Romances

After the Norman conquest English literature didn’t produce anything until the 13th century. Then, the nobility favoured the French form of romances (French was the language of the Norman ruling class). Romances were anonymous long poems about knights, intricate love stories and supernatural creatures and happenings. They became very popular. Even the structure of the poems changed: the number of syllables increased, stanzas became more complicated and rhymes developed together with assonances.

The Arthurian Legends

The Latin book Historia Regum Britanniae written by Geoffrey of Monmouth gave many ideas to English and French romances. First of all is became the source of the Arthurian cycle, the description of the heroic life and deeds of King Arthur and his knights. Then, it inspired Brut by Layamon, the first national English poem which traces Britain’s history from its foundation up to King Arthur’s reign. At last, it was the subject of Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur.

Middle English

The term refers to the English language spoken from 1150 to 1500. It is the result of the amalgamation between French and English. It had a wider vocabulary and a simpler structure. It was the dialect spoken in London, Oxford and Cambridge and also the one used by Geoffrey Chaucer (who set the literary model) and William Caxton (the first printer in England).

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)

He was the son of a wealthy wine-merchant in London. He worked at the court, received a good education and travelled abroad as a diplomat. He also wrote poetries, using the English language while Latin and French were still the languages of culture. His work reflected influences from Petrarch’s and Boccaccio’s works.

The Canterbury Tales

Is the main work of Geoffrey Chaucer. It was probably inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron. The stories are told by a group of 29 pilgrims setting off a pilgrimage to Canterbury. There are actually 24 tales, even if there should have been more (the work was not completed). It is mainly written in verses with some parts in prose. It has come to us in manuscript form (printing had not been invented yet).

Chaucer’s Characters - Chaucer’s Humanism

The story-tellers represent the classes of English society of late Middle Ages: the military, the clergy, the middle class and the trades. Each one has his/her own dimensions and is well characterized. The tales are often a means to illustrate deeply aspects of the personality of the teller. For his attention for human beings, their life and world, Chaucer is probably the first English humanist. His work is a vivid and realistic description of the Medieval society.

Metrical Innovations

He laid the foundations of the classic English verse line, imported some features from France and used them with great freedom. He occasionally used alliteration. He is considered “the father of English poetry”.

Ballads

Anonymous songs committed to memory and handed over orally from generation to generation. They were originated among the common people who had a very lively cultural life. From England and Scotland came the folk ballads: made up of four-line stanzas rhyming abcd. The subjects were taken from everyday life, border conflicts between English and Scots or the legends of Robin Hood.

Origins of Medieval Drama: It was used to give illiterate peasants a religious education in the mysteries of faith and the Bible.

Mystery (or Miracle) Plays

They developed from processions to celebrate Corpus Christi of other religious festivity. They consisted in a number of plays dealing with stories of the Old and New Testament.

The Subjects: biblical sorties, events from the life of Christ.
They were written in the English spoken by the local population. The settings were changed from Egypt and Palestine to Yorkshire or other English countries to make the story seem nearer to the common people.

The Performances

The Mystery Plays were financed by the trade or craft guilds and performed outdoors, on movable stage wagons. Performances went on from early morning until late evening. All activities were suspended so that everybody could take part in the festivities.

The Manuscripts

The manuscripts of the Mystery Plays are called from the name of the town where they were probably presented. Their authors are anonymous.

Morality Plays

They were performed by travelling professional companies in an open space. Then they moved indoors into noble and university places. They usually told an allegorical tale, not biblical, to improve common people’s religious and moral education.

Everyman

Finest Morality play which has come down to us. It takes its name from the one of its hero, who represents the humankind. It offers moral lessons for the salvation of man’s soul.

The Importance of Medieval Drama

It added a human element to the religious themes of the Mysteries, created characters corresponding to English social types and all classes liked it.