Medieval genres and works

Question 1

Old English genres

Answer 1

epic poetry, elegiac poetry, verse epic, prose

Question 2

Middle English genres

Answer 2

prose, narrative poetry, drama: miracle, mystery and morality plays

Question 3

Miracle Plays

Answer 3

10th and 11th century- church

lives of saints and martyrs + comic elements

Question 4

Mystery Plays

Answer 4

15th century- the market place

biblical key episodes, performed by local guilds on stages spread throughout the medieval city

Question 5

Morality Plays

Answer 5

15th and 16th century- theatre in the round
‘everyman’ (represents every person) seduced by vice, falls (Adam and Eve), repents and is finally saved by God’s mercy. Mankind, The Castle of Perseverance

Question 6

Interludes

Answer 6

15th and 16th century- aristocratic court

first secular drama, between courses of a banquet, a debate about what makes a good king. The Play of the Weather

Question 7

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

Answer 7

A series of short tales told in a frame narrative of a pilgrimage. Social satire, involves people from all walks of life, except for high nobility. Pilgrimage- an allegory of a sacred journey of the human soul to God and salvation. The contrast between the spiritual quest and the worldly motives. Includes naughty tales- fabliau The Miller’s Tale. Inspired by Boccaccio’s Il Decamerone.

Question 8

Le Morte d’Arthur

Sir Thomas Malory

Answer 8

Based on a compilation of French and English legends about the Old English King Arthur, the table round and the myth of the holy grail, that date back to 500 AD. Important work in the stock inventory of European Medieval literature.

Question 9

Brut

Layamon

Answer 9

First English national epic. Rooted in legends of the battle of Troy (general starting point for European myths): King Brutus of Troy the founder of Britain, parallel to Aeneas and Odysseus. Construction of cultural heritage- presenting England as civilized as ancient Greece and Rome.

Question 10

The Battle of Maldon

Answer 10

Old English heroic poem dates back to 910 AD. Based on a real battle between the Anglo- Saxons and the Scandinavians. Instructs on how to defeat and expel Vikings from Britain.

Question 11

The Seafarer

Answer 11

Old English elegiac poem about a man alone on the sea, reminiscing about a better past. Shaped by religious views of the time.

Question 12

Beowulf

Answer 12

Old English heroic epos considered the most important literary work of the Old English period. About a hero who travels great distances and proves his strength at impossible odds against supernatural beings.

Question 13

Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum

Bede

Answer 13

The political and religious history of England from Julius Cesar to the date of its completion- 8th century. Combines fact and fiction. Played a key role in the development of English national identity.

Question 14

Contemptus Mundi

Answer 14

flee the here and now, renounce earthly pleasures, fallen world, original sin, cater to immortal bliss of the immortal soul

Question 15

Wheel of Fortune

Answer 15

shows what happens to people who don’t flee the here and now- climbing up, reaching the top and inevitably falling to hell- punishment for being entangled in the earthly life