From the Middle Ages to the Romantic Period

1. From the Middle Ages to the Romantic Period

2. Timeline of the Dark Middle Ages

3. Migration of European tribes( Focus on Britain )

4. Literature of the Medieval Period • Theological works were the dominant form of literature typically found in libraries during the Middle Ages. Catholic clerics were the intellectual center of society in the Middle Ages, and it is their literature that was produced in the greatest quantity. • Secular literature in this period was not produced as much as religious literature. • The subject of "courtly love" became important in the 11th century, especially in the Romance languages (in the French, Spanish, Provençal, Galician-Portuguese and Catalan languages) and Greek, where the traveling singers—troubadours—made a living from their songs. • The writings of the troubadours are often associated with unrequited longing, but this is not entirely accurate (see aubade, for instance).

5. The English Language Before and During the Renaissance BEFORE: The most famous example of Middle English is Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", a collection of stories about a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury, England. The portraits that he paints in his Tales give us an idea of what life was like in fourteenth century England. DURING: Modern English developed after William Caxton established his printing press at Westminster Abbey in 1476. The Bible and some valuable manuscripts were printed. The invention of the printing press made books available to more people. The books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English.By the time of Shakespeare's writings (1592-1616), the language had become clearly recognizable as Modern English. There were three big developments in the world at the beginning of Modern English period: the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the British Colonialism.