03
Middle-English or
Anglo-Norman Period (1100-1500)
residing in Normandy (France)
vho were :
Pe eaeese at the Battle of Hastings (1066)
defeated the Anglo-Saxon King
and conquered England.
The Norman Conquest inaugurated a distinctly new
epoch in the literary as well as political history of England, The
Anglo-Saxon authors were then as suddenly and permanently
displaced as the Anglo-Saxon king. The literature afterwards
read and written by Englishmen was thereby as completely
transformed as the sentiments and tastes of English rulers. The
foreign types of literature introduced after the Norman
Conquest first found favour with the monarchs and courtiers,
and were deliberately fostered by them, to the disregard of
native forms. No effective protest was possible by the Anglo-
Saxons, and English thought for centuries to come was largely
fashioned in the manner of the French. Throughout the whole
period, which we call the Middle English period (as belonging
to.the Middle Ages or Medieval times in the History of Britain)
or the Anglo-Norman period, in forms of artistic expression a5
well as of religious service, the English openly acknowledged a
Latin control.
It is true that before the Northan Conquest the Anglo
Saxons had a body of native literature distinctly superior to
any European vernacular. But one cannot deny that th?
Normans came to their land when they greatly needed a"
external stimulus. The Conquest effected a wholesomé
ewakering of national life. The people were suddenly inspir@
y a new vision of a greater future, They became united in?
Common hope. In course of time the Anglo-Saxons lost the"
34liddle-English or Anglo-N
an Period (1100-1500) 35
initial hostility to the new comers, and all became part and
parcel of one nation. The Normans not only brought with them
soldiers and artisans and traders, they also imported scholars
to revive knowledge, chroniclers to record memorable events,
minstrels to celebrate victories, or sing of adventure and love.
The great difference between the two periods— Anglo-
saxon period and Anglo-Norman period, is marked by the
disappearance of the old English poetry. There is nothing
during the Anglo-Norman period like Beowulf or Fall of the
Angels. The later religious poetry has little in it to recall the
finished art of Cynewulf. Anglo-Saxon poetry, whether derived
from heathendom or from the Church, has ideas and manners
of its own; it comes to perfection, and then it dies away. It
seems that Anglo-Saxon poetry grows to rich maturity, and
then disappears, as with the new forms of language and urnier
new influences, the poetical education started again, and so the
poetry of the Anglo-Norman period has nothing in common
the Anglo-Saxon poetry.
The most obvious change in literary expression appears in
the vehicle employed. For centuries Latin had been more or
less spoken or written by the clergy in England. The Conquest
which led to the reinvigoration of the monasteries and the
tightening of the ties with Rome, determined its more extensive
use. Still more important, as a result of foreign sentiment in
court and castle, it caused writings in the English vernacular to
be disregarded, and established French as the natural speech of
the cultivated and the high-born. The clergy insisted on the use
of Latin, the nobility on.the use of French; no one of influence
saw the utility of English as a means of perpetuating thought,
and for nearly three centuries very few works appeared in the
native tongue.
In spite of the English language having been thrown into
the background, some works were composed in it, though they
echoed in the main the sentiments and tastes of the French
writers, as French then was the supreme arbiter of European
literary style. Another striking characteristic of medievalMullik—Critical Histor tion I
30
literature is its general anonymity. Of the many who wrote the
names of but few are recorded, and of the history of these few
we have only the most meagre details, It was because
originality was deplored as 4 fault, and independence of
treatment was a heinous offence in their eyes,
(a) The Romances °
The most popular form of literature during the Middle
English period was the romances. No literary productions of
the Middle Ages are so characteristic, none so perennially
attractive as those that treat romantically of heroes and
heroines of by-gone days. These romances are notable for their
stories rather than their poetry, and they, like- the drama
afterwards, furnished the chief mental recreation of time for the
great. body of the people. These romances were mostly
borrowed from Latin and French sources. They deal with the
Swries of King Arthur, The War of Troy, and the mythical
doings of Charlemagne and of Alexander the Great.
(b) The Miracle and Morality Plays
In the Middle English period Miracle plays became very
Popular. From the growth and development of the Bible story,
scene by scene, carried to its logical conclusion, this drama—
developed to an enormous cycle of sacred history, beginning
with the creation of man, his fall and banishment from the
Garden of Eden and extending through the more important
matters of the Old Testament and life of Christ in the New to the
sammoning of the quick and the dead on the day of final
judgment. This kind of drama is called the miracle play-
sometimes less correctly the myst i ished
throughout England from the vad, Play —and it flourishe
ym th e i
Elizabeth (1154-1603), N® TBR Of Henry II to that o!
A
Middle Ages fom Gh dtama which flourished during th
uniform theme is the susan wi), Plays: In these plays
: egle between the po of good an
evil for the mastery of the soul of man, The. pewsonened wer
abstract virtues, or vices, each acting and speaking inDemet Seer
Middle-English or Anglo-Norman Period (1100-1500)_37,
accordance with his name; and the plot was built upon their
contrasts and influences on human nature, with the intent to
teach right living and uphold religion. In a word, allegory is
the distinguishing mark of the moral plays. In these moral
plays the protagonist is always an abstraction; he is Mankind,
the Human Race, the Pride of Life, and there is an attempt to
compass the whole scope of man’s experience and temptations
in life, as there had been a corresponding effort in the Miracle
plays to embrace the complete range of sacred history, the life
of Christ, and the redemption of the world.
(c) William Langland
(1332 2...2).-One of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages
was William Langland, and his poem, A Vision of Piers the
Plowman holds an important place in English literature. In spite
of its archaic style, it is a classic work in English literature. This
poem, which is a satire on the corrupt religious practices,
throws light on the ethical problems of the day. The character
assumed by Langland is that of the prophet, denouncing the
sins of society and encouraging men to aspire to a higher life.
He represents the dissatisfaction of the lower and the more
thinking classes of English society, as Chaucer represents the
content of the aristocracy and the prosperous middle class.
Although Langland is essentially a satiric poet, he has decided
views on political and social questions. The feudal system is his
ideal; he desires no change in the institution of his days, and he
thinks that all would be well if the different orders of society
would do their duty. Like Dante and Bunyan, he ennobles his
satire by arraying it in a garb of allegory; and he is intensely
real.
(d) John Gower (13257-1408)
Gower occupies an important place in the development of
English poetry. Though it was Chaucer who played the most
important role in this direction, Gower's contribution cannot be
ignored. Gower represents the English culmination of that
courtly medieval poetry which had its rise in France two orB.R. Mullik —Critical History Section 4)
Se
eat stylist, and he proy
before. He is a grea!
three hundred years
ed
e languages wh
ee te with the other langu: BES Which
that ee aed themselves in poetry. Gower is main}
had most dis'
ly
i: st important work is Confessio,
aes hee : ie Carnot conversing between the Poet
Anant ict erpretet, It is an encyclopaedia‘of the afr <
a saris ee vanities of the current time. Throughoy,
vere seuetion of stories which forms the major portion of
Caen Amantis, Gower presents himself as a moralist
Though Gower was inferior to Chaucer, it is sufficient that they
seers canny fellow pioneers, fellow schoolmasters, in the
task of bringing England to literature. Up to their time, the
literary production of England had been exceedingly
rudimentary and limited. Gower, like Chaucer, performed the
function of establishing the form of English as a thoroughly
equipped medium of literature.
(e) Chaucer (13402...1400)
It was, in fact, Chaucer who was the real founder of
English poetry, and he is rightly called the ‘Father of English
Poetry’. Unlike the poetry of his predecessors and
contemporaries, which is read by few except professed
scholars, Chaucer's Poetry has been read and enjoyed
continuously from his own day to this, and the greatest of his
Successors, from Spenser and Milton to Tennyson and William
Morris, have joined in praising it. Chaucer, in fact, made a fresh
beginning in English literature. He disregarded altogether the
glish tradition. His education as a Poet was two-fold
Part of it came from French and Italian literatures; but part of it
came from life. He Was nota mere bookman, nor was he in the
ast a visionary, Like Shakespeare and Milton, he was, on the
contiary, a man of the world and of attairs,
The most famous And characteristic work of Chaucer
a oe ne, whi Wis a collection of stories related Py
SOMKEMPOLAEY Linglah mactoty, ReNeNE dliferent sect
.
MY nocloty, and in the description ofMiddle-English or Anglo-Norman Period (1100-1500)
most prominent of these people in the Prologue Chaucer's
powers are shown at their very highest. All these characters are
individualized, yet their thoroughly typical quality gives
unique value to Chaucer's picture of men and manners in the
Tingland of his time.
The Canterbury Tales is a landmark in the history of
Knglish poetry because here Chaucer enriched the English
language and metre to such an extent, that now it could” be
conveniently used for any purpose. Moreover, by introducing a
variety of highly-finished characters into a single action, and
engaging, them in an animated dialogue, Chaucer fulfilled
overy requirement of the dramatist, short of bringing his plays
on the stage, Also, by drawing finished and various portraits in
verse, he showed the way to the novelists to portray characters.
Chaucer's works fall into three periods. During the first
period he imitated French models, particularly the famous and
very long poem Le Roman de la Rose of which he made a
translation—Romaunt of the Rose. This poem which gives an
intimate introduction to the medieval French romances and
allegories of courtly love, is the embryo out of which all
Chaucer's poetry grows. During this period he also wrote the
Book of the Duchess, an elegy, which in its form and nature is
like the Romaunt of the Rose; Complaint unto Pity, a shorter poem
and ABC, a series of stanzas religious in tone, in which each
opens with a letter of the alphabet in order,
The poems of the second period (1373-84) show the
influence of Italian literature, especially of Dante's Divine
Comedy and Boccactio’s poems. In this period he wrote The
Parliament of Fowls, which contains very dramatic and satiric
dialogues between the assembled birds; Troilus and Criseyde,
which narrates the story of the Trojan prince Troilus and his
love for a damsel, Criseyde; The Story of Griselda, in which is
given a pitiful picture of womanhood; and The House of Fame,
which is a masterpiece of comic fantasy, with a graver
undertone of contemplation of human folly.Mullik—Critical History Section |}
40
1 jod (1384-90) may be called the En, ris
: Chaucer's third Lajonie off foreign influenc ca
Period ee ea originality. In the Legend of Good Woman ie
ene the first time the heroic couplet. [t was during
cn iod that he wrote The Canterbury Tales, his greatest
che achievement which places us in the heart of London
Here we find his gentle, kindly humour, which is Chaucer's
greatest quality, at its very best.
Chaucer's importance in the development of English
literature is very great because he removed poetry from the
region of Metaphysics and Theology, and made it hold as
“twere the mirror up to nature”. He thus brought back the old
classical principle of the direct imitation of nature.
(f) Chaucer’s Successors
After Chaucer there was a decline in English poetry for
about one hundred years. The years from 1400 to the
Renaissance were a period bereft of literature. There were only
a few minor poets, the imitators and successors of Chaucer,
who are called the English and Scottish Chaucerians who wrote
during this period. The main cause of the decline of literature
during this period was that no writer of genius was born
during those long years. Chaucer's successors were Occleve,
Lydgate, Hawes, Skelton, Henryson, Dunbar and Douglas.
They all did little but copy him, and the; f
mediocrity in Engl y y represent an era of
lish literature that continues up to the time of
the Renaissance, y
WAVES IAN UT.