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From Anglo-Saxon (658-1154 C.E. ) to Middle English (1154-1485 C.E.)

From Anglo-Saxon (658-1154 C.E. ) to Middle English (1154-1485 C.E.). Major changes. Norman Conquest (1066)—English kings become French speakers Linguistic: As Old English moves to Middle English, Anglo-Norman (French) establishes prestige as language #2 to Latin

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From Anglo-Saxon (658-1154 C.E. ) to Middle English (1154-1485 C.E.)

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  1. From Anglo-Saxon (658-1154 C.E. )to Middle English (1154-1485 C.E.)

  2. Major changes • Norman Conquest (1066)—English kings become French speakers • Linguistic: As Old English moves to Middle English, Anglo-Norman (French) establishes prestige as language #2 to Latin • Chivalry: Social system based on prestige, courtesy, and service

  3. Arthurian Mss.: Geoffrey of Monmouth

  4. Building the Myth: Glastonbury Abbey

  5. Building the Myth: The Round Table

  6. Marie de France • May be illegitimate sister of Henry II • Social observer • Very familiar with fin amor and courtly behavior • Critiques it through Lais

  7. The Lais • Lais are short narrative poems, often in a meter that suggests a musical accompaniment • She wrote 12 • Deal with love from many points of view • Two are Arthurian

  8. Social Class Changes • Normans install the feudal system • Concept of three “estates”—fixed place in the social structure • Black Death (major outbreak 1349) kills more than 30% of population, ends feudalism • People move to cities for work, rise of merchant class, beginnings of a bourgeoisie • Peasant’s Rebellion in 1381

  9. Religion remains the constant, but… • Though Latin continues its prestige stronghold and • Education is mostly still in the hands of the church, merchant/guild schools are starting and • Law & business are conducted mostly in French (Edward III addresses Parliament in English for the first time in 1362)

  10. And the Church had troubles… • Too much money being donated led to corruption (though often with good intentions) • Selling salvation through indulgences as a fundraiser • Tied up with politics (the Crusades, two Popes) • People starting to question its control of religious texts…

  11. Changes in Literacy • More merchant classes mean more literate people • Emphasis on pious literacy, especially for women • Improved economic status means more $$ to buy status items like books

  12. Where does Malory come in?

  13. Writing c. 1465-70 • England in political turmoil (Wars of Roses) • Family turning against family • Noblemen switching loyalties for political gains • Malory’s sense that the “old values” were fading away

  14. Morte Darthur • Two versions—Caxton’s print edition, 1485 • “Winchester Manuscript,” only discovered in 1934 • Question of whether it’s a “hoole book” or 8 related tales • Genre is something new—blend of chronicle, history, fiction, and mirror for magistrates

  15. What does Morte Darthur do? • Mirror for Magistrates—tells a valuable lesson for those in authority • Recalls the values of chivalry, loyalty, brotherhood • Shows how individual ambition and passion can destroy corporate well-being • Offers some hope that good times will someday come back

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