I.

SURVEY OF ENGLISH
AND AMERICAN
LITERATURE
An Overview of the
Middle English
Literature

BSED 3 ENG;ISH
Cabsag, Niña Mae Y.
Cesista, Shiraly
Colima, Elaine Nicole C.
I. Introduction to Middle English Literature

The Middle English period is also named as the Anglo-Norman period,

after the conquest of Norman’s King William from France. King William
affected the literary progressions in this era. The dearth of literary work in the
Anglo-Saxons poetry has been observed during the Middle English era. French
and Latin were the Languages of the clergy and the Church. However, despite
the appearances of these languages, words in English language are still written
anonymously.

Many things occurred in the medieval era, these includes incidents and
things that had happened in respect to the literary works during that time. In the
fifteenth century, one of the biggest things that came present was the printing of
the first English book entitled ‘The Recuyall of the History of Troye’ by Sir
Thomas More. During the Middle English period English literature was in
advance that time, Drama was performed in the form of Morality, Mystery and
Miracle Plays which consisted of Bible teachings. Similarly, Romantic stories
and Plays were also included in this era, and these are borrowed from the
literature of Latin and French. These Romantic stories and Plays were specially
written about King Arthur, The War of Troy and Alexander the Great.

In terms of literature, there were three main categories in which literature

belong. These categories are, religious, courtly love and Arthurian. Among
these many religious works are those in the writings of Julian of Norwich and
Richard Rolle.
 A. Historical Background

1. Harold II

Harold was born on 1020 circa. He is a strong ruler and a skilled general.
He had been known, as the Earl of Wessex, the most powerful man in England
prior to his taking the throne and his military accomplishments included
successful in Wales and victory over and invading army led by Harold
Hardrada. And on January 6, 1066, the day after Edward Confessor’s death,
Harold was elected by the English Nobility and crowned and anointed King at
Winchester Abbey by the Archbishop of York. Harold becoming the king was
the reason of the battle of Hasting, when William the Conqueror decided to
invade the England, claiming his right to the English throne.

In 1051, William is believed to have visited England and met with his
cousin Edward the Confessor, the childless king. William won the battle of
Hastings because of his superior strategy and tactics. William was helped to
victory by Harold being unlucky on a number of occasions. Harold was
wounded and killed at the battle of Hastings, making him the last crowned
Anglo-Saxon English king.

2. Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest was the 11th century invasion and

occupation of England by army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton,
Flemish, and French troops, all led by the duke of Normandy later styled
William the Conqueror. The Normans came from Northern France, in the region
of Normandy. The Normans invaded England in 1066 because they wanted to to
put in power the Norman King in England after the Anglo-Saxon King died.
The first Norman King was William the conqueror who won the battle of
Hastings. Williams victory at the battle of Hastings brought England into close
contract with the continent, especially France. It led to the almost total
replacement of the English aristocracy with a Norman one, which was
paralleled by similar changes of personnel among the upper clergy and
administrative officers.

The Norman Conquest was an important watershed in the History

of English. This conquest linked England more closely with continental Europe,
thus lessening Scandinavian Influence. The Norman Conquest created one of
the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered the most sophiscated
governmental system in western Europe.

3. The Frenchmen

French was the official language of England after the Norman

Conquest of 1066 by William the Conqueror of France until 1362, when it was
replaced by English, and Nobility, where English was generally spoken by the
Lower classes. From the time of the Norman Conquest (1066) until the end of
the 14th century. French was the language of the king and his court. And on
October 19, 1453, the dual monarchy came to an end with the capture of
Bordeaux by Charles VII’s forces, following their final victory at the battle of
Castillon thus bringing the hundred years wars to a conclusion. The french
influence on English language in the middle ages was a consequence of the
dominance of french power in England and of french cultural preeminence in
mainland Europe in areas such as law, architecture, estate management,music
and literature. Vocabulary during the medieval period was especially affected in
important fields such as ecclesiastical architecture, where french architects in
England adapted continental sources for their cathedral designs.
 4. Age of Chivalry

Evolving from the late 11th century CE onwards, essential chivalric

qualities to be displayed included courage, military prowess, honor, loyalty,
justice and good manners, and generosity- especially to those less fortunate than
oneself. The Arthurian legend revolves around the Code of Chivalry which was
adhered to by the knights of the round table- honor, honesty, valour and loyalty.

5. Education
 The medieval literature was written with a purpose to teach
Christian Dogmas to the masses. Prose and poetry during this time was meant to
show men the ugliness of sin and the beauty of goodness. Literature during this
time is considered to have dual purpose; to teach and to delight. Religion was
the pivot of society and mankind was relegated in the background. England
moved within the narrow shell of Scholastic philosophy, where churches and
monasteries were the schools. They were operated by the clergy. The schools
were dreary and cold, and physical activity was severely repressed. Only few
men could read and write, not everyone were given privilege to enter a school,
especially women.. The church authorities were the most learned people. They
had access to all kinds of information. There were also few books in Latin,
where it was very difficult for a common man to understand them.

B. LITERATURE

Is the term used to describe written and sometimes spoken material, it

derives from the Latin word ‘literatura’ meaning ‘writing formed with letters’.
literature most commonly refers to works of the creative imagination, including
poetry, drama and in some instances journalism and song.

1. Pearl Poet

The Gawain poet or less commonly known the ‘pearl poet’ is the
name given to the author of SIR GAWAIN and the GREEN KNIGHT, it is an
alliterative poem written in 14th century middle English.

Sir Gawain is a late 14th century medieval romance in the middle

English. The author is unknown, and the title is given centuries later. It is one of
the best known Arthurian story, with its plot combining two types of motifs; the
beheading game and the exchange of winnings. Sir Gawain belongs to literary
genre known as romance. As it refers to the medieval literature, the word
‘romance’ does not mean a love story, although that sense of the word is
ultimately derived from the medieval romance genre.

2. Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, author and civil servant

best known for the Canterbury tales. He has been called the ‘father of English
literature’ or alternatively the ‘father of poetry’. He was also the first writer to
be buried in what has since come to be called ‘poets corner’, in Westminster
Abbey.

The Canterbury tales is a collection of twenty four stories that runs

to over 17,000 lines written in middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between
1387 and 1400. it is widely regarded as Chaucer’s magnum opus. Religious
leaders in the Canterbury tales are primarily depicted as frauds who maintain
secular interest of the expense of their religious duties.

3. Sir Thomas Malory

Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ‘Le Morte
d’Arthur’ the classic English speaking language chronicle of the Arthurian
legend, complied and in most cases translated from french sources. He is clearly
not a Professional writer, Sir Thomas’s composition grows in power throughout
its length, while his style remains simple and informal, probably much like his
own speech. He saw his romance as the chronicles of an historical Arthur
perhaps with a moralistic slant.

4. Middle English Drama

 From the late 14th century onward, two main dramatic genres are
discernible, the mystery or Corpus Christ, cycles and the morality plays. The
mystery plays were long cyclic dramas of the creation, fall and redemption of
humankind, based mostly on biblical narratives.

 Miracle and Mystery plays

Miracle plays, also called Saint’s plays, were plays dedicated to the
live of various saints rather than biblical events. Just like mystery plays, miracle
play originated to enhance the liturgical services, and were later separated from
the church. They were switched to the English language became less and less
religious, and were performed in town festivals in the thirteenth century.

 Latin language

Medieval Latin was the form literary Latin used in Roman Catholic
Western Europe during the middle Ages. The vast majority of manuscript
preserved from these era are in Latin, and Latin continued to be the language of
scholars, of literature, and of ecclesiastical, educational and political institutions
throughout the middle Ages.

 Morality plays

The mystery and morality plays of the 15th and 16th centuries were
very different from modern drama. They were performed in public places by
ordinary people and organized and funded by guilds of craftsmen and
merchants. Hetta Howes takes us back in time to show how these plays
portrayed scenes from the bible, conveyed religious doctrine and encourage
their audiences to lead Christian lives. Morality plays of the medieval period
revolved around the dramatization of allegories mainly based on the Christian
life and the journey to seek salvation. Any drama of this kind would have a
clash between virtues and vices.

 Everyman Good Deeds

Good-Deeds is the personification of everyman’s good deeds.

Everyman is the best surviving example of that kind of medieval drama which is
known as the morality play. Moralities apparently develop side by side with the
mysteries and in England were, like them, acted by trade guilds, though they
were composed individually. They both have a primarily religious purpose,
though their method of attaining it is different. The mysteries endeavored to
make the Christian religion more real to the unlearned by dramatizing
significant events in Biblical history and by showing what these events meant in
terms of human experience. The moralities, on the other hand, employed
allegory to dramatize the moral struggle that Christianity envisions as present in
every man. The actors are every man and the qualities within him, good or bad,
and the plot consists of his various reactions to these qualities as they push and
pull him one way or another—that is, in Christian terms, toward heaven or
toward hell.

5. English and Scottish Ballads

English and Scottish ballads are popular narrative song that has
been passed down orally from generation to generation. In the English tradition,
ballads usually follows a form of rhymed quatrains alternating four stress and
three stress line.

 Sir Patrick Spens

 ‘Sir Patrick Spens’ is a Scottish folk ballad, which was said to be
composed sometime during the 15th century. This traditional ballad was
originally written to be sung. ‘Sir Patrick Spens’ explores on two themes. First
is morality- people are born and must die. The second is the role of fate or
accident in people’s live, the second theme is also related to the first theme.

Sir Patrick spens other versions suggest that it may be combining

three historical events. In 1281, Scottish king Alexander III’s daughter Margaret
was married to Norway’s king Eric, but the ship where they were riding sank
when they voyaged home. However, Eric and Margaret survived because they
were saved by someone. Another story that can be linked to ‘Sir Patrick Spens’
is the shipwreck in the coast of Aberdour near Papa Stronsay Island, this claims
to be the burial place of Sir Patrick Spens. Though it is unlikely the events in
this poem are true in the historical sense, we can see that they may refer to
actual events. More importantly these events helped explain a bit about why the
King ordered spens to sail at such a dangerous time of year.

II. Body (Framework)

 LITERATURE IN
MIDDLE ENGLISH
HISTORY OF
MIDDLE ENGLISH

Famous Authors
Harold II

The Norman Pearl Poet

Conquest

Geoffrey Chaucer
The Frenchmen

Sir Thomas
Malory
Age of Chivalry

Education
LITERATURE
MIDDLE ENGLISH

Middle English Dramas

English and Scottish Ballads - Miracle and mystery plays

-are popular narrative - Morality plays

songs that has been passed - Everyman Good Deeds
orally through generations.

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN

LITERATURE

III. Conclusion
 English readers nowadays are aware of the subject matter of the Middle
English period in a way that they are not in relation to old English. The middle
English literature tells a lot about the the literature transitioned from old days
until now.
The French and Latin influences in the Middle English ages are due to the
dominance of French power in England. Many major literary works had been
eminent during the middle English period. The real importance of middle
English period was the way in which the additional vocabulary became the
means of introducing new concepts, ideas and new domains of discourse into
the language, as well as giving novel ways of expression to familiar concepts
within old literary works. The period was offering people a much greater
linguistic choice. The middle English literature was also the rise of different
literary works represented in different ways. Drama was performed in the form
of Morality, Mystery and Miracle Plays which consisted of Bible teachings.
Similarly, Romantic stories and Plays were also included in this era, and these
are borrowed from the literature of Latin and French. One of the most important
characteristics of middle English literature was it is often depicted about
impersonality, by which, it means that most of the literature during that time
was created by anonymous authors.
Taking everything into account, the middle English period was the start
of great changes in terms of language and literature. Events that started from
Harold II up until the end of middle English literature all contributed to the
literature that we have today. These events shaped our religious, political and
economic beliefs, which has also been depicted in the literary work during the
middle English period.