middle english Flashcards
When was the Middle English Period?
1066-1400
What event marks the beginning of the Middle English Period?
In 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England and defeated King Harold at Hastings
Give a definition of the feudal system.
The feudal system is a hierarchical system based on the ownership of land
Explain how the feudal system organized the country.
The king divided his land and distributed them to Norman lords, who on their part afterwards divided them. They gave them to knights who had farmers then work on it
What happened in 1066?
The invasion of England by William the Conqueror who then defeated King Harold at Hastings
Which book was commissioned by William the Conqueror?
Domesday book
What is Domesday Book?
It has all the land and property, houses, villages, mills, animals and the rights and duties of every landowner and every court written in it
Mention two kinds of poetry. mid english
romance and allegories
What is a romance?
A rhymed narrative poem
What is its theme? romance
A chivalrous adventure with courty love
Give an example of a romance.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
What is an allegory?
A story in which people, animals, things and/or happenings have a symbolic or hidden meaning
Who is the Father of English Poetry?
Geoffrey Chaucer
What is the name of Geoffrey Chaucer’s most important work?
The Canterbury Tales
What do you call the construction of this work?
It is a link and frame story
What is the central incident that unites this work?
A pilgrimage of thirty people traveling to the shrine in Canterbury
Why is this work so interesting to us?
The pilgrims represent the three classes of medieval society: the clerks, the common people and the nobility
Describe in what way drama developed in the Middle English Period.
The liturgical plays of the Old English Period turned into two different types of dramas
What kind of plays do you find in this period? mid engelish
Miracle- and Mystery plays
Explain both names of the plays Miracle- and Mystery plays
Miracle plays: plays dealing with lives of saints
Mystery plays: plays dealing with scenes from the bible
What were they usually called? Miracle- and Mystery plays
Cycle plays
Give four characteristics of these plays. Miracle- and Mystery plays
1: the plays were performed in open air or on wagons instead of within the church
2: the Latin was replaced with Middle-English
3: the actors were members of town guilds instead of priests
4: it was about the human elements of the bible
