Upload
-
View
224
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
1/28
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
2/28
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...3
PART 1. ANTOLOGY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISHLITERATURE.5
1.1. Old English literature in the period of Anglo-Saxon ethnic
extension
..5
1.2. The Middle English
corpus..................9
1.2.1. Jeffrey Chaucer..........................................................................111.2.2. Principal Middle English written records..................13
PART 2. CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISHLITERATURE ...........................................................................................16
2.1. Knighthood and Chivalry as a cultural dominant in the Middle English
literature..16
2.2. The ideal of chivalry in Sir Gawain and Green Knight..17
2.3. The concept of Courtly love in the English Medieval epoch.20
2.4. Christian religious dominant..21
CONCLUSION...24
BIBLIOGRAPHY..26
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
3/28
INTRODUCTION
The language of a past time is known by the quality of its literature. Charters
and records yield their secrets to the philologist and contribute their quota of words
and inflections to our dictionaries and grammars. But it is in literature that a
language displays its full power, its ability to convey in vivid and memorable form
the thoughts and emotions of a people. The Middle English literature is fortunately
one of the richest and most significant of any preserved. Because it is the language
mobilized, the language in action, we must say a word about it.
Generally speaking, this literature is of two sorts. Some of it was
undoubtedly brought to England by the Germanic and Norman conquerors from
their continental homes and preserved for a time in oral tradition. The prevalent
ethno-cultural dominants of this epoch considerably influenced upon the whole
English literature. In this work we can trace their gradual formation from the early
times of the development of the old Germanic writing system. In the course of
time three streams mingle in Middle English epoch: the religious, chivalrous and
courtly literature forming a unique mixture and a tangle of genres characteristic of
medieval writing.
The object of this thesis is the process of establishing the national literary
language in England throughout the Old English period up to the Middle Ages.
The purpose of the research can be formulated as follows: the representation
of the Middle English literature with its immediate connection with main concepts
of that time such as religious, courtly and chivalrous one in particular.
The subject of the research is the historical, cultural and social backgrounds
for the formation of Middle English literature.
The purpose, object and subject of the research stipulated the arrangement
3
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
4/28
and consecutive solving the following goals:
1 Give a short retrospective view on early stage of English literature
development
2 Consideration of the medieval English literature at the conceptual angle
3 Detecting the principal Middle English written records
During the work the following methods of researching were applied
- The learning and making analysis of the literature according to
the topic of the research;
- Historical - philological method.
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
5/28
PART 1. ANTOLOGY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE
1.1. Old English literature in the period of Anglo-Saxon ethnic extension
As a result of British invasion at the end of the VI century a new West-
Germanic ethno-social system, traditionally called Anglo-Saxon, began forming. It
brought about some considerable changes in the social structure of the Anglo-
Saxon society. To get a better understanding of the Anglo-Saxon society it is worth
considering the Old-English words of status. The key-words are given below in
order of precedence:
cynig (chief, later the founder the royal dynasty)
ealdorman (sub-king, a kind of hereditary aristocracy; later replaced by theterm eorl)
pegn (warrior)
ceorl (a free man, farmer)
peow (a slave, servant)
The given structure provided an effective functioning of considerably tough
ethno-social system needed for the Anglo-Saxons during the period of their ethnic
extension when the former tribal organization of the society did not met the
stereotypes evoked by military orientation of the ethnic dominant at that time.
There emerged a peculiar class of professional warriors who swore to their lords inexchange for lands and gifts seized in the military campaigns. The kings and noble
people belonged to the ruling upper circles, whereas professional soldiers-thegns-
took an interim niche in the social hierarchy standing between noble and common
people. M. Lehnert describes a pegn as a personal servant who was one degree
higher in the ranks of freeman than a a ceorl. As servants of the King the status
of pegn gradually rose, until they formed the elected nobility of the Kingdom.
5
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
6/28
The analysis of early Old English written records allows to single out two
distinct imperatives throughout the period of the Anglo-Saxon ethnic extension.
On the one hand it was bellicosity, the orientation to the persecution of the war
and submission of the persons concerns to this imperative and on the other hand-
an archetypal fear to be reduced to the status of social outcast, a person deprived
of any kind of rights, the most important of which was the right to be a human.
the cowards were threatened with exile. It must have been the severest punishment
for their inglorious act as a shameful life to exile, a person without his kin, was
much worse than death. In the world of instability and violence the fear of being
reduced to the position of an exile was so strong that it became one of the
prevailing motives in the early Anglo-Saxon literature.
Whereas warfare for the sake of wealth provided the motive power that
moulded ethnic stereotypes thus organizing the passionateness of the early Anglo-
Saxons in the period of their ethnic extension. The same warfare motive underlay
the ethnics justifying the prevailing stereotypes. This epoch of great deeds and
brave heroes is known in literature as the heroic age. The folk epic Beowulf is
considered to represent the most telling evidence of the outlook and temper of the
Germanic mind [23: 84-88].
The epic Beowulf is of about three thousand lines. This poem seems to
have originated on the Continent, but when and where are not now to be known. It
may have been carried to England in the form of ballads by the Anglo-Saxons; or it
may be Scandinavian material, later brought in by Danish or Norwegian pirates. Atany rate it seems to have taken on its present form in England during the seventh
and eighth centuries. It relates how the hero Beowulf, coming over the sea to the
relief of King Hrothgar, delivers him from a monster, Grendel, and then from the
vengeance of Grendel's only less formidable mother. Returned home in triumph,
Beowulf much later receives the due reward of his valor by being made king of his
own tribe, and meets his death while killing a fire-breathing dragon which has become a scourge to his people. As he appears in the poem, Beowulf is an
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
7/28
idealized Anglo-Saxon hero, but in origin he may have been any one of several
other different things. Perhaps he was the old Germanic god Beowa, and his
exploits originally allegories, like some of those in the Greek mythology, of his
services to man; he may, for instance, first have been the sun, driving away themists and cold of winter and of the swamps, hostile forces personified in Grendel
and his mother. Or, Beowulf may really have been a great human fighter who
actually killed some especially formidable wild beasts, and whose superhuman
strength in the poem results, through the similarity of names, from his being
confused with Beowa. This is the more likely because there is in the poem a slight
trace of authentic history. Beowulf' presents an interesting though very incomplete
picture of the life of the upper, warrior, caste among the northern Germanic tribes
during their later period of barbarism on the Continent and in England, a life more
highly developed than that of the Anglo-Saxons before their conquest of the island.
Outside of Beowulf and a few fragments, the recording of Anglo-Saxon
heroic story begins with a ninth-century entry in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the
year 755 (actually 757). To this we can add a few of the annals devoted to thecombats of King Alfred's son and grandsons in the tenth century and stop at some
point near the end of King Aethelred's reign in 1016. While not a Chronicle poem,
The Battle of Maldon has a place in this range, if only as an inspired response to
what otherwise the Chronicle (in the Canterbury and Peterborough manuscripts )
records for 991 as ealdorman Byrthnoth's death in battle at Maldon. Typically,
guides, translations and readers introducing students to Old English texts highlightthree of the stories from this range of years: the story of West Saxon feud we call
"Cynewulf and Cyneheard" (chronicle entry 755), The Battle of Brunanburh , (entry
for 937), and The Battle of Maldon (sometime after 991). Traditionally, and here all
introductions in Old English readers follow suit, these narratives are seen as
enshrining, in some literary intensified way, heroic values reflecting their ancient,
Germanic roots.
7
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
8/28
There is a dark age between the arrival of the Anglo- Saxons and the first
arrival of Old English manuscripts. A few scattered inscriptions in the language
date from the 5 th and 6 th centuries, written in the runic alphabet which the invaders
brought with them, but these give very little information about what the language
was like. The literary age began only after arrival of the Roman missionaries, led
by Augustine, who came there to Kent in 597 AD. Because of the increasingly
literary climate old English manuscripts also began to be written-much earlier,
indeed, that the earliest vernacular texts from other north European countries. The
first texts dating from around 700, are glossaries of Latin words translated into
English, and a few early inscriptions and poems. But very little material remains
from this period. Doubtless many manuscripts were burned during the 8 th century
Vikings invasion. The chief literary work of this period as it was mentioned before
was Beowulf, survives in a single copy, made around 1,000 possibly some 250
years after it was composed. There are a number of short poems, again almost
entirely preserved in the late manuscripts, over half of them concerned with
Christian subjects-legends of the saints, extracts from the Bible, and devotional
pieces. Several others reflect the Germanic tradition, dealing with such topics as
war, travelling, patriotism, and celebration. Most extant Old English texts were
written in the period following reign of King Alfred, who arranged for many Latin
works to be translated-including Bedes Ecclesiastical History. But the total corpus
is extremely small makes about 3, 5 million-the equivalent of about 30 medium-
sized modern novels. Only 5 per cent of this total is poetry [16: 10].
In the 10 th century when the old heroic epic verses were already declining,
some new poems were composed and inserted in the prose historical chronicles:
the battle of Brunanburgh, the battle of Maldon. They bear resemblance to the
ancient heroic poems but deal with contemporary events: the wars of the Scots, the
Picts and the raiders from Scandinavia.
Hence, the literature of the Old English period was not notable for its
diversity of literature genres. The leading place was taken by heroic romances and
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
9/28
religious writings. Obviously, heroes of the old times had no time to think of love
as in ancient epic romances love did not play any important role. However, the
situation considerably changed in the subsequent period.
1.2. The Middle English corpus
The Middle English period has a much richer documentation than is found in the
old English. This is partly a result of the post-conquest political situation. The
newly centralized monarchy commissioned national and local surveys, beginning
with the Domesday Book and there is a marked increase in the number of public
and private documents- mandates, charters, contracts, tax-rolls, and other
administrative or judicial papers. However, the early material is limited value of
those interested in the linguistic history of the English because it is largely written
in Latin or French, and the only relevant data which can be extracted relate to
English and the personal names. Most religious publication falls into the same
category, with Latin maintaining its presence throughout the period as the official
language of the Church.
A major difference from old English is the absence of a continuing tradition
of historical writing in the native language, as in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle-a
function which Latin supplanted, and which was not revived until the 15 th century.
Material in English appears as a trickle in the 13 th century, but within 150
years it has become a flood. In the early period, we can see a great deal of religious
prose writing, in the form of homilies, tracts, lives of the Saints, and the other aidsto devotion and meditation. Sometimes a text was written with a specific
readership in mind; the Ancrene Rewle (Anchorites Guide), for example, was
compiled by a spiritual director for three noblewomen who had abandoned the
world to live as anchoresses. During the 14 th century, there is a marked increase in
the number of translated writings from French to Latin, and of the texts for
teaching these languages. Guild records, proclaims, proverbs, dialogues, allegories,and the letters illustrate the diverse range of new styles and genres. Towards the
9
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
10/28
end of the century, the translations of the Bible inspired by John Wycliff appear
amid considerable controversy, and the associated movement produces many
manuscripts. Finally, in the 1430es, there is a vast output in the English from the
office of the London Chancery scribes, which strongly influenced the development
of the standard written language.
Poetry presents a puzzle. The Anglo-Saxon poetic tradition apparently dies
out in the 11 th century, to reappear patchily in the 13 th. A lengthy poetic history of a
Britain is knows as Lagamons Brut as we have mentioned above, one of the
earliest to survive from Middle English, and in the 14 th century come the important
texts of Piers Plowman and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. What is surprisingin that the alliterative Old English style is still present in these all works, despite an
apparent break in poetic continuity of at least hundred years. The conundrum has
generated much discussion. Perhaps the alliterative technique was retained though
prose: several Middle English prose texts are strongly alliterative, and it is
sometimes difficult to tell from a manuscript which genre (poetry or prose) a piece
belongs to, because the line divisions are not shown. Perhaps the Old English style
survived through the medium of oral transmission. Or perhaps it is simply that
most poetic manuscripts have been lost. Middle English poetry was inevitably
much influenced by French literary traditions, both in content and style. One of the
earliest examples is the 13 th century verse-contest known as The OWL and the
Nightingale. Later works include romances in the French style, secular lyrics,
bestiaries, biblical poetry, Christian legends, hymns, prayers and elegies.
The mystical dream vision popular in Italy and France, is well illustrated by
the poem modern editors have called Pea , in which the writer recalls the death of
his two-year- old daughter, who then acts as his spiritual comforter. Drama also
begins to make its presence felt, in the form of dialogues, pageants, and the famous
cycles of mystery plays. Much of the Middle English literature is of unknown
authorship, but th end of the period this situation has changed. Among the prominent names which emerge in the latter part of the 14 th century are John
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
11/28
Gower, William Langland, and some time later John Lydgate, Thomas Malory,
William Caxton, and the poets who are collectively known as Chaucerians.
Rather than a somewhat random collection of interesting texts, there is now
a major body of literature, in the modern sense. It is this which provides the final
part of the bridge between Middle and Early Modern English.
The flourishing of literature, which marks the seconds half of the 14 th c.,
apart from its cultural significance, testifies, to the complete reestablishment of
English as the language of writing. Some authors wrote in their local dialect from
outside London, but most of them used the London dialect or forms of the
language combining London and provincial traits. Towards the end of the century
the London dialect had become the principal type of language used in literature a
sort of literary pattern to be imitated by provincial authors.
The literary text of the late 14 th c. preserved in numerous manuscripts,
belong to a variety of genres. Translation continued, but original compositions
were produced in abundance; party was more prolific than prose. This period of
literary florescence is known as the age of Chaucer; the greatest name in English
literature before Shakespeare other writers are referred to as Chaucers
contemporaries) [16: 34-37].
1.2.1. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was by far the most outstanding figure
of the time. A hundred years later William Caxton, the first English printer, called
him the worshipful father and fist founder and embellisher of ornate eloquence in
our language. In many books on the history of English literature and the history of
English Chaucer is described as the founder of the literary language.
His carried works more of less imitative if other authors Latin, French or
Italian though they bear abundant evidence of his skill. He never wrote in any
other language than English. The culmination of Chaucers work as a poet; his
11
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
12/28
great unfinished collection of stories The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer wrote in a dialect which in the main coincided with that used in
documents produced in London shortly before his time and for a long time after.
Although he did not really create the literary language, as a poet of outstandingtalent he made better use if it than contemporaries and set up 2 pattern to be
followed in the 15 th c. His poems were copied so many times that over sixty
manuscripts of The Cantervary Tales have survived to this day. No books were
among the first to be printed, a hundred years after their composition.
Chausers literary language, based in the mixed (largely East Midland)
London dialect is known as classical M.E. In the 15 th and 16 th centuries it became
the basis of the national literary English language.
The 15 th century could produce nothing worthy to rank with Chaucer. The
two prominent poets, Thomas Hoccleve and John Lydgate, were chiefly translators
and imitators. The style of Caucers successors is believed to have drawn farther
away from everyday speech; it was highly affected in character, abounding in
abstact words and strongly influenced by Latin rhetoric (it is termed aureate
language) [21: 160- 162].
The tiny voice of this paper work can add nothing to the critical acclaim
which has been given to Chaucers poetic and the narrative achievements or to his
sights into medieval attitudes and society; but it can affirm with some conviction
the importance of his work to any history of the language. It is partly matter of aquantity of a quality- one complete edition prints over 43, 000 of a poetry, as well
as two of a major prose works but more crucial is the breath and variety of his
language, which ranges from the polished complexity of high flown rhetoric to the
natural simplicity of domestic chat. No previous author has shown such a range,
and Chaucers writing- in addition to its merits- is thus unique in the evidence it
has provided about the state of medieval grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
13/28
Chaucers best-known work, The Canterbury Tales, is not of course a guide
to the spoken language of the time; it is a variety of the written language which has
been carefully crafted. It is uses a regular metrical structure and rhyme scheme-
itself a departure from the free rhythms and the alliteration of a much earlier poetry. It contains many variations in word order, dictated by the demands of the
prosody. There are also frequent literary allusions and turns of a phrase which
make the text difficult to follow. What has impressed readers so much is that,
despite the constraints, Chaucer has managed to capture vividly the intriguing
characters of the speakers, and to reflect naturally the colloquial features of their
speech. In no other author, is there better support for the view that there is an
underlying correspondence between the natural rhythm of English poetry and that
of English everyday conversation [16: 38].
1.2.2. Principal Middle English written records
The literature written I England during the Middle English period reflects
fairly accurately the changes fortunes of English. During the time that French was
the language best understood by the upper classes, the books they read or listened
to were French. The rewards of patronage were seldom to be expected by those
who wrote in English; with them we must look for other incentives for writing.
Such incentives were most often found among members of the religious body,
interested in promoting right living and in the care of souls. Accordingly, the
literature in English that has come down to us from this period is almost
exclusively religious or admonitory.
The Ancrene Riwle, the Ormulum, a series of paraphrases and interpretations of
Gospel passages, and a group of saints lives and short homiletic pieces showing
the survival of an Old English literary tradition in the southwest are the principal
works of this class. The two outstanding exceptions are Layamons Brut based
largely on Wace, and the astonishing debate between The Owl and the Nightingale,
a long poem in which two birds exchange recriminations in the liveliest fashion.
13
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
14/28
There was certainly a body of popular literature that circulated orally among the
people, just as at a later date in the English and Scottish popular ballads did, but
such literature has left slight traces in this period. The hundred years from 1150 to
1250 have been justly called the Period of religious Record [16: 38].
The separation of the English nobility from France by about 1250 and the
spread of English among the upper class is manifested in the next hundred years of
English literature. Types of polite literature that had hitherto had appeared in
French now appear in English. Of these types most popular was the romance. Only
one English romance exists from an earlier date than 1250, but from this time
translations and adaptations from French begin to be made, and in the course of thefourteen century their number become quite large. The period of 1250-1350 is a
period of Religious and secular literature of the English language. The general
adoption of English by all classes, which had taken place by the latter half of the
fourteenth century, gave rise to a body of literature that represents the high point in
English literary achievement in the Middle Ages. The period from 1350 to 1400
has been called the Period of Great Individual Writers. The chief name is that of
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), the greatest English poet before Shakespeare. Not
to mention his delightful minor poems, he is the author of a long narrative poem
telling the story of the unhappy love of Troilus and Criseyde and, most famous of his
works, the Canterbury Tales, which, besides giving us in the general prologue a
matchless portrait gallery of contemporary types, constitutes in the variety of the
tales a veritable anthology of medieval literature. To this period belongs William
Langland, the reputed author of a long social allegory. Piers Plowman (1362-1387);
John Wycliffe (d. 1384), putative translator of the Bible and author of a large and
influential body of controversial prose; and the unknown poet who wrote not only
the finest of the Middle English romances. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , but three
allegorical and religious poems of great beauty, including Pearl. Any one of these
men would have made the later fourteenth century an outstanding period in Middle
English literature. Together they constitute a striking proof of the secure position
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
15/28
the English language had attained.
The fifteenth century is sometimes known as the Imitative Period because so
much of the poetry then written was written in emulation of Chaucer. It is also
spoken of as a Transition Period, because it covers a large part of the interval
between the age of Chaucer and the age of Shakespeare period has been unjustly
neglected. Hawes are not negligible, though admittedly overshadowed by some of their great predecessors, and at the end of the century we have the prose of Malory
and Caxton. In the north the Scottish Chaucerians, particularly Henryson, Dunbar,
Gawin Douglas, and Lindsay, produced significant work. These authors carry on
the tradition of English as a literary medium into the Renaissance. Thus, MiddleEnglish literature follows and throws interesting light on the fortunes of the
English language [14: 151-152].
PART 2. CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISH
LITERATURE
15
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
16/28
2.1. Knighthood and Chivalry as a culturally dominant element in the
Middle English literature
After the Norman Conquest when invaders created a new sub-ethnic
system in the ethnic system of the subjugated folk and their contacts withEnglish people passed on from the interethnic to the intra-ethnic level, it
became obvious that the categorization of a newly acquired interethnic
contacts experience gave birth to a new prototype of English ethno-cultural
tradition. The basic concept of this very tradition arose in the Anglo-Saxon
Christian dominant with the infused Anglo-Norman subethnic values. The
latter favoured greatly the inclusion of England to the west European Christiansuper-ethnic system. The culture of Chivalry that had become a dominant of
the system had inherently French origin which also made for the depth of the
French ethno-cultural substratum in English cultural tradition. It is well known
that the basic motives of chivalrous culture were service, faithfulness and war.
All this was for the sake of the Lord, God and Lady. War was an aim and
ordinary end of knights life. A Knight enjoyed the battles being brave and
brutal as a lion though in peace time he devoted his time to the service to a
lady. The military system in England was organized thereby that not only
knights but the population had to on one way or another participate in a war.
Consequently, again the war motive was dominant.
John Sanders perceived in the Chivalrous culture Anglo-Saxon roots.
According to his point of view the culture sprung up in the XI century naturally
from ancient sets of values. Inside the developing feudal institutions were
establishing relations that naturally continued already existing traditions. The
being exploited institution of Knighthood was under great influence of religion
and Church. The Unity of Christian world was consolidating exactly in this
period in other words it was the process of forming west European super-ethnic
system. One can feel the tendency toward the extension of super-ethnic room
by means of crusades and missionary activities.
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
17/28
The legend about the King Arthur was firstly told in the poem Brut by
Layamon. The kings himself as well as the knights from his suite were prototypical
ideal models of behavior of the epoch becoming the symbols of Chivalrous
England. The appearance of the Arthur is considered to be connected with Celticmyth-poetic tradition first of all due to the fact that he had a real historic prototype
of Celtic origin. [24: 90-100] .Just as the invaders travelled all over the subjugated
country and extended their territories as much as it was possible they also
subjected to the examination the literature of their new compatriots. The Normans
didnt take much from Saxon culture mainly because they didnt comprehend its
spirit. It was Celtic culture that was the center of their attention as its spirit suited
to their own perfectly. The king Author became Normans passion. At the moment
of the invasion there were a considerable number of legends about Celtic heroes,
although many of them were not necessarily connected with Arthur soon they
gradually grouped around him [10: 90-95].
As it was mentioned above the basic values cementing the dominant ethno-
cultural concept were service and faithfulness. Consequently the negative motiveof violation of loyalty oath, treason swikedome became the main theme of many
works of literature dating back to that time including Layamons Brut in the part
where the events of King Arthur life were described.
2.2. The idea of chivalry in Sir Gawain and Green Knight
The world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is governed by well-defined
codes of behavior. The code of chivalry, in particular, shapes the values and
actions of Sir Gawain and other characters in the poem.
The image of gallant and noble knights galloping on their mighty steeds to
perilous battles has been a longtime icon in numerous fairytales and folklore. This
idea of knighthood is especially portrayed and described in detail throughout Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight. Knights, more specifically, of the Round Table, aredepicted as the heroic, noble, almost god-like protectors of Camelot. Ardent
17
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
18/28
followers of Christ, they are perceived as infinitely powerful in times of combat,
yet infinitely compassionate and honorable in times of peace. The Endless Knot, a
symbolic emblem of knighthood, dictates The fifth five that was used, as I find,
by this knight was free-giving and friendliness first before all, and chastity and
chivalry ever changeless and straight, and piety surpassing all point: these perfect
five were hasped upon him harder than on any man else. (38). Sir Gawain, though
the weakest of the King Arthurs Knights of the Round Table, proves himself as an
ideal knight through fulfilling the standards of knighthood described in Sir Gawain
and the green Knight.
Part of a knights duty was to defend and love the Church and to have
complete trust in God. The Knights of the Round Table were all firm believers in
Christ, taking part in [a] feast [that] was unfailing full fifteen days during the
Christmas season, thus implying how religiously vigorous they were. Sir Gawain is
highly religious, calling upon Gods grace and power to protect him in times of
peril, even having on the inner side of his shield [Marys] image depainted, that
when he cast his eyes thither his courage never failed. (39). Before entering the
field to the Green Chapel, Sir Gawain also proved his faith in God by entrusting
that He would protect him when the Green Knight repays the blow, praying that
By God on high I will neither grieve nor groan. With Gods will I comply.
Sir Gawains character also proves that he is morally strict in keeping his
honorable reputation as a Knight of the Round Table. For example, when
Bertilaks beautiful wife tempts Sir Gawain, although he knew he would die in a
few days time, he never fell into her manipulative seduction scheme. No matter
how persistent the lady demeaned her as one that loved him much, Sir Gawain
always fenced with her featly, ever flawless in manner.(58). This sends a
powerful message to the reader about Sir Gawains morality as a person, being
able to resist the very temptation that had brought so many other great men to their
knees.
The Knights of the Round Table were also expected to be the gallant, zealous
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
19/28
defenders of Camelot. Sir Gawains perseverance and bravery definitely resembles
that of an ideal knight. During his long journey, Sir Gawain found a foe before
him, save at few for a wonder; and so foul were they and fell that fight he must
needs and thus conquering each and every one of the beasts that challenges him(41). The knight was also stunningly brave when he went to receive his repayment
from the Green Knight. Even though his guide warned him of his nonexistent
chances of surviving, Sir Gawain nevertheless presses onwards, replying that if
I here departed fain in fear now to flee, in the fashion thou speakest, I should a
knight coward be, I could not be excused. Noy, Ill fare to the Chapel, whatever
chance may befall (85). Sir Gawains unwavering bravery further justifies his
rightful title as an ideal knight. ...
The use of colors reflects his noble position as the protector of Camelot and King
Arthur, as Sir Gawain is equipped with armor in the regal color of red, which
symbolizes royalty. The ideal knight was also expected to serve the royal family,
and to protect the king in times of need, as Sir Gawain had put it, I find it
unfittingyou yourself be desirous to accept it in person, while many bold men
abRout you on bench are seated.(29). One could not help but notice Sir Gawains
show of selflessness when he offers to sacrifice his life for King Arthurs even
when none of the other elite knights would dare to do so. The knights free-
giving nature could also be observed when Bertilaks offers him a beautiful ring
that was worth wealth beyond measure. (75). Sir Gawain promptly refuses the
offer, arguing that he had nothing to offer in return. When he promises to hide the
green girdle that the lady presses upon him, it was a mistake that was not
committed for his own interests, but rather one to protect anothers reputation. This
selflessness reflects Sir Gawains loyalty to his duty as a knight to protect those
who are less superior and to serve the weak.
Through living up to the expected virtues of knighthood such as chastity,
selflessness, bravery, and piety, Sir Gawain proves himself time and time again his
worthiness to be recognized as the ideal knight. Each time the knight faces a
19
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
20/28
different challenge or trial, his consequent decisions reveal a little about his
character. It is nearly impossible to compare the virtues and criterion of the ideal
knight to Sir Gawains actions and not recognize the stunning. As Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight closes to an end, the reader is left with the impression that Sir
Gawain had indeed fulfilled his duties as the ideal knight. [27]
2.2.2 The concept of Courtly love in the Middle English epoch
As it was mentioned above in ancient epic romances the idea of love and
service to a lady were shadowed and did not play any important role. Contrary to
this epoch in medieval literature a woman became a center of attention; all heroic
deeds were done only for the sake of winning her heart. The poets in their turn
were inspired by entirely new motives i.e the idea of courtly love [4:104-105].
The idea of courtesy was tightly connected with the knight culture. The
phrase courtly love refers to a set of ideas about love that greatly influenced the
literature and culture of the Middle Ages. In the 11 th century, poets throughout
Europe promoted the notions that true love only exists outside of marriage; that
true love may be idealized and spiritual, and may exist without ever being married;
and that a man becomes the servant of the lady he loves. This idea is extended to
that love is a torment or a disease, and when a man is in love he cannot sleep or
eat; therefore, he undergoes physical changes and sometimes to the point of
becoming unrecognizable. Although very few people's lives resembled the courtly
love ideal, these themes and motifs were extremely popular and widespread in
Medieval and Renaissance literature and culture. They were particularly popular in
the literature and culture that were part of royal and noble courts.
In theory "courtly love" has been seen as the other side of the coin of
antifeminism. Scholars have used the term to designate a set of literary
conventions that supposedly idealizes women and makes them into objects of
worship. The lady is wooed, usually at a distance, by a knight who fights in her honor, calls himself her "servant," and suffers insomnia, anorexia, pallor, chills and
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
21/28
fever, and other symptoms that, he insists, will be his death if he does not obtain
her "mercy." (Ex. St. George, the Redcross Knight, is Una's protector, her knight.
Sir Philip Sidney's lyrics is based on courtly love.) The relationship between the
knight and the lady is an inversion of the relationship between lord and vassalunder feudalism. Because aristocratic women were married off for rank and
property, and husbands enjoyed total authority over their wives, it has been argued
that courtly love was incompatible with marriage and thus necessarily clandestine,
although in Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" and "Franklin's Tale" courtly suitors woo
and marry their ladies. Whether courtly love had any bearing on actual social
custom in the Middle Ages is a vexed question, but one may safely assume that the
literature reflects a new deference toward "ladies" that still governs much of our
social behavior [27:13-16].
2.2.3. The idea of piety and development of a religious dominant
Parallel to the chivalrous dominant another ethno-cultural majorant that
considerably influenced the literature was developing. Christianity with its ideas
about the perishable nature of earthly blessings and riches offering an eternal blissin heaven displaced the accent from the materialized symbols of the military epoch
to the spirituality. It is noteworthy that through the suffering and redemption even
a rejected looser could find a consolation in Christian idea. In whole, relations
between a human and community moved on to a new footing. By putting in the
forefront individual salvation, freedom of will Christianity raised the value of
humans personality put in direct relation with God. Christianity did change theethno-cultural dominant of the Anglo-Saxon giving them motivation for
reappraisal of already established models of behavior in line with the new
imperatives. All this prepared the ground for the forming of young and unique
Anglo-Saxon ethnic system [3: 208].
With Christianization England became a significant part of the western
Christian super-ethnic system. It promoted literacy, brought a substantial body of
21
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
22/28
Latin literature to England, and inspired Anglo-Saxon poets to write on Christian
subjects. The birth of vernacular poetry is associated with the name of Caedmon.
His famous Hymn to God the creator is an illustration of how the content and form
of old Germanic heroic lay of praise was transferred to religious poetry.
As far as medieval literature is concerned the relation between God and
human beings is one of the main points. The scene of peoples praying or pleading
appears every now and then, no matter to the God or even to some other people
who own power. Traditionally, whenever people meet obstacles or need helps,
they turn to God and reverentially pray for fulfillment of their wishes with their
piety and respect in return. Knights tale is not an exception. Before the publicfight in the arena, Palamon and Arcita go praying in the shrines of Venus and Mars
respectively and both swear to be the most pious followers if they succeed, one in
winning Emily and the other in having the battles victory. Beside these two
warriors praying, Emily, treated as the prize in the battle, also shows up in the
temple of Diana, the goddess of Chastity, hoping for keeping her virginity and
chastity earlier the day of fight. These threes very alike action of praying in the
shrines clearly reveals peoples tendency of praying to gods while confronting
challenges. In other words, people see their religions as one way to seek for helps
or to get strength [26:1-2].
There was a good deal of religious writingworks like the Ormulum a
translation of some of the Gospels read at Mass, made by the Bo&V 1 Orm about 1
zoo. There is the Ancrene Riwle advice given by a priest to three religious ladiesliving not in a convent but in a little house near a church. This is rather charming,
and it seems that, for a time in the literature of England, there is an awareness of
woman as woman a creature to be treated courteously and delicately, in gentle
language. There is a connection here with the devotion to the Blessed Virgin,
Mother of Christ, a cult which the Normans brought over, practiced by them in
prayers and homage even when it was forbidden by Rome. Chivalry, whichdemanded a devotion to womankind almost amounting to worship, is another myth
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
23/28
of old Europe, killed finally by Cervantes in the satire Don Quixote, written in
Shakespeare's time. There is a curious book written about 1300a translation from
the French spoken in England by Robert Mannyng, called Handlyng Synne,
setting out in verse stories the various paths of sinsatirical, amusing, as well asedifying. There is the Pricke of Conscience , probably written by Richard Rolle about
which deals with the pains of hell in horrifying detailthe damned souls, tortured
by thirst, finding that fire will not quench it, suck instead the heads of poisonous
snakes. Demons yell, strike with red-hot hammers, while their victims shed tears of
fire, nauseated by unspeakable filth and smells of an indescribable foulness
[14:153].
CONCLUSION
In this work we endeavored to consider a huge layer of English literature i.e
English medieval literature. Having analyzed this complex epoch we have come to
the following conclusions.
23
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
24/28
The process of the formation of new ethno-cultural dominants proved to be a
very long and gradual process the slight traces of which can be seen at the early
stages of the English literature development. Many centuries elapsed until they
become the cementing elements of the culture affecting various aspects of life of
culture bearers.
The chivalrous culture was one of the main ethno-cultural dominants. The
phenomenon of Knighthood proved the appearance of several new directions in
West-European and English literature in particular there merged Courtly love
literature.
The literary culture of the Middle Ages was far more international than
national and was divided more by lines of class and audience than by language.
Latin was the language of the Church and of learning. After the eleventh century,
French became the dominant language of secular European literary culture.
Edward, the Prince of Wales, who took the king of France prisoner at the battle of
Poitiers in 1356, had culturally more in common with his royal captive than with
the common people of England. And the legendary King Arthur was an
international figure. Stories about him and his knights originated in Celtic poems
and tales and were adapted and greatly expanded in Latin chronicles and French
romances even before Arthur became an English hero. Indeed, this period was an
important time for literature in Britain. The works of the Middle English period
helped to distract people from their everyday fears; today they also provide us with
doorways through which we can see what everyday early English life was like.
By the mid 15th century, as this period of British history was coming to a close,
Gutenberg finished development of his printing press, thereby giving lower and
middle class people their first opportunity to be able to afford to purchase books
and other literary works; and expanded literacy in Britain, leading to the
emergence of the Renaissance.
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
25/28
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. , . . [] / .. . .:
,1985. 190 .
2. , c [] / .: . ./. .. . . .: ,2008. 720 .
25
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
26/28
3. , . . [] /
... : ,1984. 350 .
4. , . []/ .
. . : ,2009. 404 .
5. , . . [] / . . , .
. , .. . .: , 2001. 319 .
6. , . . [] / .. .
, 1972. 351 .
7. , . . . [] / . .. . .: : : ,2008. 413 .
8. , . . [] / ...
. ,1955. 318 .
9. , . .
[] / ... 1953.-616 .
10. , . .
[] / .. . , 2003.
253 .
11. , . .
[] / . .. : ,1969. 284 .
12. , . . IX XV
[] / . . . .: , 1985. 315 .
13. Amodio, M. Tradition, Performance and poetics in the early Middle English
period [Text] / M. Amodio. Poetica, 2000. 214 p.
14. Baugh. A. C, Cable Th. History of the English language [Text]/ A. C.
Baugh, Th. Cable. London, 1978. 398 p.
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
27/28
15. Benson, L. The riverside Chaucer, 3 rd edition [Text] / L. Benson. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1987.-127 p.
16. Crystal, D. The encyclopedia of English language [Text] / D. Crystal.
Cambridge: University Press, 1995. 489 p.
17. Davis, N. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Text] /N. Davis. - Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1967. 32 p.
18. Emerson O. F. the history of the English language [Text] / O. F. Emerson.
NY: Macmillan, 1996. 547 p.
19. Fowler, H. W. The kings English [Text] / H. W. Fowler. London Oxford,
1927. 370 p.
20. Morton, A. L. A peoples history of England. [Text] / L. A Morton.
-London, 1986. 53 p.
21. Rastorgueva, T. A. A history of English [Text] / T. A. Rastorgueva. M.,
2007. 349 p.
22. Slopova, . Key concepts in the Middle English literature [Internet
resource] / E. Slopova. http//www.plau.com
23.Shaposhnikova I. V. A History of the English language [Text] / I. V.
Shaposhnikova. Irkutsk, 1997 207 p.
24. Schlauch, M. English Medieval Literature and its social foundations,[Text] / M. Schlauch. Warzawa PWN, 1967238 p.
25. Wallace, D. The Cambridge history of Medieval English Literature [Text] /
D. Wallace. Cambridge University Pres, 1999. 478 p.
26. English literature site http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/
27
8/3/2019 My Term Paper Second Edition
28/28
27. Critical essays on medieval writings https://netfiles.uiuc.
edu/cdwright/www/mideng.html