General Info
-Midevel period lasted from 1066 - 1485
-Normans (or "North Men") invaded Englaaand in the 9th century made lasting impacts on Britain. Most famous introduction? Feudalism.
-Feudalism is a system of governnning. It carved the land of the king into pockets, then distributed it amongst his loyal supporters. These were usually Lords or Barons.
-The lords or barons would then controlll that land, and further distributed it among the farmers who would farm the land. Of course, the people living on the land were taxed heavily. This money went to the king.
-The Normans tried to change more than the system of governing. They also tried to change the language. More and more French words became apparent in the language...one thought superior by the Normans.
-Norman rule ends in 1154 when Henry IIII takes power. "Founds" the House of Plantagenet.
-Henry II soon came into some trouble wwwith the Church. So when the position of Archbishop of Canterbury became 'available', Henry appointed his friend Thomas Beckett to to position, assuming he would go along with Henry. Beckett did not, and was murdered by four of Henry's Knights, who "misunderstood then Royal Wrath..." when Henry heard of Becketts defiance.
-The untimley death of Beckett provokeddd the people of Britain to an outpouring of grief, and annually, peasants would make a pilgramage to Canterbury in his name. This pilgrimage inspired Geoffry Chaucer's famous mideval masterpiece, "The Canterbury Tales."
-Next King, Richard, racks up a huge deeebt for Britain (from fighting overseas wars), which was passed to his successor, King John. John tried to eliminate this debt by raising taxes, but the lords and barons didn't like this.
-The solution? The lords and barons gavvve John a list of conditions. He agreed to some, and the document became known as the Magna Carta. (Latin for "Great Charter")
-Towns all over Britain began to grow iiin size...the population boomed!
-These towns soon had their own social class...guilds. Guilds were groups of skilled workers (of a certain area) who worked together. There were 2 types of guilds...Merchant Guilds and Craft Guilds.
-Merchant Guilds helped to make businessss 'boom' in their town.
-Craft Guilds organized people who pracccticed the trade into a "union." There were craft guilds for almost every craft. Eg. Weavers, Carpenters and Tanners.
-Great Plague sweeps over Europe calleddd the "Black Death." (1348-1349) This plague killed about 1/3 of the population, and has never been equaled.
-Feudalism begins its decline around 133381 (the Later Middle Ages) and more and more peasants were being paid to work. Finally a huge peasant revolt in 1381 demands "an end to serfdom." Unsuccessful, but the movement continues.
-Middle Ages 'close with a struggle forrr power' called the War of the Roses. It pitted two kings against each other, Henry VI and Richard. Both of these Kings' insignias were of roses, and thats how the war was named!
-Richard eventually wins (think Survivooor)
-His son, Edward, becomes king. (Edwarddd IV). His osn, Edward V takes the throne after Edward IV's death, and ruled until his own murder.
-Edward V and his brother were staying in the Tower of London when they both died mysteriously. Richard of Gloucester (whom many blamed for these so-called "tower murders") comes to power as Richard III, until he is ursurped by a rebellion led by his cousin, Henry Tudor.
-The Tudor line begins with Henry VII, and the middle ages therefore end!

Literary Characteristics
-Many literary works of this period focus on the Mideval ideal of Chivalry...a knightly code of honour and duty.
-One famous story that includes a fair amount of chivalry is the King Arthur legend...literature of the mideval period.
-It is impossible to say for certain weeether King Arthur actually lived or not, but historians believe that some of the legend is based on fact.
-The most famous (and complete) of the Arthur legends is entitled "Morte d'Arthur" (or Death of Arthur), by French author Sir Thomas Malory.
-Literature was written in both Latin (((the language of the church) and Norman French (language of the government). Lots of this was then translated into the vernacular, or language of the people, an early form of English.
-As a result of these translations, littteracy increased.
-Major Literary Advance of this time: ttthe printing press, invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1454. First moveable-type press made by William Caxton in 1476. Suddenly, literature was produced very quickly, and was therefore available to a much wider audience.
-2 most famous poets of the middle agesss: William Langland and Geoffry Chaucer.
-Lyric poems of this age were one of twwwo types...religious or secular. Secular poetry concentrated on the joys of life, love and nature.
-Ballads also were a big thing back theeen. Ballads were poems that told a story. Most famous Mideval Ballad? Robin Hood!
-DRAMA! think SHAKESPEARE! simple
-A famous play of this era NOT by Shakeeespeare is Everyman, a Morality play, a play that has the main character teach a lesson, or a moral. Very popular.

Mideval Poetry has characterized itself into a number of poems that symbolize them all. These are "Get up and Bar the Door," and "The Canterbury Tales." Both poems are fairly representitive of the period as a whole. Now, another important section of Mideval literature is the work by Shakespeare, but that will be under a seperate topic on this page.

Get Up and Bar The Door is a short (44 line) poem about the never-ending 'control' issue between men and women. It goes to show that this really is an issue that has been around forever.

-Get Up and Bar the Door has elevven 4-line stanzas that have a rhyme scheme of ABAB
-Has 8 syllables in lines 1 and 3 of eacch stanza, and 6 syllables in lines 2 and 4.
-There is no refrain, or chorus in this poem, but its rythmical tone suggests it may have been meant to be sung, or otherwards preformed.
-Theme is 'Choices and Consequences'
> -Another theme may be the battle of the sexes has gone on forever!

The Cnaterbury Tales, By Geoffry Chaucer, is probably one of the most famous works in Mideval Literature. The story, written in a lyrical rhyme, follows 12 pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury to honour the death of archbishop Thomas Beckett. On their way, theyeach tell 2 stories to pass the time. The person with the best story at the end of the journey gets his dinner paid for. Each of these stories talk about Mideval life, and gives us great insight into this period. Also, it is very entertaining.

-Written in rhyme...scheme is AABBCCDD......etc....
-Couplets
-Theme? Individuals in Society
-Characters are: Knight, Squire, Yeoman,, 2 Nuns (Prioress and regular), a Monk, a Friar, Merchant, Oxford Cleric, a Sergent at Law, a Franklin, a Haberdasher, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Cook, a Skipper, a Doctor, a Plowman, a Parson, the Wife of Bath, A Miller, a Reeve, a Manciple, a Pardoner, and a Summoner; as well as the inkeeper (or host), and Chaucer. NOTE: Not all of the above mentioned characters have a story to tell...there is only 24 stories in the Canterbury Tales