Main historical events in the Middle-Ages
1215: signing of the Magna Carta.(During the reign of King John) It was a set of
laws which partly limited the power of the king. In fact he could no longer claim
taxes without the approval of some advisors and no free man could be arrested
or imprisoned without a trial.
1295: opening of the first English Parliament (“Model Parliament”): it laid the
foundations of modern Parliament.
The clash between Church and State: the Church had a great influence over the
affairs of state. Henry II proposed the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) which
gave the king more authority. However, Thomas Beckett,the Archbishop of
Canterbury, strongly opposed these laws. He first went on self-imposed exile to
France for six years, but when he came back he was murdered in Canterbury
Cathedral (1170).
1337-1453: the Hundred Years’ War: a long conflict against France over the
possession of lands.
1455-87: the War of the Roses: between the two English rival houses of
Lancaster and York.
The rise of the middle classes: with the growth of towns new jobs appeared
(artisans of various kinds: smiths, shoemakers, carpenters, butchers, bakers,
cloth makers…). They organised themselves in guild.
The new role of the merchants: they acquired a new value and they were
respected in society.
Rise of the gentry in the countryside: a new minor aristocracy who owned the
land.
The rise of Middle English
There are different phases in the development of the English language:
•Old English (700-1100) the language used in the Anglo-Saxon period; it was a mixture
of the languages spoken by the Germanic tribes.
Norman French was spoken by the higher classes for about two centuries
after the Norman conquest and it aslo influenced the Anglo-Saxon language spoken by
the peasants.
•Middle English (1100-1450): the vocabulary was strongly influenced by French and
Latin words. Also in terms of grammar, all the Anglo-Saxon inflections disappeared.
•Modern English (1450 – present day): very often we have two words with the same
meaning: one of Anglo-Saxon origins, and the other of French (or Latin) origins. For
example, all phrasal verbs have Anglo-Saxon origins, but they often have a “latin”
equivalent: put off – postpone; carry on – continue.
Medieval Prose
Arthurian romances: they were a European phenomenon, with
writers from various countries, especially France and England. The most
famous English version is Thomas Malory’s La Morte d’Arthur (1485).
The legend of King Arthur dates back to the 5th century around the
time of the first Anglo-Saxon invasions. It is still uncertain whether Arthur was
a real person or just a myth.
These stories deal with the Knights of the Round table and the
ideals of chivalry (loyalty, bravery, honesty, glory) and courtly love (women as
ideal objects).
Medieval drama
Religious festivities were also forms of entertainment.
Stories of the Old and New Testament were represented in forms of
dialogue, first inside churches (between the priest and the choir), then
outside churches. Common people began to act, and Latin was substituted
by the vernacular.
Mystery plays: narrated events from the Bible.
Morality plays: their charachters were not taken from the Bible but were
personifications of fixed values and ideals (vices and virtues).
These plays were born in the 13th century.
They were often represented on movable stages, called pageants.