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The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages. A Historical and Literary Introduction. Background History. The Norman Invasion. Normans were descendents of Vikings who had been living in France 1066: William of Normandy defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings and becomes king

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The Middle Ages

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  1. The Middle Ages A Historical and Literary Introduction

  2. Background History

  3. The Norman Invasion • Normans were descendents of Vikings who had been living in France • 1066: William of Normandy defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings and becomes king • Anglo-Saxon nobility suppressed, Normans control government • Business conducted in Norman French or Latin; English becomes used only by the lower classes • The feudal system is put into place

  4. The Plantagenets • Henry Plantagenet (Henry II) came to the throne in 1154, ending Norman rule in England. • Came into direct conflict with the church • Appointed Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to uphold royal policy within the church. • Becket did not, and in 1170 Henry had him murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.

  5. Feudalism • Involved an exchange of property in return for personal service • King owns all land; gives land to nobles in return for their support • Lords give some land to lower lords, who in turn give some to knights • Peasants and serfs work the land

  6. The Medieval Church • Pope was the head of the Church • Bishops controlled dioceses • Many mid and lower ranking clerics belonged to orders and lived in monasteries • Members of religious orders take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

  7. Occupations in the Medieval Church • Abbot: head of a male monastery, usually Benedictine • Monk: male who lives within a religious community and takes religious vows • Friar: male who belongs to a mendicant order and works among the faithful • Parson: a parish priest • Pardoner: a person who sells religious pardons to raise money for the church

  8. Secular Medieval Occupations • Knight: a military soldier who undergoes long and extensive training and often has a social rank. They are educated in areas such as combat, poetry, dancing, and manners. • Squire: a young boy or man who serves a knight and is in training to become a knight himself

  9. Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

  10. Geoffrey Chaucer • Born around 1340 A.D. in Ipswich. • Son of a family of well-to-do wine merchants • Served as a page in a noble household • Educated in the French style. • Held many jobs, including a soldier, Parliament member, diplomat, and forest official • Wrote thousands of lines of poetry

  11. Geoffrey Chaucer • Translated works from French and Italian into English. • Most famous for writing The Canterbury Tales • Died on October 25, 1400 • Was the first poet buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey in London

  12. The Canterbury Tales: Overview • A collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury. • Frame tale – a story within a story. • It is the most famous frame tale. • Character portraits give the reader a very detailed description of each pilgrim.

  13. The Canterbury Tales: Organization • “The General Prologue” • Introduces the overall plot of the entire story • Contains pilgrim portraits –very detailed descriptions of each pilgrim • Pilgrim Prologues • The Tales

  14. The Canterbury Tales: The Tales • Some tales are originals, created for the work • Some tales were borrowed or reworked from preexisting stories • The tales vary in genre and include: • Beast fable • Exemplum • Fabliau • Fairy Tale • Metrical Romance • Miracle Story • Mock Epic

  15. Pilgrimages

  16. Pilgrimages • Journeys that a person undertakes for a religious reason • Three purposes of pilgrimages: • Travel to venerate a specific place • Travel to ask for supernatural aid • Travel to fulfill a religious obligation • Popular Destinations: the Holy Land, Canterbury, Lourdes, Fatima, the Wailing Wall, Mecca

  17. Picture Sources • http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/Pictures/harold.jpg • http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFiyjwMlP0Y/Stp9bwnLHKI/AAAAAAAABJc/uxLbboj48Xk/s400/p0013046-feudalism1.gif • http://www.frianfriar.com/friar.25a.jpg • http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s_y9eSCAPLA/SOusnpRcgsI/AAAAAAAAAzg/5R27W-IcSmM/s320/chaucer_pardoner.jpg • http://www.kidspast.com/images/knight-squire.jpg • http://ficinocafe.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/st-thomas-becket.jpg • http://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/chaucer-harvard.jpg • http://www.essential-architecture.com/DAVINCI/3poets_corner.jpg • http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/illuman/images/full_resolution/14_02.jpg • http://english.basd.k12.wi.us/mocarski/englishliterature/Lit1/lydgate.gif • http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/images/lourdes/pilgrims-cc-nicholas-thompson.jpg

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