English Language and Literature in the Middle ages
English Society of the Middle Ages saw many developments and new trends, but
none so plainly as the developments witnessed in the Language and Literature of that time. It began with the Norman Conquest: eloquent french words substituted for the “harsh” saxon equivalents, primarily in the upper levels of society. Literature began to reflect these changes in the language, and continued to evolve throughout the Renissance. Together, these aspects helped define the Middle Ages.
The Norman Conquest took place in 1066 with the death of King Edward. William
of Normandy, later to be reffered to as “The Conquerer”, fought King Harold in order to
claim the crown in Britian. Succeeding, William integrated Norman life into the Old
English culture, concentrating in the higher courts and plitical scene. This integration of the Norman culture then filtered down to the underclass.
The developmental trends of the English Language can be clearly seen in the
literature of the time. Geoffrery Chaucer, who’s works were a precursor to t...
October 14th of the year 1066 two armies faced each other near the town of Hastings. 10,000 Norman troops under the command of William of Normandy faced 8,000 Anglo-Saxon soldiers led by Harold the current king of England.
As a Science major I am not given the opportunity to explore my imagination; everything that I learn is factual and unquestionable. English 1301 gave me a voice of my own, this course made me understand that the best way to discover knowledge and wisdom is through reading and interacting with literature. Prior to taking this course I struggled with different writing skills such as, understanding the process of writing, analyzing reading selection and applying basic critical thinking skill in an argumentative essay. I also struggled with the analysis of specific content in professional writing, identifying rhetorical strategies and synthesizing concepts from references. Lucky for me my professor was extraordinarily skilled and provided me with
...ugh many people considered the Middle Ages as an era where nothing happened, my paper conveys that point that lots of territorial, demographical, cultural, economic, and scientific developments took place in the Middle Age. I hope that people could abandon their stereotype of the Middle Ages and could come to learn this colorful time period.
My analysis over the development of my writing throughout this semester. I will assess many aspects of my experiences with English 1301 up to this point in the semester. I will explain the ways by which I have blossomed as a writer during this time. I will provide brief examples of my work to show what I am basing the evaluation of my writing on. What my conceptions of writing were, at the start of, the semester and compare it to what they are now. I will clarify how my work this semester reflects the concepts of writing and reading we have been working on and studying in class. I will tell about what and how particular reading assignments have been influential in my growth of creative ideas. Lastly, my interpretation of what it means to be a writer, and how my experiences this semester has influenced my opinion on writing.
Beowulf contains information regarding the author, provenance, genre, language, and intended audience. To begin, the author is a mystery like many of the authors during the Anglo-Saxon period, so it could have been written by a single poet or a group of poets. Also, it is unknown when Beowulf was created, but using historical references from around that time it is believed to be around the 7th to 8th century CE in England. It is known that it was not written down until about the 1000 CE because the literacy rate in England at the time when it was created very low. The manuscript was first owned by Sir Robert Cotton the third, but was bought by the British government after seeing it as a national treasure. The an original manuscript
In 1066 when his claim to the English throne was threatened by Harold Godwinson. Due to the fact that Harold Godwinson overlooked the dead king's wishes. Edward the Confessor, sworn his loyalty to William of Normandy when he died not to Harold. Harold Godwinson promptly had himself proclaimed king. It was only a matter of months before William, Duke of the large and powerful duchy of Normandy in France, paid Harold a visit to bring to his remembrance his own claim to the throne. William raised an army of Normans by promising them land and wealth when he came into his rightful kingship. October 14th 1066 he and William fought at the famous battle of Hastings. William and his army of Normans came, saw, and conquered. True to his promise to his fellow warriors, William systematically replaced the English nobility with Norman barons and noblemen who took control of the land, the people, and the government.
On the 14th of October 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. His win could be summed up by the fact that William was a better leader. Other factors that contributed to William’s victory include: William was better prepared, the English army was severely weakened as Harold had just fought off an invasion in the North of England, and Harold made a fatal mistake of prematurely entering the Battle of Hastings.
The Anglo Saxon period is the oldest known period of time that had a complex culture with stable government, art, and a fairly large amount of literature. Many people believe that the culture then was extremely unsophisticated, but it was actually extremely advanced for the time. Despite the many advancements, the period was almost always in a state of war. Despite this fact, the Anglo-Saxon period is a time filled with great advancements and discoveries in culture, society, government, religion, literature, and art.
As you can see, there are many differences and similarities between these distinctive periods in literary history. The Anglo-Saxon period was the time of heroism. The Medieval period was the time of chivalry and courtly love. The Renaissance period was the time of a rebirth and humanism. Lastly, the seventeenth century was a time of the Puritans and the Cavaliers. Each period revolved a new topic, theme and writing style. However, no matter what differences our literature goes through, we always go back into our roots and pull out our beginnings and use them efficiently. The English language has surely evolved through each stage of time and it will continue to grow to new heights because of its predominant history.
The Renaissance, was an amazing cultural movement and the break from the Middle Ages affected every aspect of life. It is often known as the first transition from medieval to modern. The Middle Ages was a time where the church ruled the daily lives of people, and where land was of utmost importance. While events such as plagues and invasion triggered the shift from Middle Ages to Renaissance, the fundamental differences in philosophy such as humanism, secularism, and classicism defined the era, brought back from the Greeks and Romans. Many important aspects of society were thus largely influenced and changed with the new time period.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the year 476, England proceeded to go through a series of 4 historical periods. Known as the Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, Medieval, and the Renaissance periods, they are long spans of time that are clearly divided by major historical events. The Anglo-Saxon period begins with the fall of the Roman Empire. England is then invaded by people from the northern region of Europe. The Anglo-Norman period begins with the French invasion of England, which lasts until the Hundred Years War in about 1300. The Medieval period follows and lasts until the combination of the invention of the printing press and the onset of the Protestant Reformation. The period that follows the medieval is the Renaissance, but is also known as Early Modern.
As its name suggests, Middle English is the language that was spoken in the country of England around the 12th to 15th centuries. Middle English became the prominent language in England near the end of the 11th century shortly after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066. Unlike England's preceding language, Old English, Middle English evolved into much more of a written language. There were many writers and educated English scholars who worked to translate Old English texts into the new Middle English language. There were also writers, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, who used the Middle English language to write new works which employed new and creative literary techniques. One such work, The Canterbury Tales, is a work that has been recognized as having an extreme significance on the development of the Middle English language. This work is argued to be the greatest literary contribution to the Middle English language and is credited with popularizing the language among literary scholars. However, despite its historical influence on the Middle English language, the significance of the work is less seen today because of the evolution of Modern English. As a result, it is important to investigate the origins of this work and in so doing, make an effort to realize the overall importance of reading the text in its original Middle English language.
The duration of Early Modern English took place during the English Renaissance, and hence the amazing evolutions that occurred within it (Myers 166). After the Renaissance came the Age of Reason, and it is during this time that the language becomes recognizable to today (Smith 9). The most common example of Early Modern English is the fact that Shakespeare wrote in it, and it poses the most similarities to Modern day; the language moved from a synthetic one to a more analytical one, and relied less on inflectional endings and more with word order to convey information (Durkin 1). Early Modern English is the premise for the ever-evolving language that millions speak
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is recognized as the first book of poetry written in the English language. This is because poetry was often written in Italian or Latin not English, even writers from England wrote in the other languages because English was considered low class and vulgar, but after Chaucer's writings were published they became a recognized and legitimate work. The Canterbury Tales gives modern readers a good judgment of language in the 14th century as it also gives a rich, elaborated tapestry of medieval social life, combining elements of all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves. The view of the Canterbury Tales being held up as a precise reflection of English society in the 14th century is significantly correct, because they were very attached to the church and beliefs and the way they all act in the Tales shows how they really were a society of the Church.
Invasion in the 9th century by Scandinavians, who settled in the north of England and the establishment of Danelaw in 886 AD defining the area governed by the Danes in the north and east, had a marked effect on the language spoken there (Beal, J. 2012, p. 59). These periods are known as Early and Later Old English (Beal, J. 2012, p. 50). The Norman invasion of 1066 AD began a period of two centuries in which French was the official language of England, resulting in the introduction of many words with French or Latin roots, such as 'baron', 'justice' and 'government' (Beal, J. 2012, p. 64). English was first used in Parliament in 1362 AD and gradually displaced French (Appendix I, in Seargeant, J and Swann, J.... ... middle of paper ... ...