Literacy rates in the Middle Ages were low, but those who were unable to

read could experience literature through ways other than private, silent
reading. Tom White explains how 'illiterate' individuals encountered literary
texts and traditions through textiles, wall paintings, sculptures and
listening to works read aloud.

However, for medieval people, the experience of literature was not necessarily dependent on
the kind of private, silent reading we now primarily associate with books and e-readers or
tablets. ‘Aurality’, the act of listening to a text read aloud, was particularly important in an age
during which levels of literacy were relatively low and books themselves were not as readily
available as they would later become. Read aloud, the text might be ‘shaped differently in
each performance by the particular conditions of the moment’.[1] Literary or narrative
materials could also be incorporated into other formats, such as textiles, wall paintings and
carved wooden panels and furniture. The experience of medieval literature encompassed
private reading, but also the shared, communal experience of aurality, as well as various
forms of material culture.

THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (455 CE-1485 CE)

1. THE OLD ENGLISH (ANGLO-SAXON) PERIOD (428-1066)

 The so-called "Dark Ages" (455 CE - 799 CE) occur when Rome falls and barbarian tribes move
into Europe. Franks, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Goths settle in the ruins of Europe and the
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes migrate to Britain, displacing native Celts into Scotland, Ireland, and
Wales. Early Old English poems such as Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The Seafarer originate
sometime late in the Anglo-Saxon period. The Carolingian Renaissance (800- 850 CE) emerges in
Europe. In central Europe, texts include early medieval grammars, encyclopedias, etc. In northern
Europe, this time period marks the setting of Viking sagas.
 The early portion of the Medieval period in England is dominated by Anglo-
Saxons, whose language is incomprehensible to today's speakers of English. That
early portion is known as the Old English period. (It is covered in a separate
section of this website.)

2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD (c. 1066-1450 CE)

 In 1066, Norman French armies invade and conquer England under William I. This marks the end
of the Anglo- Saxon hierarchy and the emergence of the Twelfth Century Renaissance (c. 1100-
1200 CE). French chivalric romances--such as works by Chretien de Troyes--and French fables--
such as the works of Marie de France and Jeun de Meun--spread in popularity. Abelard and other
humanists produce great scholastic and theological works. Adapted from
https://sites.google.com/site/zeebsenglisheducation/literaryperiods and
http://staff.gps.edu/gaither/literary_movements.htm
 French chivalric romances--such as works by Chretien de Troyes--and French fables-
-such as the works of Marie de France and Jeun de Meun--spread in
popularity. Abelard and other humanists produced great scholastic and
theological works.
 The Old English period came to an end with the Norman Invasion of 1066.
Normans spoke a dialect of French later called Anglo-Norman. Alongside Anglo-
Norman, Old English developed into Middle English. Middle English is a
distinct variety of English, influenced in large part by Anglo-Norman French. For
example, Old English speakers did not distinguish between /f/ and /v/. Just like
speakers of Modern German, OE speakers would use both sounds ([f] and [v])
for the letter <f>. "Aefre" was pronounced [ever]. But French speakers do
distinguish these two sounds. (Vouz means "you" and fou means "crazy.") After
the Conquest, English people had to distinguish between, for
example, veal and feel. So, new sounds, new words, new syntax—all contribute to
a significant change in the English language. And to a new literature.

3. LATE OR "HIGH" MEDIEVAL PERIOD (c. 1200-1485 CE):

 This often tumultuous period is marked by the Middle English writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, the
"Gawain" or "Pearl" Poet, the Wakefield Master, and William Langland. Other writers include
Italian and French authors like Boccaccio, Petrarch, Dante, and Christine de Pisan.
 The Invasion put French-speaking people at the highest levels of society.
Families that ruled England also ruled and held land in France. William the
Conquerer was also Duke of Normandy, and the English King continued to hold
 that office and its lands until the thirteenth century. Only a handful of Anglo-
Saxon families remained in any postions of power. In England, French was the
language of education and literature. It was not an obvious choice for Chaucer to
write his Canterbury Tales in English. Consequently, the High Middle Ages in
England were characterized culturally by their close relation to French and
Italian arts. This will change in the late thirteenth century as England and France
come to loggerheads.
 This is the century of John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Langland
 Perhaps the single most important development for our purposes is the
wholesale replacement of the French language in government and law by
the English language. Anti-French attitudes (due to the war, among other
things) helped displace French from polite society and from literature. John
Gower, Chaucer's friend, wrote one of his major poems in Latin, another in
French, and a third in English.
 . Like today's "fan fiction," Scots authors copied Chaucer's style so well that for
centuries some of their stories were thought to be Chaucer's own.
 1422 marks the death of Henry IV and a subtle shift from medieval to humanistic
themes in literature. One of the interesting developments concerns the Mystery
Plays. (Mysterieswere unions or guilds.) These plays were performed in a
number of towns and involved much of the working population. They retell the
story of the Bible, sometimes humorously.

II. The Medieval Period (455 CE-1485 CE)

I. THE OLD ENGLISH (ANGLO-SAXON) PERIOD
(428-1066 CE)
II. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(c. 1066-1450 CE)

Late or "High" Medieval Period

(c. 1200-1485 CE)