Middle English Notes Flashcards
- Described to be well traveled and desirable, emphasizing her lure
- Authoritative, biblical, strait forward
- She challenges the traditional gender roles
The wife of baths
- The narrator
- Talkative and true to his word, judge mental
- Lighthearted, tries to keep people in check
- Lower class status business and and trade worker
Host
- Poor man but rich in faith and kind deeds
- He is patient through adversity and gave as much as he
- The author is inspired by him and he is a good man
- Never starized
The parson
studious and not religious, unemployed, respectful, strait forward, well educated
Oxford Cleric
- He wears blood red garments
- Relies on superstitions and astrology
- Not very religious
- Chaucer uses lots of sarcasm with him (ridiculing and condemning)
- Middle class, keeps his money close
The doctor
- bulging eyes, untrustworthy and greedy
- Uses satire to exaggerate his greediness and untruthful ways in his profession
- Most likely in the lower class
The Pardoner
- tough, successful sailor, lacks wealth
- Rode a farmers horse
- Talked enthusiastically about him, he
- Privateer, not a part of the church
- Low middle class,
The skipper
- egotistical
- He is not a good person, he doesnt care what people think of him
- He’s a lower class
- He gets drunk all the time and likes onions and garlic
The summoner
- Modest and quiet
- Her job is to feed the poor but she feeds her dogs instead
- Chaucer pokes fun at her as she has a big forehead
- He says she is a very polite and peaceful lady
- Represents a reverend person bc of her sympathies and tender feelings
The nun
- Big and heavy, had a sword and shield that he carried
- He plays the bagpipes as they left town
- His tone is satirical because he makes fun of him
- He was a lower class character
- Does rough work for a living
The miller
- great horse rider and he is fat with a skinny head
- Dresses in fine furs and expensive clothes
- High middle class, has many horses, very well fed
- High class but not as high as a king
The monk
- old, choleric and thin
- He is a hungry liar
- Wealthy, awkward, dresses rich but looks sickly
- He was a part of the lower class but he became wealthy
- Managed a large estate
The reeve
- he is very good at his job
- He wears nice clothing
the lawyer
- selfless, working man, lobed his job
- He gives to the poor even though he isn’t wealthy
- Think he’s in lower class because he does manual laborer
- that carted manure
the plowman
Why did William, duke of Normandy, invade England? What year did this occur?
William felt betrayed that King Edward did not hand him the throne so he invaded England in 1066.
What was feudalism?
the feudal system; the social, economic, and politalc system of Europe in the Middle Ages. Under this system, individuals gave military and other services to their overlords in return for protection and land. The ultimate overlord was the king
What three things did the Normans bring to complement the Anglo-Saxon culture?
- Administrative ability
- Emphasis on law and order
- Cultural unity
What was the official language of England during the Norman rule?
French became the official language of England during the Norman rule.
What genres of literature were produced during the “learning boom” of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries?
Anglo-Norman prose, bibles and gospels, poems, religious allegories, morality plays, and biographies were the genres of literature produced during the “leaning boom”.
What groups made up the diverse population of England during Medieval times?
Priests, knights, laborers (peasents) made up the diverse population of England during Medieval times.
How were villages important in the Middle Ages?
The villages were built around castles and were where most of the Europeans lived.
What did the most distinctive form of literature from the Middle Ages deal with? What are the two most famous romance narratives?
The most distinctive form of literature from the Middle Ages deals with the ideal of courtly love. The most famous romantic narratives are Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.
Made the english language and hailed as father of english poetry. Composed his works in the english vernacular when the language of literature, science, diplomacy, and religion were latin and french
Geoffrey Chaucer
- Born into a middle class family
- Born in London in the early 1340s
- His father was a wine merchant and was able to support Chaucer with some education
- He became a page to a prominent family and received the finest training in good manners
- He became attached to several noble patrons
Chaucer’s childhood
- take place in Great Britain
- fictional legend with many different versions
- sir Thomas malory brought together 1st collection
- 12th and 13th century
arthurian legends
castle (unreal)
camelot
- in christian mythology the cup used by Jesus during the last supper
- in arthurian legends the hero must prove himself worthly to be in it’s presence
holy grail
- specially reserved seat at the round table for the knight who was destained to quest for return with holy grail
- sir Galahad -> only knight who sits on it. Fatal to anyone else who sat in it
siege perilous
- mystical table in camelot
-symbol of unity, no head/foot = equality - given to Arthur by king leodegrance
round table
- king arthur’s mythical sword
- sword in stone is only drawn by real king
- other stories tell of sword given to arthur by the lady of the lake
excalibur
- ideas associated with medivil knighthood
examples ->
– honor, courtly love, bravery, loyalty to king
chivalry
age: 7
- sevant in a household
- learns weaponry, courtesy, religion
page
age: 14
- personal aide to a knight
squire
age: 18-21
- if he can master the skills he becomes a knight
knight
- son of uther pendragon + igraine
- raised by sir ector
- drew the sword in the stone/received escalator from the lady of the lake
- married to guinevre
King Arthur
- greatest of king arthur’s knights
- one of the most trusted
- had an affair with guinevre
sir lancelot
- son of Lancelot + Elaine
- seat was siege perilous
- quest for the holy grail
sir Galahad
- Arthur + kay raised by sir actor
- arthur’s foster brother
- tries to claim sword in the stone
sir kay
- king arthur’s nephew
- defender of the poor
- ladies man
sir gawain
- Illegitimate son of Arthur
- traitor, takes over kingdom while arthur is away
sir morded
- wizard in arthurian legends
- king’s advisor
merlin
- nobility
- clergy
- commoners
3 classes of medieval society
