8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

1/7

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

2/7

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

3/7

Introducing English Literature

The literary culture of the Middle Ages was farmore international than national;

It was divided more by lines of classand

audiencethan by language. Latin was the language of the Church and of

learning.

After the 11th century, French became the

dominant language of secular European literaryculture.

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

4/7

Early English Literature Themes

Particular attention is given in Medieval literature toreligious orders and to the ascetic ideals.

When a text is geared toward a particular class ofpeople, it is said to be written ad status, Latin for "to the

estate." The "First Estate" was the Church. The "Second Estate"

was the Nobility.The "Third Estate" was the Peasantry.

The 10thcentury Benedictine monk Aelfric gives thetheory of three estates clergy, nobles, and

commoners working harmoniously together. These "estates" are defined primarily by what one does

(as well as by the social class one is born into).

Women were also categorized according to threespecifically "feminine estates": virgin, wife and widow.

http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl512/meidhad.htmlhttp://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl512/meidhad.html

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

5/7

The Arthurian Cycle

The Arthurian cycle trace how French writers in the 12thand 13thcenturies transformed the legendary histories ofBritain into "romance.

The works of Chrtien de Troyes focus on the

adventures of individual knights of the Round Table andhow those adventures impinge upon the cult of chivalry.

In romance the adventurous quest is often entangledwith personal fulfillment of love for a lady achievingher love, protecting her honor.

In the 13thcentury, clerics turned the sagas of Arthur andhis knights especially Sir Lancelot into immenselylong prose romances.

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

6/7

Conclusions

Chaucer and his contemporaries are heirs toclassical and medieval cultures that had beenevolving for many centuries.

There is a tendency to think of the Middle Agesas a single culture in which architecture, art,music, and liturgy join in magnificentexpressions of a unified faith.

This view overlooks the diversity of medievalcultures and the social, political, religious,economic, and technological changes that tookplace over this vastly long period.

8/13/2019 Medieval and Renaissance Literature Curs 1

7/7

Course Assesment

Attendance: 20%

Seminar grade: 30%

Final examination: 50%