Old and Middle English
OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH
Read about early Anglo-Saxon Britain
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Anglo-Saxon_Britain.htm
1 - What´s the name of the oldest surviving written text in English? When was it written?
2 - Beowulf is the name of the longest epic Old English poem we preserve (c.700-1000 AD). It was written in an early form of the English language. However, the story it tells is not completely English. Why?
https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_4/welcome.htm
3 - Look up in the Columbia encyclopedia and find out who was the Venerable Bede.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/rc/RchrdsnS.html
Have a look at the fragment of Caedmon´s Hymn. Compare the original Old English language with Modern English.
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm
You can also visit the Audio Readings Archive at the Norton Anthology of English Literature site and listen to the fragment while you read.
https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm
4- Which two important events marked the beginning and the end of the Middle English period?
5- Which two other languages, different from English, greatly influenced Medieval English literature? Can you understand why?
6- One of the first major texts written in Middle English is Layamon´s Brut. What does it deal with?
In the late medieval period (1200-1500), the ideals of courtly love entered England and authors began to write romances, either in verse or prose. Especially popular were the tales of King Arthur and his court. The anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows many of the key features of literature at this time: a setting in the legendary time of King Arthur, an emphasis on chivalry, religious and knightly behavior. The last important medieval work dealing with the Arthurian legend is theMorte d’Arthur of Sir Thomas Malory, whose tales have become a source for more Arthurian material.
7- Explain the role of the following characters in the legend of King Arthur briefly:
a) King Arthur:
b) Merlin:
c) Excalibur:
d) Guinevere:
e) Launcelot:
f) The Knights of the Round Table:
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ar/Arthuria.html
https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_2/welcome.htm
8- The Owl and the Nightingale and The Parliament of Fowls are two medieval poems whose main characters are birds playing the roles of human beings. Who were they written by?
https://user.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/~holteir/companion/Navigation/Anonymous_Texts/Owl_and_the_Nightingale/owl_and_the_nightingale.html
https://user.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/~holteir/companion/Navigation/Authors/Chaucer/WorksChaucer/PF/pf.html
We should also mention another allegorial poem critisizing the abuses of Medieval society , William Langland´s The Vision of Piers Plowman
9- England's first great author, Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 -1400), wrote in Middle English. His most famous work is The Canterbury Tales , a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. They represent a wide picture of the 14th century English society, which is reflected in the language they use and in the content of their stories. What are these about?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0857259.html
http://ftp.collin.edu/andrade/BritLitI2322/InfoCanterbury.html
Now compare the fragment you read above with the language of the Wife of Bath (one of the stories in The Canterbury Tales) and see how English has developed. You can also listen to the reading at the Norton Audio Readings Archive mentioned before.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section9.rhtml
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael9/section/volA/audio.aspx
10- Medieval drama set the basis for the great relevance it would achieve in the 16th century. The main medieval performances were called mystery and miracle plays. What did they consist of?