The Anglo-Norman Period, English literature of the late middle ages(mid 11th –---mid-14th century) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• •

I. The Danish invasions:

About 787, the English began to be troubled by hands of Danish vikings. King Alfred the Great(849-901) succeeded in driving the Danes off with force. King Alfred set himself to the task of encouraging education and literature. He translated some works from Latin himself. More important as a literary work is the Anglo-Saxon "

Chronicle

", which begins with Caesar's conquest and is a monument of Old English prose.

• •

II. The Norman Conquest:

The French-speaking Normans under

Duke William

came in

1066

. After defeating the English at

Hastings

, William was crowned as King of England. It was called the Norman Conquest.

III.

The Influence of the Norman Conquest on the English Language

1.The structure of the language remained English, and the common words were often somewhat modified in form. 2. Many terms employed by the Normans were adopted into the English language .

Part VI "Piers the Plowman"

• Amid the darkness and barrenness of the Middle Ages, there was one work which shows the existence of English popular literature. It was "Piers the Plowman", a long poem of over 7,000 lines, written by William Langland (1332-1400). It was written in the old alliterative verse.

• • Piers is a peasant, whose simple, honest, and straight-forward character.

Piers the Plowman "is one of the greatest of English poems. 1.It is written in the form of a dream vision, and the author, tells his story under the guise of having dreamed it. 2.The poem is also an allegory which uses symbolism to relate truth. 3. It is a realistic picture of medieval England. Its artistic merit may be shown by its portraits of the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Lechery, Envy, Wrath, Avarice, Sloth, Glutton.

Part VII Outline of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains four “fits” or sections. • In the first fit, King Arthur is holding at Camelot his Christmas feast of 15 days with all his knights of the Round Table. • The second fit begins with a lengthy description of the passing of the four seasons, from spring through summer and autumn and back to winter again, and Arthur makes a feast to send Gawain off on his journey. • The third fit tells of the three days of Gawain’s sojourn at the castle. • The fourth fit begins with a description of the stormy snow weather on the New Year’s Day as Gawain gets ready to go to the Green Chapel.

• the two main motifs in the story: the tests of faith, courage and purity; the human weakness for self-preservation.

However, the heroic adventures of sir Gawain and King Arthur as related in the poem were sought after and carried out rather for adventures’ sake than any truly worthy cause.

Exercise

• Answer the following Questions.

1. What is the influence of the Norman Conquest upon English Language and literature?

2. What are the essential features of romance in the Medieval English literature?

3. Make comments on the romance “ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”.

Keys to the questions

• the influence of the Norman Conquest upon English Language and literature: ① . chivalry was introduced into England ② . three languages existed in England. The Normans spoke French, the lower class spoke English, and the scholars and clergymen used Latin.

③ . the literature was varied in interest and extensive in range ④ . the prevailing form of literature is Romance.

Fill the following blanks

1.In the year 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of __________. Hastings 2. In the 14th century, the two most important writers are ______________ and Langland. Chaucer 3.Today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as “the father of English Poetry” but also as “the father of English fiction”. His masterpiece is ___________. The Canterbury Tales

4.The fifteenth century has been described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English ________. ballads 5. In the 15th century, there is only one important prose writer whose name is _____. He wrote an important work called Morte D’Arthur. Thomas Malory Choose the best answer for each statement.

1. In 1066, _______ led the Norman army to invade and defeat England.

a. William the Conqueror b. Julius Caesar c. Alfred the Great d. Claudius

• • • • 2.In the 14th century, the most important writer is _______.

a. Langland b. Wyclif c. Gower d. Chaucer 3.The prevailing form of Medieval English literature is the ________.

a. French b. Latin c. romance d. science 4.The story of “ ____________” is the culmination of the Arthurian romances.

a. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight b. The story of Beowulf c. Piers the plowman d. The Canterbury Tales

• • 5.William Langland’s “__________” is written in the form of a dream vision.

a. Kubla Khan b. Piers the Plowman c. The Dream of John Bull d. Morte D’Arthur

Find the relevant match.

• 1. William Langland c a. Morte D’Arthur • 2. Geoffrey Chaucer b b. The Canterbury Tales • 3. Thomas Malory a c. Piers the Plowman • 4. Layamon e d. The History of the King of the Britain • 5. Geoffrey of Monmouth d e. Brut

Answer the following Questions

.

1.What is the influence of the Norman Conquest upon English Language and literature?

2.What are the essential features of romance in the Medieval English literature?

3.Make comments on the romance “ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”.

Keys to the questions 1.the influence of the Norman Conquest upon English Language and literature: ① . chivalry was introduced into England ② . three languages existed in England. The Normans spoke French, the lower class spoke English, and the scholars and clergymen used Latin.

③ . the literature was varied in interest and extensive in range ④ . the prevailing form of literature is Romance.

2. the essential features of romance in the Medieval English literature: It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. ① .The central character of romances was the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons.

② . it exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtures.

③ . it contains adventures far from ordinary life.

④ . it emphasizes devotion to a lady

Make comments on the romance “ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. ① . explain romance ② . derived from Celtic legend, in form, the combination of French and Saxon element; ③ . written in stanza combining meter and alliteration ④ . at the end of each stanza, a rimed refrain.

⑤ . two motifs, the testing of faith, courage, and purity; proving of human weaknesses for self-preserving.

⑥ . the heroic adventures of sir Gawain and King Arthur as related in the poem were sought after and carried out rather for adventures’ sake than any truly worthy cause. The language is simple and straightforward.