
Always honor your oath
Follow rules of war
“Don’t attack an unarmed man.”
Adore a particular woman. Acting in her service was supposed to make him braver.
Ideally there was no hanky panky between a knight and his lady.
Ideally…

14. The Rise of the Romance Not today’s type of “romance” story.
Romance = story in which a hero (usually with the help of magic) undertakes a quest to conquer an evil enemy.
Star Wars?
The Lord of the Rings?
Braveheart?

15. The New City Classes: Out from Under the Overlords
More and more people move to cities, which weakens feudalism.
We’ll see city class people (who make a living outside the feudal system) in Chaucer’s story.

16. The Great Happenings of the Middle Ages
The Crusades
The Martyrdom of Thomas à Becket
The Magna Carta
The Hundred Years War
The Black Death

17. The Crusades
Wars waged by European Christians against Muslims for control of Jerusalem.
Europe profited from Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, etc.
Launched as a counterattack to stop the spread of Islam.

18. Thomas à Beckett
(c )
Thomas was friends with King Henry, who made him the Archbishop of Canterbury (the most powerful church official in England) to give the King leverage in arguments with the Pope.
But Thomas started siding with the Pope.
Some of Henry’s men thought he wanted Beckett dead, so they killed him, which led to public outrage.
Future kings were then afraid to try to control church officials, even corrupt priests.
Good side of medieval Church: cultural unity and preserving knowledge.

19. The Magna Carta (1215)
King John was forced by English Barons to sign it.
This made the king subject to the law.
This is the basis for our constitutional law
Trial by jury
Equal justice under the law.

20. The Hundred Years War (1337-1453)
Can be called the first “national” war.
People starting to think of themselves as French or English.
Prior to this: feudalism. “I serve the guy above me in the pyramid.”
It was a war between England and France over who was the real king of France.
The long bow (with 3’ long arrows) made armor useless.
No armor  no knights  no feudalism. It lived on only in stories.

21. The Black Death
Hit England in
1/3 of the people died, which led to a major shortage of labor.
So each person was more important now, so the serfs became more powerful and eventually got their freedom from feudal lords.

22. Geoffrey Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer is widely considered the father of English poetry – he made it “respectable.”
Before him, Latin and French were the ‘respectable’ languages for art.

23. Chaucer wrote in the vernacular: people’s everyday language.

24. Friends in High Places
Chaucer worked for the noblemen, and even the king, as an ambassador – he wasn’t just a writer.
He was in Parliament – he was at least a fairly important politician.

25. Writing and Holding a Job
He kept writing even while working as a government official. Our politicians quite often write books – but they aren’t as good as Chaucer…
Examples: Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton…

26. The Italian Connection
Chaucer was influenced by Dante, Petrarch, and especially Boccaccio, who wrote The Decameron.

27. Frame Tales Decameron and Canterbury Tales are both frame tales.
Frame tale = story with many other stories in it.
Chaucer never finished The Canterbury Tales.
It’s still awesome.

28. Iambic Pentameter Iambic Pentameter – most popular meter in English
One iamb =  
Pentameter means 5 feet, so 5 iambs:
         
“We hold these truths to be self-evident”

29. Religious Journey, aka…
A pilgrimage is a religious journey.
In Chaucer’s day, almost everyone made at least one pilgrimage.
Canterbury Cathedral was the most sacred and popular pilgrimage in England because it’s where Beckett was murdered.

30. Setting up the Frame
30 people (including the narrator) are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
They’re all staying at The Tabard Inn and decide to travel together and have a storytelling contest.