The Middle Ages (1066-1485)

1. The Middle Ages (1066-1485) By Rachele Dessì and Simone Giuffrida

2. - The Historical Background- MedievalLiterature

3. The Normans With William the Conquerorstarts the permanent Norman occupationof England. The Normans spokeFrenchbutoriginallycamefromDenmark. Manyof the Anglo-Saxonsnoblestriedto oppose the predominanceof the Norman aristocracy, but by the 12th century, all landwascompletely in the handsof the Normans. Afteraninitialperiodofconflicttheyeventuallybeganto mix throughmarriage and languages and traditions. Siege of a motte-and-bailey castle from the Bayeux Tapestry.

4. The feudal system

5. The Domesday Book The Domesday Book, completed in oneyear (1086), is the first census in English history. A page of the Domesday Book for Warwickshire.

6. Reforms Under Henry II, whowas the first Plantagenet, the ConstitutionsofClarendonwereenforced (1164) which led to a clashbetween the State and the Church. With this set of legislative procedures the king wanted to establish a compromise between these two powers. King Henry II and a stained glass window of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.

7. Richard the LionHeart and King John Henry II wasfollowed by his son Richard I whospentalmost ten yearsabroadengaged in variouswars. In hisabsence , hisyoungerbrother John becameking. On returningfromoneofhiscampaigns in France, hewasforcedtosign a document, the Magna Carta. Thisdocumentlimited the absolutepowerof the king.

8. The HundredYears’ War Edward III wentto war against France butthis war wasinterrupted by the Black Death (1348). The war cametoan end in 1453 but by then England hadlost all ofitsFrenchpossessionsexcept Calais. In the courseof the HundredYears’ War the Anglo-Normanaristocracycametoconsideritselftruly English. The Triumph of Death, oil panel painting by PieterBruegel the Elderpainted c. 1562.[

9. John Wycliffe In the secondhalfof the 14th century John Wycliffe led a protestagainst the Church, accusingitofexcessivewealth and corruption. Many of the supporters of hismovementwerepersecuted and burntas heretics. They can beseen as the forerunnersof the Protestantmovement. Wycliffe speaking to Lollard preachers

10. The Warsof the Roses The long war wasoverbuttherewasstill no peacetobehad in England. The House of Lancaster and the House of York started the Warsof the Roses. Itwas a negative periodfor England as trade and industrywerestagnant and Parliamentwasweakened by corruption. At the end Henry Tudor wonesabilishing a future for the powerfuldynastyof the Tudors. Choosing the Red and White Roses (c.1908), Henry A. Payne.

11. The Ballad • Balladswere short narrative poemsoftenaccompanied by music. • Balladsweregenerallysimple and characterized by the presenceof: • Fourlinesstanzas • A refrain or a chorus • Mainthemes: • - Tragicdeath • - Love • - War

12. Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), the mostnotableof English poetsfrom the Middle Ages, created a great and original work enriched by hisgreatspiritofobservation and narrative technique: The Canterbury Tales. Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer

13. The rise of the theatre In England, as in the rest of Europe, dramatic performance originates from religious dramatisation. Originally the dramas were in Latin. The subjects were mainly religious, but gradually they became independent from the liturgy.

14. The Romance The most important characteristics of the English romance were: -the authors were mostly anonymous -the story is centered around a hero -chivalric ideology is predominant -the setting is often vague and includes elements of fantasy and the supernatural.

15. King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table The stories which centre about King Arthur, started in Wales and are dated back to the 5th century. There are a lot of versions and stories about the figure of King Arthur and in all of these, the number of the knights of the round table changes. Arthur as one of the Nine Worthies, c. 1385