The Middle Ages Flashcards
contains background & context, "The Wanderer", "Beowulf", "The Canterbury Tales"
Why are the middle ages called the middle ages?
- before ancient world and after (Modernity) Renaissance and Reformation
- was the long period (1000 years) in between those two
What is the humoral theory
human body was governed by four fundamental fluids
* blood: heart
* phlegm: brain
* yellow bile: liver
* black bile: spleen
–> needed to be balanced for good health
What type of poem is the Wanderer and why?
Old English Elegy
expresses themes of loss, exile, longing
serious reflection
What is the setting of the Wanderer like? What tone does it create?
tone: reflection and mourning –> reminisces about better times but is now left alone, wandering, enduring hardships
setting: spiritual and emotional exile
–> cold and desolate landscape
–> ruined world
What is the problem of the Wanderer?
loss and isolation
had to flee when his lord (the king) died
What can we infer about the culture of the time from the poem “The Wanderer?”
- Warrior culture: emphasizes the value of loyalty, honor, communal bonds and the pursuit of glory
- also incorporates Christian influences: seeking solace in God -> shift where warriors started to see salvation and eternal peace
How many speakers are the in the poem “The Wanderer”?
2 or 3
setting narrator (poet), wanderer and maybe the wanderer as a wise man
How is the Christian message in the “story” of the Wanderer?
Towards the end of the poem, the wanderer turns to thought of God and the afterlife as a possible source of hope and redemption. He suggest that peace might be found in God’s embrace
What formulaic writing traditions do we see in the poem “The Wanderer”?
- Alliteration: “Fate is fully fixed”
- Kennings: “frost-cold-sea”;”gold-friend”;”earthstepper”
- repetitive phrases
What genre does the text “Beowulf” belong to?
heroic, epic poem
Do we see instances of warrior culture in the text “Beowulf”?
- Heroic-code between King and Beowulf: loyalty, generosity
- Pursuit of glory and fame: desire to fight Grendel without weapons
- Feasting and gift-giving: gold, armor, treasure
Who is the narrator of “Beowulf” and what values does the narrator hold?
omniscient 3rd person narrator
Admires qualities of bravery, loyalty and strength
incorporates Christian themes: fate in God’s hands
Who is Grendel in “Beowulf” and what’s his role
- monster -> decides to be one
–> he needs to be this pure evil to make readers acknowledge Beowulf’s greatness
Grendel is the son of Cain the traitor, an evil being that the pagans (as the children of Abel) can fight against to legitimize their own christianity before the time of Christ
-> also: the theme in Beowulf is the in-/and outside, resembling the meaning of community (community is important in anglosaxon warrior culture) -> the text defines community by defining what‘s outside -> Beowulf is about defining the cruel outside world, Grendel represents said cruel outside world.
Why is a text (“Beowulf”) about Scandinavians so important for English Literature?
- oldest surviving work written in Old English
- foundational text for the study of the development of the English Literary tradition
How has the society in “The Canterbury Tales” changed from the previous texts?
- Strict class system vs more flexible –> improvement through trade, skills, wealth
- strict belief/loyalty vs personal view of religion, criticising church
- economy based in farming vs trade, business, money-making
- heroic tales vs humorous, more realistic, daily life stories