Medieval Period
What is it all about?– it is all about the period, age or era after the fall of Roman Empire and the beginning of “rebirth” or the Rennaisance period. – it is the bridge with these two very important eras in literature.
What is the meaning of medieval and period?– the term medieval comes from the latin word “medium aevum” which means “middle age”. Medieval was 1st used in the 19th century and the original spelling of it is “mediavel”. -period means a length of time that is very important in the history of the world or nation.
What do you mean by A.D. and C.E. means?– A.D. means “anno domini” which is the latin for “in the year of our God” the year after his birth. – C.E. means “common era”Many writers prefer to use CE than AD .. so, AD and CE are just the same like BC which means Before Christ and BCE which means Before Common/Christian Era.
Describe Medieval Period.– pervasive christianity– poverty– ignorance– economic chaos– bad government– plague– cultural and artistic achievement– technological development
Social Classes in Middle Ages1. Royalty – highest social class (kings, queens, princes and princesses)2. Nobility – (hereditary and non-hereditary nobility)3. Hereditary Nobility – (dukes and dutchess, barons)4. Non-Hereditary Nobility – (knights, popes, bishops, priests, monks,clergy)5. Common People – (Serfs, freemen, slaves, peasants)
Development of Medieval Period– there are three major divisions on the development of Medieval Period : Early, High and Late Middle Ages.
How stuff works on the Early M.P.?1. In this part is where the Dark Age is associated wherein literacy, ignorance and brutality are prevailing.2. Christianity became the standard bearer of Western Civilization wherein the papacy gained authority3. Feudalism is the manorial system4. Monasteries were founded as campaign for Christian empowerment5. North Africa and Middle East came under the rule of Caliphate, an Islamic Group
How stuff works in the High M.P.?-it began after 1000AD1. Technological and agricultural innovations flourished together with the population.2. Climate changed to warm which allowed crop yield to increase.3. Still feudalism is the manorial system.4. Crusade – in 1905 – military attempt to regain control of the Middle Easter Holy Land from Caliphate5. Kings became the heads of nation states, which lead to reduce of crime and violence6. In this time, the first universities were founded and intellectual life began
How stuff works in Late M.P.?1. It is marked by difficulties and calamities including famine, plague and war.2. Black Death – between 1347 amd 1350, a mysterious disease known as the Black Death (the bubonic plague). It killed some 20 million people in Europe.3. Economic expansion, political centralization, and secularization foreshadowed due to transition from medieval to modern. Despite of difficulties and calamities, it is where medieval empowerment stimulated.4. Age of exploration5. The church was weakened by conflicts and quarrels between church and state6. Peasants’ revolt.
What are the causes of end of M.P?-1453 the capture of Constantipole by the Turk-1453 the end of the hundred years war between the English and Fench because of invasion-1492 the Muslims being rejected from Spain-1492 the discovery of America by Columbus-1512 the Protestant Reformation starting with the beginning of Rennaisance Period. Heritage of Medieval PeriodDuring the medieval period there were many advancements.Justice and Law Codes: Justinian’s Code,Great Council (Parliament), Magna Carta Trade and Business: Marketplace & Trade Fairs, Banks Architecture: Cathedrals, Castles,Romanesque, Medieval, Gothic Architecture Formal Learning: Guilds, UniversitiesPublic Conduct: Code of Chivalry, Heraldry,Holy RelicsArt: Stained Glass Windows, Tapestries,Gregorian Chants, Medieval Music, Epic Poetry,Troubadours, Illuminated Manuscripts, Mystery Plays, Miracle Plays, Morality Plays,Architecture Farming: Horse-drawn plow, Horse Collar, Horseshoes
Seven new sites that dated from the medieval period added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Bolgar Historical and Archeological Complex (Russia)Namhansanseong (Republic of Korea)The Grand Canal (China)Silk Roads : The Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan) Rani-ki-Vav (The Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (India) Pyu Ancient Cities (Myanmar)Bursa and Cumalikizik: The Birth of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) Some of the significant Medieval HeritageAachen CathedralAbbey and Altenmünster of LorschAbbey Church of Saint-Savin sur GartempeAmiens CathedralArchaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the BoyneArles, Roman and Romanesque MonumentsBauhaus and its sites in Weimar and DessauBeemster PolderBelfries of Belgium and FranceBenedictine Convent of St John at MüstairBergpark WilhelmshöheBerlin Modernism Housing EstatesBlenheim PalaceBordeaux, Port of the MoonBourges CathedralCanterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s Church Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in GwyneddCastles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at BrühlCathedral of Notre-Dame,Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi andPalace of Tau, Reims The Causses and the CévennesMedieval Literature
Medieval LiteratureEngland is the birth place of Medieval LiteratureLatin was the common language for medieval writingsClergy are the people who write religious worksThe early literature of this period consists of sermons, prayers, lives of saints and homilies. -some of the noted works are1. Green Knight2. Sir Gawain3. The Pearl4. The Book of the Duchess5. The Parliament of Fowls6. The House of Fame7. Troilus and Criseyde8. The Canterbury Tales9. The Legend of Women10. The Complaint of Chauser to his Empty Purse
Types of Writings
Religious – dominant form of literatureComposed of hymns, liturgy, hagiographies,religious poemsSome works of this type: Golden Legend of Ja Cobous de Voragine; Dies , Stabat Mater Outstanding Jewish writers : Maimonides – Spain; Rashi – France
Secular – it is more on romance, heroism and it is not in religious works Composed of epic, courtly love, political poetry, songsProminent Jewish authors: Solomon ibn Gabirol and Yehuda Haleui Outstanding writer: Geoffrey Chauser
Women’s Literature – in this type women of Medieval period are the writers and it is not about the works pertained to women of M.P. Composed of works that have been written by women, mostly nuns Noted authors : Clare of Asisi, Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Seine – They are canonaized as saints and their works are reflections, revelations and prayers Marie de France and Christine de Viza – their works focused on courtly love Revelations of Divine Love – 1st published book in English language that was written by a woman
Allegory – medieval lit. makes use of many literary devices and allegory is very prominent in the period. Much works relied on allegory to convey the morals that the author had in mind while writing are representation of abstract qualities, events and institutions. Most influential allegory – Psychomachia (Battle of Souls) by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius Some works on this type: Romance of the Rose, Everyman, Piers Plowman, Roman de Fauvel and The Divine Comedy.
Characteristics of Medieval LiteratureFigures of speech are numerousHighly religiousFrequently intended to teach moralsDescriptions are ornate and prettyTechniques of the dream vision used frequentlyPleasant aspects of nature predominateNew forms of rhythm and rhymeWomen take a place in literatureElegance of speech and mannersWorks were handwrittenLove is considered as a pure loveConveying the classic culture of Greece and RomeWorks are more on re-telling than new invent storiesNext to religious, heroism is DominantNames of the individual authors are much less important
Why most of the works in Medieval Period are anonymous?Medieval lit. was copied by hand and many volumes were lost over the following centuries. Names of the authors did not mean much to medieval citizen, only if they were very famous. Thus, unimportant names would sometimes be left out of a book during the process of copying. If the original volume was lost, there wouldn’t be any written proof of authorship.
And one more reason is that some books were controversial or anti, and any author connected with these books would be condemned to death. And to avoid any problems, even if there are no controversial contents of their work, they are not writing their names.
“Listen, Understand and Appreciate – these will make your students respect and love you as their second parent” – anonymous
