Outline
I. Background
Historical background II. Literature in this period 1. A Brief Survey 2. Medieval Romance
1) Essential Features of the Romance 2) Romance Cycles
3) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 3. Popular Ballads 1) Introduction
2) Ballads of Robin Hood 4. Middle English Prose William Langland
Background
I. historical background- 1. The Norman Conquest
In 1066, William, invaded England with his strong army. A fierce battle was,fought near Hastings between the English and the Norman armies. William, the Conqueror, became the King of England.
The Consequence of the Conquest
The Norman Conquest brought England more than a change of rulers. a. Politically, a feudalist system was established in England;
b. religiously, the Rome-backed Catholic Church had a much stronger control over the country;
c. great changes also took place in languages. After the conquest, three languages coexisted in England。
d. The conquest opened up England to the whole
European continent, --with the introduction of the culture and literature of France, Italy and other European countries, a fresh wave of Mediterranean civilization came into England.
II．The literature in this period 1. A Brief Survey
This period covers about four centuries. from 1066 up to the mid-14th century, literature in English is almost a barren period in literary creation. Small intrinsic worth; Very little of it is now read;
But in the second half of the 14th century, English literature starts to flourish with the appearance of writers like G. Chaucer, W. Langland, and others.
2. Medieval Romance
1) Romance, which uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the Middle Ages. It has developed the
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characteristic medieval motifs of the quest, the forest, the garden, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with the beautiful beloved. The hero is usually the knight, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some goal -- to protect the church and the poor, to attack infidelity(失真）, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or to obey a knightly command.
The code of manners and morals of a knight is known as chivalry. There is often a liberal use of the improbable, sometimes even supernatural things in romance such as mysteries and fantasies; romantic love is an important part of the plot in romance; characterization is standardized, so that heroes, heroines and wicked stewards can be easily moved from one romance to another; the structure is loose and episodic; the language and style are simple and straightforward. The importance of romance itself can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world. If the epic reflects a heroic age, the romance reflects a chivalric one. The romance prospered for about 300 years (1200-1500). It was written for the noble class, so it had nothing to do with the common people. 1) Essential Features of the Romance
The romance was the prevailing form of literature in the Middle Ages. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. Its essential features are: a. It lacks general resemblance to truth or reality.
b. It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues. c. It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ordinary life. d. It lays emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair lady.
e. The central character of the romance is the knight, a man of noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons. He is commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournaments （比赛）, or fighting for his lord in battle. He is devoted to the church and the king. 2) Romance groups:
The enormous number of the romances fall into three cycles or three groups: the ―matters of Britain‖, the ―matters of France‖, and the ―matters of Rome‖.
a. The matters of France deal largely with the exploits of Charlemagne, often known as Charles the Great, King of Frank and Emperor of the West Empire. The famous romance of this group is Chanson de Roland 罗兰之歌.
b. The Matters of Rome deal with tales from Greek and Roman sources. Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), King of Macedonia and conqueror of Greece, Egypt, India and Persian Empire is the favorite hero of this group. Besides this, Trojan War is also dealt within this group.
c. The matters of Britain mainly deal with the exploits of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. The most interesting of all Arthurian romances are those of the Gawain cycle. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the culmination of the Arthurian romances.
3) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight A. Story
It is a verse romance of 2530 lines, derived from Celtic legend. The author is unknown of Chaucer’s contemporary（同时代的）.
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Characters: King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, his knights, Green Knight, Sir Gawain, the host and his wife, Setting:
1. The first canto: Yuletide feast at Camelot 2. The second canto: Gawain’s long journey
3. The third canto: the life in the castle near Green Chapel 4. The fourth canto: the Green Chapel The story:
On New Year’s day, King Arthur and his knights are holding a feast. A giant in green enters the banquet hall on horse back with a battle axe in his hand. This big man comes to challenge any knight in the hall to give him a blow with the battle-axe.
The condition is that a return stroke be permitted a year later at the Green Chapel. There isn’t any knight who dares to accept the challenge. Seeing that, the king is very angry, and wants to accept the challenge. Just then, the King’s nephew Gawain stands up and takes up the challenge. With one blow he sends the giant’s head rolling through the hall. Then the Green Knight, who is evidently a terrible magician, picks up his head and mounts his horse.
He holds out his head and the ghastly lips warn Gawain to be faithful to his promise and to seek through the world till he finds the Green Chapel, where on next New Year’s day, the Green Knight would meet him and return the blow. A year has passed. Sir Gawain goes to look for the Green Chapel and the Green Knight. He goes through a lot of difficulties and adventures on his way. But he can not find the chapel and the knight. On Christmas Day, he loses his way in a forest. Then he offers prayers to Mary for help: After the prayers, a great castle appears on hill before him, he enters the castle and is warmly entertained by the host and hostess. Gawain is told that the Green Chapel is not far away. He decides to have a rest in the castle.
Gawain stays there for three days. The host makes a compact with him. According to the compact, the host goes out hunting each day, Gawain stays in the castle to entertain the beautiful hostess, and in the evening they should exchange what they has got during the day.
On the first day, the host goes out to do hunting, Gawain stays in the castle. The beautiful hostess tries to induce Gawain to make love to her, but is refused. She gives Gawain a kiss. In the evening, when the host returns, he gives his guest the game he has killed, and Gawain returns him the kiss, which he has got from the hostess. On the second day, Gawain also receives a kiss, and he gives it back to the host when he comes back. On the third, the lady offers Gawain a ring, and Gawain refuses to accept it.
Then the hostess gives him a magic green girdle and tells him that the girdle would preserve him from death if he wears it. Gawain accepts the girdle and promises to the lady not to tell anything about it. When the host comes back in the evening, Gawain returns the kiss he has got from the hostess but he does not say anything about the girdle. Three days later, the host takes Gawain to the Green Chapel. As soon as they get there, the host disappears and Gawain is left alone. He finds that the chapel is a terrible place. When he approaches it, he hears a terrifying sound. Obviously the green giant is sharpening his new axe. Then the Green Knight comes out from the chapel with an axe, and Gawain offers him his neck for the blow. Twice he is harmless, and the third time the axe falls upon his shoulder and he gets slightly wounded. Then the Green Knight tells Sir
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Gawain that he is none other than the host of the Castle where Gawain stayed for three days. He says that the first two swings of the axe did not harm Gawain because he was true to his compact and twice returned the kiss. The last blow wounded him because he concealed the green girdle. Full of shame, Gawain throws back the gift and ready to atone for his deception. The Green Knight thinks that he has already atoned, so presents the girdle to him as a gift. When Gawain comes back to his kingdom, his story becomes widely known. In order to remember this event forever, King Arthur orders each of his knights to wear a green girdle.
This romance is one of the most delightful old romances in any language. In form, it is an interesting combination of French and Saxon elements. It is written in an elaborate stanza combining meter and alliteration. At the end of each stanza there is a rimed refrain. B. Theme and Motif
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the most accomplished example of medieval romance and a poem of rich psychological and moral interest.
The unknown author was Chaucer’s contemporary（同时代的）, but his alliterative verse form was old fashioned even in his own day, and his dialect, that of Northwest England, is also very difficult for the modern readers. the poem is an account of a typical chivalric adventure, an amalgam（混合） of a number of the best-known motifs of Arthurian romance -- a challenge by a mysterious superhuman knight, have unforeseen consequences; a lone quest; an attempted seduction（诱惑） of a Christian knight by a bewitching (charming) temptress.And the courtly romances also married to archetypal 原形folk myths and to religion.The brief summary of the action of the poem reveals that it is concerned with the rights and wrongs of conduct. Its theme is a series of tests on faith, courage, purity and human weakness for self-preservation. The story presents a profoundly Christian view of man’s character and his destiny. The motif of the Green Knight’s head-cutting might originate in ancient vegetation单调的生活 myth in which the beheading would have been a ritual death to ensure a rebirth in the following spring. There is a very clear structure in the poem with a prologue, an epilogue and its main body. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is undoubtedly a romance told with the purpose of portraying ideal character in action.
3. Popular Ballads 1) Introduction
Ballads are originally dance songs. They are little stories in verse form, and they can be sung or recited by the common people. They deal with short anecdotes, local legends, love, fairies and ghosts and etc, in very simple language. there were several kinds of ballads: historical, legendary, fantastical, lyrical and humorous There are references to ballads from the 13th century, but the great age of the ballads was in the 15th century. Robin Hood and Allin-a-Dale; Get up and Bar the Door; Sir Patrick Spens are the representatives.
Features of The Ballad
(1). It is a short narrative, which is usually—but not always—arranged in four-line stanzas with a distinctive and memorable meter.
(2).The usual ballad meter is a first and third line with four stresses—iambic tetrameter—and then a second and fourth with three stresses—iambic trimester.
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(3).The rhyme scheme is abab or abcb.
(4).The subject matter is distinctive: almost always communal stories of lost love, supernatural happenings, or recent events.
(5).The ballad maker uses popular and local speech and dialogue often and vividly to convey the story. This is especially a feature of early ballads.
2) Ballads of Robin Hood
The most famous cycle of English ballads centers on the stories about a legendary outlaw called Robin Hood. In English history, Robin Hood is partly a real and partly a legendary figure. The ballads tell us that he lived during the reign of Richard I. He was the leader of a band of outlaws, and they lived in the deep forest. They often attacked the rich, waged war against the bishops and archbishops, and helped the poor people. Therefore, Robin Hood and his followers were constantly hunted by the sheriffs.
Robin Hood and Allin-A-Dale 罗宾汉和山谷朗阿林
Come listen to me, you gallants so free, 听我说，逍遥自在的好汉们， All you that love mirth for to hear, 所有爱听趣闻乐事的人都来， And I will tell you of a bold outlaw 我要讲一个绿林豪杰的故事， That lived in Nottinghamshire. 他就住在诺丁汉郡一带。
As Robin Hood in the forest stood, 当罗宾汉来到林中驻足， All under the greenwood tree, 四周是一片绿树浓荫， There he was aware of a brave young man 他看到一位勇敢的少年， As fine as fine might be. 风度翩翩长得英俊。
The youngster was clothed in scarlet red, 那小伙子身穿绯红色上衣， In scarlet fine and gay; 红艳艳更显得潇洒俊俏； And he did frisk it over the plain, 他在原野上蹦蹦跳跳， And chanted a roundelay. 口里反复哼着一支小调。
As Robin Hood next morning stood 次天罗宾汉又来到林中， Amongst the leaves so gay, 枝繁叶茂色彩鲜艳， There did he espy the same young man, 他又见到了那位少年， Come drooping along the way. 一路走来垂头丧气。
The scarlet he wore the day before 今天却没有见他 It was clean cast away; 穿那件绯红上衣 And at every step he fetched a sigh, 他走一步就叹口气：
―Alack and a well-a-day!‖ ―哎呀，哎呀，真晦气！‖
then stepped forth brave Little John, 勇敢的小约翰走上前去， And Midge, the miller’s son, 还有磨房主的儿子米吉； which made the young man bend his bow, 惊得那位少年拔剑张弓， When as he saw them come. 当见到他俩向他进逼。
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―Stand off, stand off!‖ the young man said, ―走开，走开！‖少年喝道， ―What is your will with me?‖ ―你们干什么朝我走近？‖ ―You must come before our master straight, ―跟我们去见我们的首领 Under yon greenwood tree.‖ 他接在那边的绿树林。‖
And when he came bold Robin before, 他大胆地走到罗宾汉面前， Robin asked him courteously, 罗宾汉问他，彬彬有礼： ―O, hast thou any money to spare ―喂，身上可带有钱，
For my merry men and me?‖ 是否施舍点给我们兄弟？‖
―I have no money,‖ the young man said, ―我没有钱，‖少年回答道， ―But five shillings and a ring; ―只有五个先令一枚戒指， And that I have kept this seven long years, 我整整保存了长长的七年， To have it at my wedding.‖ 准备作为结婚时的礼物。
―Yesterday I should have married a maid, ―昨天应该是我的婚期， But she soon from me was tane, 但新娘很快被人抢走， And chosen to be an old knight’s delight, 老骑士逼她去作乐寻欢， Whereby my poor heart is slain.‖ 我心如刀割正在发愁。‖
―What is thy name?‖ then said Robin Hood, ―你叫什么名字？‖罗宾汉问道， ―Come tell me without any fail.‖ ―老实告诉我，不要担心。‖ ―By the faith of my body,‖ the said the young man, ―我发誓说实话，‖年轻人回答， ―My name it is Allin-a-Dale.‖ ―我的名字就叫山谷郎阿林。‖
―What wilt thou give me?‖ said Robin Hood, ―你将给我什么报酬？‖罗宾汉问， ―In ready gold or fee, ―是付现金还是给牛羊， To help thee to thy true love again, 我们愿意帮你的忙，
And deliver her unto thee?‖ 为你夺回你心爱的姑娘？‖
―I have no money,‖ then quoth the young man, 年青人回答说：―我没有钱 ―No ready gold nor fee, 没有现金也没有牛羊回报， But I will swear upon a book 但我可以对着圣主发誓， Thy true servant for to be.‖ 永远忠于你，为你效劳。‖
―How many miles is it to thy true love? ―到你心爱的姑娘那儿有几里路？ Come tell me without guile.‖ 快告诉我，别撒谎。‖
―By the faith of my body.‖ the said the young man, ―我发誓说的是真话，‖年青人说， ―It is nut five little mile.‖ ―也不过五里地，路不长。‖
Then Robin he hasted over the plain, 罗宾汉快速穿过原野，
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He did neither stint nor lien, 一路上马不停蹄，
Until he came unto the church, 一口气赶到教堂目的地， Where Allin should keep his wedding. 阿林本该在那里举行婚礼。
―What hast thou here,‖ the bishop then said, ―你们来此有何贵干？‖教主问道， ―I prithee now tell unto me:‖ ―阁下，请告诉我来意。‖ ―I am a bold harper,‖ quoth Robin Hood, ―我是个豪爽的竖琴手，‖罗宾汉说 ―And the best in the north country.‖ ―北方这一带属我第一。‖
―O welcome, O welcome,‖the bishop he said, ―欢迎，欢迎，‖教主忙说道， ―That music best pleaseth me:‖ ―那音乐我最喜欢，最爱听。‖ ―You shall have no music,‖quoth Robin Hood, 罗宾汉说：―要见一见新郎新娘， ―Till the bride and the bridegroom I see.‖ 否则，你音乐也别想听。‖
With that came in a wealthy knight, 接着走出来一位阔骑士， Which was both grave and gold, 老太龙钟，一本正经； Abd after him a bonnie lass, 后面跟着一位漂亮姑娘， Did shine like the glistering gold. 金光闪耀像黄金。
―This is not a fit match,‖ quoth bold Robin Hood, ―这一对很不配，‖罗宾汉说， ―That you do see to make here. ―你们强拉硬配太荒唐。 For since we are come into the church, 既然我们来到了教堂， The bride shall choose her own dear.‖ 新娘可以自己挑个新郎。‖
Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, 罗宾汉举起号角往嘴边一放， And blew blasts two or three; 三声两声就传遍四方； When four- an- twenty bowmen bold 二十四名勇敢的弓箭手 Came leaping over the lea. 很快跨过原野来到现场。
And when they came to the churchyard, 他们排成整齐的一行， Marching all on a row. 迈着正步走进教堂。
The very first man was Allin-a-Dale, 排头第一个就是山谷郎阿林， To give bold Robin his bow. 他把自己的弓交给了罗宾。
―This is thy true love,‖Robin he said, 罗宾汉说：―这是你真正的郎君 ―Young Allin as I newar say; 我叫他年青的小阿林 And you shall be married at this same time, 你们就在此时此地成婚， Before we depart away.‖ 在我们离开之前，赶紧。‖
―That shall not be,‖the bishop he said, ―那可不行，‖主教忙说道， ―For thy word shall not stand; ―你的话说了不算数；
They shall be three times asked in the church, 要由主教亲自问他们三次，
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As the law is of our land.‖ 当地的法律如此，不可有误。‖
Robin Hood pulled of the bishop’s coat, 罗宾汉剥下主教的红袍 And put it upon littler John; 往小约翰身上一披；
―Ny the faith of my body,‖ then Robin said, ―说句老实话，‖罗宾汉说， ―This cloth does make thee a man.‖ ―你穿上这衣服才神气。‖
When little John Went into the quire, 小约翰俨然走上圣坛， The people began to laugh; 大家开始捧腹大笑 He asked them seven times in the church, 他问新娘新郎七次， Lest three times should not be enough. 免得三次礼仪不到。
―Who gives me this maid?‖said Little John; 小约翰问：―是谁把新娘领回？‖ Quoth Robin Hood,‖ That do I, 罗宾汉说：―那只有我可以， And he that takes her from Allin-a –Dale 谁胆敢抢走山谷郎阿林的新娘， Full dearly he shall her buy. 我们就要对他不客气。‖
And thus having end of this merry wedding, 这欢乐的婚礼到此收场， The bride looked like a queen; 新娘像皇后无比欢欣； And so they returned to the merry greenwood, 他们又回到快乐的绿林， Amongst the ;eaves so green. 那里是一片葱绿浓荫。 （何功杰 译） 4. Middle English Prose
Thomas Malory is the only important prose writer in the fifteenth century. He wrote an important work called \" Morte d'Arthur\" (Death of Arthur) in a prison cell. Morte d' Arthur
Malory's tale begins with the mysterious birth of Arthur and ends with his equally mysterious death. The central concern is with the adventures of Arthur and his famous Knights of the Round Table.
The knights fight many battles and win glory, all of which is a credit to the name of King Arthur. Near the end of the story, however, the tide of good fortune turns. Lancelot, one of Arthur's knights, falls in love with Arthur's queen, Guinevere, and the lady returns his love. One by one the other knights become discontented, selfish, or disillusioned. Thus weakened, the kingdom is attacked by force under Sir Mordred, Arthur's treacherous nephew, and ultimately it goes down in defeat. Arthur is borne away on a barge驳船 by three mysterious ladies of the Lake.
William Langland
William Langland was born in the western midland of the country, living from about 1330 to about 1400. He was educated in the school of a monastery at Malvern. After school he took minor orders, but never rose in the church. Then he moved to London and made a scanty（not enough) living by singing masses, copying legal documents and doing other odd jobs.
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In 1362, he began his famous poem, Piers the Plowman which had been repeatedly revised, and of which three texts have been left to us. It was written in the old alliterative verse: each line contained three alliterated words, two of which were placed in the first half, and the third in the second half. 4. Middle English Prose
Thomas Malory is the only important prose writer in the fifteenth century. He wrote an important work called \" Morte d'Arthur\" (Death of Arthur) in a prison cell. Morte d' Arthur
Malory's tale begins with the mysterious birth of Arthur and ends with his equally mysterious death. The central concern is with the adventures of Arthur and his famous Knights of the Round Table.
Malory, in a desire to escape the disorder and uneasiness of his day, tried to recapture lost ideals of the romantic past as recounted in his tale of noble kings, adventurous knights, and damsels（young females) in distress. This book is very important in English literature. Its Arthurian materials have a strong influence on literature of later centuries. William Langland
William Langland was born in the western
midland of the country, living from about 1330 to about 1400. He was educated in the school of a monastery at Malvern. After school he took minor orders, but never rose in the church. Then he moved to London and made a scanty（not enough) living by singing masses, copying legal documents and doing other odd jobs.
In 1362, he began his famous poem, which had been repeatedly revised, and of which three texts have been left to us. It was written in the old alliterative verse: each line contained three alliterated words, two of which were placed in the first half, and the third in the second half. 3. Artistic Features of the Poem
1) Piers the Plowman is written in the form of a dream vision. The author tells his story under the guise of having dreamed it. 2) The poem is an allegory, which relates truth through symbolism.
3) The poet uses indignant satire in his description of social abuses caused by the corruption prevailing among the ruling classes, ecclesiastical and secular. 4) The poem is written in alliteration.
Exercises: the Anglo-Norman Period Questions for discussion:
1. How did the Norman Conquest affect the literature and language of England? 2. What are the essential features of romance?
3. Make comments on the romance ―Sir Gawain and the Green Knight‖.
Self-study
Piers the Plowman
The poem describes a series of wonderful dreams the author dreamed. Through these dreams, we can see a picture of the life in the feudal England. In the first dream, the author saw a fair field full of people. There were the rich and the poor, workers and idlers, nobles and merchants, unworthy priests, pardoners and jesters. All classes were there.
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The workingmen were industriously employed in ploughing and sowing in order that the idlers might waste the fruits of their labor.
The author also saw all sorts of parasites. First there were the bishops and deacons. Instead of preaching to their flocks, they became the clerks of the law court. Rule of the Church was given to the cardinal（红衣主教） who possessed no cardinal virtues at all. There were also other religious idlers called friars （男修道士）, monks, hermits, and the like. All of them told lies to the people, but a lot of money came into their pockets.
In his dream, the author also noticed a group of rats rush upon the scene. They discussed how to get rid of a court cat. One rat proposed that their enemy should be killed. But a mouse pointed out that, even if the cat was killed, another would come in its place. So at last, all of the rats agree ―Let that Cat Be‖. Through the story of the rats, the author exposed the ruling class and summed up the political situation of the time.
In the next dream, the author saw Lady Bribery, who was the incarnation of the corruption of the ruling class, and the enemy of Truth. Lady Bribery was to be married to a False Fickle Tongue. Through the allegory of her marriage, every rank and condition of men connected with the royal and ecclesiastical court is brought under the lash. The King was enraged at the news. And Lady Bribery was asked by the King to wed Conscience. But when Conscience was called to the court, he flatly refused to marry the lady and set forth her whole manner of life.
Conscience said that Bribery corrupted the judges, and made it difficult for the poor to get justice. She released the guilty, threw the just into prison, and hanged the innocent; and she was privy（有利害关系） with the Pope, and let priests live in secret concubinage （非法同居）. When Lady Bribery was asked to defend herself against these charges, she made an extremely cunning speech.
She showed how necessary the intervention（干涉） of her was in all the relations of life, between master and servant, King and subject, buyer and seller. Conscience exposed her fallacies point by point. He said there were two kinds of bribery, one the just reward for service, the other the price of misdoing. What laborers received was not bribery, but wages; in merchandise, there was not bribery, but exchange.
Lady Bribery had no argument to offer but a misquotation from the Scriptures. She said Solomon declared that they that gave gifts won the victory and obtained honor. But Conscience at once reminded her that she had left out the last part of the text: \"He that gives a gift shall have honor, but the soul of them that receive it is bound thereby. \" Finally, the King bade (order) them to be reconciled.
Here we can see clearly that the poet tried to lash （satirize) the corruption of the society with the whip of a satirist. And he also described the hard life of the poor peasants and showed sympathy to them. The next part of the poem describes the pilgrimage of the people in search for Truth. In the confusion, Lady Holy Church appeared. She encouraged all the people to seek Truth, the best thing in the world.
But the people declared that they would never find the way without a guide, whereupon appeared to the scene the hero of the poem, Piers the plowman. Piers was a simple and honest peasant. Before leading the people on their pilgrimage, he said that he must first have his half acre of land ploughed. So he set all the pilgrims to work. He explained to the people that the best way in search for Truth was to take part in labor.
In this part, the author praised the dignity of honest labor. He considered that the peasants were the nearest to Truth. This poem is considered one of the greatest English poems of
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medieval times. It’s written in the alliterative verse and takes the form of dream vision, describing a panorama of feudal England.
Dream vision is a favorite device in medieval poetry. This poem satirizes corruption among the clergy and secular authorities, depicts the miseries and suffering of the needy and upholds the dignity and value of labor, personified by Piers Plowman. It is a realistic picture of medieval England.
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