Literature Materials 2024-2025 PDF

Literature 6V The early Middle Ages The late Middle ages The Renaissance This booklet belongs to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ What to expect in this syllabus 3 **The early Middle Ages** 4 - *Beowulf* **The late Middle Ages** 17 Assignment 11 - 27 -...

Literature 6V The early Middle Ages The late Middle ages The Renaissance This booklet belongs to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ What to expect in this syllabus 3 **The early Middle Ages** 4 - *Beowulf* **The late Middle Ages** 17 Assignment 11 - 27 - *The Canterbury Tales* by Geoffrey Chaucer **The Renaissance** 34 - *Sonnet 18 and 130* by William Shakespeare - *Romeo and Juliet* by William Shakespeare Bibliography 59 Welcome dear students! In this lesson series you will develop the ability to interpret, analyse and evaluate literature from the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance. What students in 6 VWO need to know about literature according to the Dutch government: - "De kandidaat kan literaire tekstsoorten herkennen en onderscheiden, en literaire begrippen hanteren in de interpretatie van literaire werken. - De kandidaat kan een overzicht geven van de hoofdlijnen van de literatuurgeschiedenis en de gelezen literaire werken plaatsen in dit historisch perspectief" (Meijer & Fasoglio, 2007, pp. 55). Therefore, the PTA of 6 VWO at Onze Lieve Vrouwe Lyceum has a literature test, with regard to knowledge and understanding of literature. For you this test takes place in January 2022, code SE051. It covers 15% of your SE mark. Consequently, this syllabus introduces learners to: - the history of the early Middle Ages, the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance - the history of the English language - selected readings from the early Middle Ages to the Renaissance (1400-1603) In addition, your teachers of English have created assignments to improve your skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with which they aim to cultivate your imagination and broaden your horizons! Mrs Akkermans, Mrs Kalisvaart, Mr Stadhouders PS: You can find the PowerPoint presentations used in class in the ELO. Assignment 1: What do you think of when you hear the word 'literature'? Go to [www.mentimeter.com](http://www.mentimeter.com), 3 entries per voter. Discuss the answers and form a definition. Literature = written artistic works, especially those with a high and lasting artistic value Assignment 2: Watch the video about the history of England (2:20) and create your own timeline. Timeline: 43 Romans 450 Anglo-saxon 597 Christianity 793 Vikings 878 Alfred The great 1066 Normans Assignment 3: Read The Early Middle Ages. From 55 BC to about 450 AD, most of Great Britain -- like the southern part of the Netherlands -- was under Roman rule. By the end of the fourth century, however, the Roman Empire was threatened on all sides. In Britain, the Romans were under attack by the Celts, and their position on the European mainland was difficult as well. In about 450, the Romans withdrew from Britain in order to defend what remained of their continental empire, leaving the Britons to fend for themselves. Without imperial protection, the Romano-British found themselves beset by enemies. They were attacked by the Celts of Scotland and Ireland, while from across the North Sea came the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Originating in present-day Denmark and northern Germany, these tribes had themselves been driven off by the Huns: an Asian people who invaded Europe from the east. This era is known as the migration of the peoples. After a period in which they were content to plunder, pillage and return home, the Anglo-Saxon raiders gradually became settlers, establishing several kingdoms on British soil. Some of the kingdoms were very small and were together ruled by overlords. Wars between the Anglo-Saxon kings were frequent, and the pattern of control was constantly shifting. Wales, Scotland and Cornwall meanwhile remained beyond Anglo-Saxon rule and in these regions the old Romano-British order continued to hold sway. The Anglo-Saxon kings surrounded themselves with young warriors. These men formed a military and social elite, rewarded by the king with weapons, valuables and land in return for their loyalty and their support at time of war. In this period, loyalty was greatly prized. A warrior was expected to remain true to his king until death whether his own or the king's. Fleeing from battle was the ultimate form of cowardice and shame. When they weren't fighting, the warriors would meet in the king's great hall to eat, drink, and listen to stories and poems. However, society wasn't made up entirely of kings and warriors, of course. Most people were farmers, who worked the land from sunup till sundown. Unfortunately, we know less about them than about the ruling classes. Nevertheless, the archaeological record tells us that there was trade with Scandinavia and the European mainland, including Friesland. From the seventh century, monks, priests, and bishops also played an important role in society. At the end of the sixth century, the pope had sent missionaries to Britain to convert the heathen Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Some of the kings soon adopted the new faith, but their followers were slower to let go of their religious customs. In the course of the seventh century, almost all kings (and consequently their subjects) adopted Christianity, and countless monasteries were established. With Christianity came Latin literature. In the monasteries, a great deal of religious writing was done, and the manuscripts were often beautifully decorated or 'illuminated'. One of the key figures of this era was Bede (673-735), a monk who wrote a history of the Anglo-Saxons, the *Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum ("The Ecclesiastical History of the Anglo-Saxon People").* However, Latin was not the only language recorded in writing in this period; quite a lot of literature survives in Old English. Perhaps the most famous work is the epic poem *Beowulf*. Shorter poems are also preserved, as are translations of Latin texts, the life stories of saints, plus numerous proverbs and oaths. From the ninth century*,* various monks and clerks started to maintain chronicles: annual records of contemporary events. The *Anglo-Saxons Chronicle* is a key source of information about the history of the various kingdoms, and the Viking invasions. The first recorded attack made on Britain by Scandinavian Vikings took place in 793, when the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne was sacked. Throughout the following century, Viking raids continued. The Vikings were heathens who came in search of plunder which they took away to their Scandinavian homelands. Wealthy monasteries were consequently prime targets. Viking raiders were able to take advantage of the divisions between the Anglo-Saxon kings, who were too busy fighting one another to fend off the seaborne enemy. Like the Germanic tribes that crossed the North Sea at the end of the Roman era, the Vikings gradually started settling in Britain. Scandinavians even assumed the Anglo-Saxon throne on a few occasions. Right up to the eleventh century, the Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons and Normans continued to fight over the English crown. When the Anglo-Saxons and the king of Norway disputed the royal succession, William ('The Conqueror"), Duke of Normandy, saw his opportunity to seize the throne. Crossing the Channel with his army, he defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon era was brought to a close and the Norman period of English history began. Fragment of *la Tapisserie de Bayeux* Assignment 4: Watch the animated Bayeux Tapestry (4:24) Sutton Hoo  Anglo-Saxon helmet, 6^th^ to 7^th^ centuries. Excavated at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. We know quite a lot about life in Anglo-Saxon England, and particularly the life of the elite, partly from the literature of the period and partly from archaeological evidence. One of the most important and best-known Anglo-Saxon sites is Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Assignment 5: Explain why this site is one of the most spectacular and important discoveries in British archaeology. Suggestions for a source: The British Museum: [www.britishmuseum.org](http://www.britishmuseum.org) Tip: Netflix film: The Dig King Alfred of Wessex King Alfred of Wessex was an important king in many ways. It was he who defeated the Danes in 878, thus halting the advance of Viking rule, to which several other kingdoms had submitted themselves. Assignment 6: Find out how Alfred contributed to the development of Anglo-Saxon language. (3x) Suggestions for a source: [www.literaryocean.com](http://www.literaryocean.com) Tip: Netflix series The last kingdom (based on the book by Bernard Cornwell which you can find in the library at school) Assignment 7: Read Beowulf ***Beowulf*** Beowulf. The opening page. The most famous work from The Early Middle Ages is the poem Beowulf. Beowulf is the oldest European text written in a vernacular (i.e. common people's) language, in this case Old English. In the Middle Ages, the early Middle Ages in particular, it was normal to write literature in Latin, rather than, for example, English, Dutch or French. It is not known who wrote Beowulf or quite how old the poem is. The only medieval copy in existence is a manuscript from the late tenth century, but the poem is probably a lot older than that. The belief is that it dates from some time in the sixth century. That would make it very early: the oldest story written in Dutch, for example, comes from the eleventh century. In order to understand the poem properly, one needs to know something about the period it comes from, because the Anglo-Saxon world was very different from our own. The landmass that we now know as Great Britain was divided into numerous small states, each with its own king or lord. Few of these kings managed to remain in power for long: they tended to die young (often in battle) or were deposed by rivals. In this period, society was dominated by lords and retainers, as depicted in Beowulf. For the members of this elite, life's central dramas were played out in the royal courts and on the battlefield. Retainers were kept in place and rewarded with gold and silver, in exchange for their loyalty to the king and their assistance in battle. Kings were expected to pay 'royally' for their retainers' support, and the retainers were expected to be willing to die for their lords. At times of (relative) peace, poets provided entertainment. They recited well-known poems from memory and accompanied themselves on the harp. This was quite a feat[^1^](#fn1){#fnref1.footnote-ref}, when you consider that Beowulf consists of more than thousand lines of verse, written in a complex style. The first few lines will give you a flavour: \[Prologue: The rise of the Danish nation\] Old English: Modern English (by Seamus Heaney) Hw**ae**t, we G**a**r-Dena in g**ea**td**a**gum So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by Þ**eo**dc**y**ninga þr**y**m gefr**u**non, and the kings who ruled them had courage. and greatness. h**u** ða **ae**þelingas **e**llen fr**e**mendon. We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns As you will see, the poem's lines do not rhyme at the end, but are linked by alliteration (the same starting letters); rhythm was also very important. Poetry had to conform to complex rules: each line consisted of two halves and four stressed syllables and was associated with the adjacent lines by alliteration. In the passage quoted above, the stressed syllables are printed bold, and the alliterative syllables are underlined. Perhaps surprisingly, Beowulf is set not in England, but in Scandinavia, at the time of the Migration of the Peoples (the fifth and sixth centuries). Thus, the characters may reasonably be described as the forefathers of the Anglo-Saxon nation. Beowulf's storyline centres on a hero of enormous strength, who acquires fame by fighting various monsters. The poem begins with the family history of the Danish King Hrothgar. As a young hero who still had to prove himself, Beowulf travels from Geatland to Heorot, Hrothgar's ancestral home, to slay the bloodthirsty monster Grendel and his equally dreadful mother. Some years later, by which time he himself is king, he tackles a dragon. During this last fight, he is injured by the dragon and subsequently dies of his wounds. The poem ends with Beowulf's cremation on an enormous pyre. Various translations of Beowulf are available, some in verse and others in prose. Below, you will see two translations of the same passage, describing the arrival of Grendel at the king's hall, where everyone, including the guard, is fast asleep. The first excerpt is a translation by Seamus Heaney: 710 In off the moors, down through the mist-bands God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping. The bane[^2^](#fn2){#fnref2.footnote-ref} of the race of men roamed forth, hunting for a prey in the high hall. Under the cloud-murk he moved toward it 715 Until it shone above him, a sheer keep of fortified gold[^3^](#fn3){#fnref3.footnote-ref}. Nor was that the first time He had scouted the grounds of Hrothgar's dwelling- Although never in his life, before or since, Did he find harder fortune of hall-defenders, 720 Spurned[^4^](#fn4){#fnref4.footnote-ref} and joyless, he journeyed on ahead and arrived at the bawn[^5^](#fn5){#fnref5.footnote-ref}. The iron-braced door turned on its hinge when his hands touched it. Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open The mouth of the building, maddening for blood, 725 pacing the length of the patterned floor With his loathsome[^6^](#fn6){#fnref6.footnote-ref} tread, while baleful[^7^](#fn7){#fnref7.footnote-ref} light, Flame more than light, flared from his eyes. He saw many men in the mansion, sleeping, a ranked company of kinsmen and warriors 730 quartered together. And his glee was demonic, picturing the mayhem[^8^](#fn8){#fnref8.footnote-ref}: before morning he would rip life from limb and devour them, feed on their flesh; but his fate that night was due to change, his days of ravening[^9^](#fn9){#fnref9.footnote-ref} had come to an end. The second excerpt is a prose translation by Michael Swanton: Then out of the wasteland came Grendel, advancing beneath the misty slopes; carried the wrath[^10^](#fn10){#fnref10.footnote-ref} of God. The wicked ravage intended to ensnare someone of the human race in that lofty hall. He strode beneath clouds until he could most clearly make out the wine-hall, the treasure-house of men, gleaming with gold plate. That was not the first time he had sought out the home of Hrothgar. Never in all the days of his life, before nor since, did he have worse luck in meeting thanes [^11^](#fn11){#fnref11.footnote-ref}in the hall. The creature, bereft [^12^](#fn12){#fnref12.footnote-ref} of joys, came on, making his way to the hall. The door, fastened with fire-forged bars, gave way immediately once he touched it with his hands; intent on evil, swollen with rage he thrust open the mouth of the building. After that the fiend [^13^](#fn13){#fnref13.footnote-ref} advanced, angry at heart, swiftly stepped on to the patterned floor. From his eyes, very like fire, there gleamed ugly light. Within the hall he saw many warriors, a band of kinsmen[^14^](#fn14){#fnref14.footnote-ref} sleeping, a troop of young warriors all together. Then his heart laughed; the dreadful monster intended that, before the day came, he should have severed life from the body of each of them, now the chance of a glut[^15^](#fn15){#fnref15.footnote-ref} of feasting had come his way. It was not his destiny that, when that night was over, he should taste more of mankind. Once Beowulf has killed Grendel and a second monster, he returns home to Geatland, where he becomes king following the death of his uncle Hygelac. He reigns justly for fifty years. The second passage, again from the translation by Seamus Heaney, comes from the end of the poem. Beowulf has died of mortal injuries sustained fighting a dragon. Wiglaf, the young retainer who was the only person to help him, addresses the others. 2862 Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, spoke disdainfully[^16^](#fn16){#fnref16.footnote-ref} and in disappointment: "Anyone ready to admit the truth 2865 will surely realize that the lord of men who showered you with gifts and gave you the armour you are standing in -- when he would distribute helmets and mail-shirts to men on the mead-benches, a prince treating his thanes in hall 2870 to the best he could find, far or near- was throwing weapons uselessly away. It would be a sad waste when the war broke out. Beowulf had little cause to brag about his armed guard; yet God who ordains[^17^](#fn17){#fnref17.footnote-ref} 2875 who wins or loses allowed him to strike with his own blade when bravery was needed. There was little I could do to protect his life in the heat of the fray[^18^](#fn18){#fnref18.footnote-ref}, but I found new strength welling up when I went to help him. 2880 Then my sword connected and the deadly assaults of our foe grew weaker, the fire coursed less strongly from his head. But, when the worst happened too few rallied around the prince. So it is good-bye now to all you know and love 2885 on your home ground, the open-handedness, the giving of war-swords. Every one of you with freeholds of land, our whole nation, will be dispossessed, once prince from beyond get tidings[^19^](#fn19){#fnref19.footnote-ref} of how you turned and fled 2890 and disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame." Assignment 8: Translate part of Beowulf written in old English into modern English. Your teacher will provide an Old English-English word index. (Atherton, 2006) The following passage shows how a wife could become important as a pledge of peace between nations, a diplomatic presence at great feasts in the mead hall: Hwilum maera cwen, Friðusibb folca flet eall geondhwearf, Baedde byre geonge, oft hio beahwriðan Secge sealed, aer hie to setle geong. (Beowulf, lines 2016b-2019) At times the great queen, peace-pledge of nations processed all through the hall, encouraged by the young men, often she gave a ring to a warrior, before she returned to her seat Assignment 9: Write down at least 5 words that you could translate into Modern English without using the word index. Cwen/folca/to/setle/geong Assignment 10: Answer the questions 1. The poem Beowulf is set in a period when Christianity had yet to become established all across Western Europe. Nevertheless, there are many references to God in the poem (see quoted passages). Can you suggest why this might be? At this time, monks and others within the church were almost the only people who could read and write. When the poem was written, the Anglo-Saxons had been Christians for about a hundred years. What they wrote was naturally dominated by Christian thinking. Whoever wrote down or copied Beowulf adapted it by removing heathen elements and replacing them with christian 2. At the start of the first quoted passage, Grendel is introduced as a bloodthirsty monster. Give a number of examples from which his nature is apparent. Grendel is described as greedy, the curse of the human race His rage boiled over, he ripped open And his glee was demonic He would rip life from limb devour them 3. A\) In the second passage, Wiglaf lists various valuables that Beowulf has given to his retainers. Why does he do so? Wiglaf underlines Beowulf's generosity towards his retainers, in order to make the point that they did not repay their lord as they should have done B\) Explain Wiglaf's first (long) sentence in your own words. C\) What does Wiglaf accuse the retainers of? Why is this such a serious accusation? He accuses them of disloyalty and cowardice for failing to defend their king, which was the ultimate form of shameful D\) What will happen to Beowulf's retainers now, and why? Had to leave their country, they committed a serious crime  Extra: Watch part of the film Beowulf and Grendel. Assignment 11: Watch The history of English in ten minutes, Chapter 2, The Norman Conquest: French words in the English language after the Norman Conquest (1:17) and write down at least 10 words with an Anglo-Saxons origin and a French origin. Anglo-Saxon origin French origin -------------------- --------------- *buy* *purchase* cow beef pig pork sheep mutton belief faith shirt blouse forgive pardon wild savage ghost phantom harbour port Fair, lovely beautiful Assignment 12: Watch and listen to a video about The Norman Conquest and the effects it had on the English language and answer the questions: 1. What was William's nickname? William the conqueror 2. What was the language of the common man? vernacular 3. How many new French words entered the English language? 10,000 4. Did The Hundred Years' War indeed last 100 year? No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ssignment 13: Read the late Middle Ages. After 1066, the upper strata of Anglo-Saxon society came under the influence of the Norman nobility. William The Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings, thus securing the English throne. He proceeded to appoint Normans to key positions in the government, the Church, the army and the judiciary and rewarded them with generous grants of land. The old Anglo-Saxon structure of kings and warriors disappeared, to be succeeded by a feudal system, based on lords and vassals. Thus, Medieval English society became divided into three classes: the nobility (mainly French speaking), the clergy (who conversed and wrote predominantly in Latin) and the commoners (whose language was English). The first two groups held almost all the land, which was nevertheless worked predominantly by free farmers and serfs[^20^](#fn20){#fnref20.footnote-ref} from the third group. The English commoners and the French nobility led quite separate existences, certainly up to the late twelfth century. The first king of England who actually spoke English was Edward III, who did not reign until 1327 to 1377. Religion played an important role in society: life on earth was regarded as merely a precursor to the ever after. The emphasis was therefore firmly on spirituality; the mortal individual was not supposed to take precedence. The spirit of the age was perhaps summed up by the Latin motto *Memento Mori* (remember that you will die). After considerable struggles a new dynasty assumed the English crown in 1154: The Plantagenets. Over time, The Plantagenet monarchs sought to acquire still greater power and wealth for themselves, at the expense of the nobility and the Church. This almost led to civil war, when several nobles rose against the tyranny of King John. In 1215, he was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a sort of contract under which the nobility was granted certain privileges in return for their loyalty.  From 1066, the domain of the English monarch consisted not only of England itself, but also of parts of France. King Edward III claimed to be heir to the French throne through his mother's family and declared war on France in 1337. The French crown remained in dispute, with periodic outbreaks of open hostility, for more than a hundred years. Historians therefore refer to this long-running disagreement as the Hundred Years' War. The fighting came to an end in 1453, with the English left in control only of the area around Calais. However, it was not until 1801 that the English finally gave up their formal claim to the French throne. Midway through the fourteenth century, the period of population growth came to an end, not only in England, but also throughout Europe. The cause was the Plague, also known as the Black Death: a highly virulent disease spread by rat fleas, whose host animals came from Asia to Europe in the holds of ships. Around the world, an estimated seventy-five million people died of the Black Death. England was first hit in 1348. Nearly half the population perished, leading to major labour shortages and to cultivatable land being left untilled. This in turn caused a major economic downturn. While the English monarchs were still preoccupied in France, there was disquiet among the common people back home. The labour shortage caused by the Plague made the peasantry more self-confident and they began to demand greater rights, culminating in open rebellion -- *The peasants' Revolt* -- in 1381. King Richard II, then just fourteen years old, managed to put the revolt down, and subsequently was as severe as ever with the lower classes. Immediately following the Hundred Years' War, in 1453, internal power struggles resurfaced in England. The crown was contested by two noble houses: the House of Lancaster and The House of York. There was a lot of fighting, as the throne was seized first by the one side and then by the other. The symbol of the House of Lancaster was a red rose, while that of York was a white rose; the conflicts that characterised the period 1455 to 1485 are therefore referred to as the Wars of the Roses. These wars ultimately brought a new dynasty to the throne in 1485: the Tudors, who ruled until 1603.  In literature, we find French-language stories in circulation (e.g., *Roman de la Rose*) and the introduction of rhyme. It is not until the fourteenth century that literature written in the language of the ordinary people begins to gain prominence. The most famous name from this period was that of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose best-known work was *The Canterbury Tales*. The most popular genres of the day were fables, ballads and 'romances' (such as *Havelok the Dane* and *King Horn*). Early examples of literature written in the language of the masses included the thirteenth-century ditties and folk songs celebrating the arrival of summer or the beauty of a young woman. The late Middle Ages was therefore a rich period in literary terms, especially when one considers how little material has actually been preserved. Much was never written down, and that which has survived is just a small and unrepresentative portion of what was produced. Assignment 14: Read nobility, clergy and the rest. Before reading, talk to a classmate about what you know about the feudal system. In the Middle Ages, society was organised along very different lines from that we are used to today. There was no democracy, but what is known as a feudal system with three levels, dominated by the nobility. In the early Middle Ages, the king had absolute power, which he sought to retain at all costs. He surrounded himself with allies, who supported him in return for material rewards. The king 'lent' pieces of land temporarily to men who had served him well in the army. As well as enabling him to secure their loyalty, this aided good government, since the king often owned too much land to manage it all efficiently himself. The men to whom the king's land was lent, known as vassals, swore an oath to the king, promising to rule the land in the name of the king and to aid the king in the event of war. Over time, the lands that had originally been lent out temporarily became vassals' hereditary property. This meant that it was no longer up to the king who should rule over each area; instead, control was handed down from father to son. The vassals began to govern their lands as they saw fit, rather than as the king told them to. Thus, the increasingly independent and powerful descendants of the vassals became a distinct social class: the nobility. The second tier of feudal society was the clergy. The Church was in effect part of the political system of the day. Following the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kings to Christianity, not only warriors, but also bishops and other powerful church leaders were lent or given land. Other rich Anglo-Saxon nobles left property to the Church, in the hope of securing a place in heaven. So, the clergy acquired considerable wealth and power. Beneath the nobility and clergy came a class made up of peasant farmers, traders and craftsmen (later to be known as commoners). These people were largely free to run their own lives, although it was normal for them to have to give a proportion of what they produced to the nobility or clergy as a sort of tax. As well as the three classes described above, medieval society included serfs, villeins and slaves. Across large parts of Western Europe, serfs formed the largest social group. A serf was a farmer who owned a small piece of land, but also had obligations to an overlord (a member of the nobility or clergy), these obligations involved paying taxes or providing services. Villeins and slaves did not own land. A villein was a bound servant, who was obliged to, for example, work a small piece of his lord's land. Unlike slaves they were at least free to have families and to support them with what they were able to produce on the land they worked for their lords. Furthermore, they could not be sold separately from the land they worked or separately from their families. By contrast, slaves had no rights whatsoever.  Assignment 15: Watch and listen to *'What was feudalism?*' A video made by the Royal Holloway University of London. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfXholnOS9E (3:21) What contributed to the decline of feudalism? Medieval king \> hired professional soldiers\ Black death \> 1348 \> lesser workmen \> demanded higher wages\ urbanisation \> money economy Assignment 16: Read Geoffrey Chaucer and *The Canterbury Tales*. Geoffrey Chaucer was probably born in 1343 and died in 1400. Almost his whole life was spent in the service of the English court. At the age of just sixteen, he travelled to France to fight in the Hundred Years' War. In about 1366, he married a lady-in-waiting, Philippa Roet, about whom little else is known; the couple were to have two sons, Lewis and Thomas. A year later, Chaucer entered the service of the English King, Edward III, for whom he undertook a number of diplomatic missions to destinations such as Navarra (Spain) and Italy, where he probably met the famous writers Petrarcha and Boccaccio. Economically, Chaucer did very well for himself. Between 1374 and 1385, he worked in London as a tax inspector, making sure that export taxes were paid on wool, fleeces and leather. Despite these responsibilities, he was able to find time to write and to travel extensively. In this period, he wrote his less well-known works *The Parliament of Fowls, The House of Fame and Froilus and Criseyde.* In 1385, Chaucer was appointed as a judge in the county of Kent and released from his job as a tax inspector. Not long afterwards, his wife Philippa died. Then, in 1389, King Richard II gave Chaucer the well-paid office of Clerk of the King's Works, which meant he was responsible for looking after important buildings, such as the Tower of London. He also managed the king's hunting lodges, parks and mills. A year later he became custodian of one of the royal forests -- a job that came with a handsome pension of £20 a year, then a very large sum. Late in 1399, he moved to a house in London, close to Westminster Abbey. Despite hiring a fifty-three-year lease Chaucer was to live there only briefly. After an eventful life, he died at the end of 1400. He lies buried in Westminster Abbey, in the area now known as 'Poets' Corner. Assignment 17: Chaucer benefited from the preceding 300 years of language evolution. One line from his *Troilus and Criseyde* shows the journey of the language up to that point: *'Welcome, my knyght, my pees, my sufficance'* Find the origin of the 3 underlined words. () What is your conclusion? Old English/French/latin Geoffrey Chaucer Assignment 18: Read *The Canterbury Tales.* The Canterbury Tales Chaucer's most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, was written between 1386 and his death in 1400. It tells the story of a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Thomas Becket, a bishop who was murdered in 1170 by the king's followers. The Prologue describes how a group of pilgrims meet in London and set out together to Canterbury. To pass the time, they agree to tell each other stories as they travel. The innkeeper, who came up with the idea, promises a free meal to the teller of the best story on his return. Unfortunately, Chaucer died before he could complete The Canterbury Tales, which thus comprise twenty-two stories, although there should have been about 120: two told by each pilgrim on the outward journey and another on the way home.  The text begins with a General Prologue (introduction), which explains to the reader who the people in the group are and how they come to be together. The overall narrator is Chaucer himself, who passes on to the reader the tales that the pilgrims tell each other. In the General Prologue, a compelling description of the pilgrims is presented, before the book moves on to the Tales themselves. Several of the storytellers preface their tales with personal Prologues, in which they say something about themselves and perhaps respond to the previous tale.  One of the great charms of The Canterbury Tales is the individuality of the characters: they come from all levels and sections of medieval society and are not all alike. The individuality is already apparent from the General Prologue and elaborated in the personal Prologues and the tales. Although essentially self-contained, the individual tales are linked in certain ways. We see this in, for example, the first two tales, told by the Knight and the Miller.  [Assignment 19:] Use your cell phone and find a definition of a frame story. Story set within a story, narrative told by main character to audience   Frame story  The Canterbury Tales is a frame story: the story about the pilgrimage to Canterbury simply links a lot of essentially separate tales. Chaucer probably encountered the frame story concept while in Italy. There he will have been introduced to the work of the Italian author Boccaccio, who used the same technique in his *Decamerone* (circa 1350), in which ten young people try to amuse each other during a forced stay in the country by telling each other stories.    Medieval manuscript of *The Canterbury Tales*     [Assignment 20:] Can you mention two other examples of a frame story? The titanic, Frankenstein [Assignment 21:] Watch and listen to part of *The General Prologue*: lines 1 up to 78.. (5:10 -- 8:56) 1 Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote\ When April with its sweet-smelling showers\ 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,\ Has pierced the drought of March to the root,\ 3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour\ And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid\ 4 Of which vertu engendred is the flour;\ By which power the flower is created;\ 5 Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth\ When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,\ 6 Inspired hath in every holt and heeth\ In every wood and field has breathed life into\ 7 The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne\ The tender new leaves, and the young sun\ 8 Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,\ Has run half its course in Aries,\ 9 And smale foweles maken melodye,\ And small fowls make melody,\ 10 That slepen al the nyght with open ye\ Those that sleep all the night with open eyes\ 11 (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),\ (So Nature incites them in their hearts),\ 12 Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,\ Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,\ 13 And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,\ And professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores,\ 14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;\ To distant shrines, known in various lands;\ 15 And specially from every shires ende\ And specially from every shire\'s end\ 16 Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,\ Of England to Canterbury they travel,\ 17 The hooly blisful martir for to seke,\ To seek the holy blessed martyr,\ 18 That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.\ Who helped them when they were sick. 19 Bifil that in that seson on a day,\ It happened that in that season on one day,\ 20 In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay\ In Southwark at the Tabard Inn as I lay\ 21 Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage\ Ready to go on my pilgrimage\ 22 To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,\ To Canterbury with a very devout spirit,\ 23 At nyght was come into that hostelrye\ At night had come into that hostelry\ 24 Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye\ Well nine and twenty in a company\ 25 Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle\ Of various sorts of people, by chance fallen\ 26 In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,\ In fellowship, and they were all pilgrims,\ 27 That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde.\ Who intended to ride toward Canterbury.\ 28 The chambres and the stables weren wyde,\ The bedrooms and the stables were spacious,\ 29 And wel we weren esed atte beste.\ And we were well accommodated in the best way.\ 30 And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,\ And in brief, when the sun was (gone) to rest,\ 31 So hadde I spoken with hem everichon\ I had so spoken with everyone of them\ 32 That I was of hir felaweshipe anon,\ That I was of their fellowship straightway,\ 33 And made forward erly for to ryse,\ And made agreement to rise early,\ 34 To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse.\ To take our way where I (will) tell you. 35 But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space,\ But nonetheless, while I have time and opportunity,\ 36 Er that I ferther in this tale pace,\ Before I proceed further in this tale,\ 37 Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun\ It seems to me in accord with reason\ 38 To telle yow al the condicioun\ To tell you all the circumstances\ 39 Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,\ Of each of them, as it seemed to me,\ 40 And whiche they weren, and of what degree,\ And who they were, and of what social rank,\ 41 And eek in what array that they were inne;\ And also what clothing that they were in;\ 42 And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne.\ And at a knight then will I first begin. ([1.1 General Prologue \| Harvard\'s Geoffrey Chaucer Website)](https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/general-prologue-0) [Assignment 22:] 1. What is a pilgrimage? 2. When is this story taking place and why do they make this pilgrimage at this time of year? 3. What kind of people are going on this pilgrimage? Give evidence for you answer by using the excerpt above Assignment 23: Read *The Pardoner* (in class) The Pardoner The Pardoner is a man who sells religious pardons for sins. Roman Catholics believe that after death one may not go straight to heaven or hell, but to purgatory. This is a disagreeable place where one atones for the sins one has committed during life. How long one has to stay in purgatory depends on the seriousness of one's sins, but in the Middle Ages people believed that one could reduce one's time in purgatory by buying pardons. Although all pardons supposedly originated from the Church, there was a lot of unscrupulous trading and even forgery. *The Canterbury Tales' General Prologue* describes the pardoner as an unpleasant character with thin spiky hair, bulging eyes and a high voice. He is not someone who would seem to invite trust, yet he always manages to do good business. In his personal *Prologue*, he gives us an insight into the way he does so: *The Pardoner* (lines 329-351) "My lords," he said, "in churches where I preach 330 cultivate a haughty kind of speech And ring it out as roundly as a bell; I've got it all by heart the tale I tell. I have a text, it always is the same And always has been, since I learnt the game, 335 Old as the hills and fresher than the grass *Radix malorum est Cupiditas*[^21^](#fn21){#fnref21.footnote-ref} But first I make pronouncement[^22^](#fn22){#fnref22.footnote-ref} whence[^23^](#fn23){#fnref23.footnote-ref} I come, Show them my bulls[^24^](#fn24){#fnref24.footnote-ref} in detail and in sum, And flaunt the papal seal for their inspection 340 as warrant for my bodily protection, That none may have the impudence to irk Or hinder me in Christ's most holy work. Then I tell stories, as occasion calls, Showing forth bulls from popes and cardinals 345 From patriarchs and bishops; as I do I speak some words in Latin -- just a few -- To put a saffron tinge[^25^](#fn25){#fnref25.footnote-ref} upon my preaching And stir devotion with a spice of teaching. Then I bring all my long glass bottles out 350 Cram-full of bones and ragged bits of clout[^26^](#fn26){#fnref26.footnote-ref} Relics they are, at least for such are known. (lines 377 -- 406) "Good men and women, here's a word of warning; If there is anyone in church this morning Guilty of sin, so far beyond expression 380 Horrible, that he dare not make confession Or any woman, whether young or old, That's cuckolded[^27^](#fn27){#fnref27.footnote-ref} her husband, be she told That such as she shall have no power or grace To offer to my relics in this place. 385 But those who can acquit[^28^](#fn28){#fnref28.footnote-ref} themselves of blame, Can all come up and offer in God's name, And I will shrive[^29^](#fn29){#fnref29.footnote-ref} them by the authority Committed in this papal bull to me." That trick's been worth a hundred marks a year 390 Since I became a Pardoner, never fear, Then, priestlike in my pulpit[^30^](#fn30){#fnref30.footnote-ref}, with a frown, I stand, and when the yokels[^31^](#fn31){#fnref31.footnote-ref} have sat down, I preach, as you have heard me say before, And tell a hundred lying mockeries more, 395 I take great pains, and stretching out my neck, To east and west I crane about and peck Just like a pigeon sitting on a barn. My hands and tongue together spin the yarn[^32^](#fn32){#fnref32.footnote-ref} And all my antics[^33^](#fn33){#fnref33.footnote-ref} are a joy to see, 400 The curse of avarice[^34^](#fn34){#fnref34.footnote-ref} and cupidity[^35^](#fn35){#fnref35.footnote-ref} Is all my sermon, for it frees the pelf.[^36^](#fn36){#fnref36.footnote-ref} Out come the pence, and specially for myself, For my exclusive purpose is to win And not at all to castigate[^37^](#fn37){#fnref37.footnote-ref} their sin. 405 Once dead what matters how their souls may fare? They can go blackberrying, for all I care! Assignment 24: Answer the questions 1. What things does the Pardoner have with him and what are they for? Religions pardons, relics, bulls = oorkondes, 2. A. The pardoner makes no secret of the fact that he tries to deceive his customers. Identify ten lines in the passage in which he demonstrates his dishonesty. I preach, as you have heard me say before, And tell a hundred lying mockeries more, I take great pains, and stretching out my neck, To east and west I crane about and peck Just like a pigeon sitting on a barn. My hands and tongue together spin the yarn And all my antics are a joy to see, The curse of avarice and cupidity Is all my sermon, for it frees the pelf. Out come the pence, and specially for myself, For my exclusive purpose is to win And not at all to castigate their sin. 3. A. The way that the Pardoner talks to his fellow pilgrims in the quoted passage differ from the way he talks to the yokel he refers to. Describe and explain the difference. he is honest with the pilgrims, but deceives the simple country folk \ lovers summer immortal 7. What example of personification can be found in this poem? Line 11: death \