This section covers a long period of English history, from 1050 to 1350, roughly 300 years which had a lot going on in terms of transitioning from the earlier age. We had new ruling dynasties coming in, conflicts between different classes, and lots of war with France, Scotland, and Wales. But what mattered even more for literature were the general trends of the time. We saw the rise and decline of religious orders, the popularity of chivalry and romance, which brought more sympathy for the poor and women, and the Crusades, which broadened people's horizons and eventually led to the Renaissance. All of these were signs of an increasing intelligence that had a big impact on the literature of the era.
In terms of language, things were changing too. Old English, the language used before, disappeared as a written language around 1050. It was replaced by Middle English, a mix of Anglo-French, which eventually became the ancestor of modern English. The transition happened around 1200 when we started seeing Middle English texts like the Brut. These texts show how the language had evolved. Many Old English words were lost, and a lot of French words came in. The old grammar rules broke down, and most of the inflections were lost. The language also developed different dialects: Northern, Midland, and Southern. None of them were dominant until later in the period when the Midland dialect started to become more prevalent. So basically, Middle English developed from Old English, changing its grammar, pronunciation and spelling and borrowing words from French and Latin.
Middle English literature refers to the writing in the English language during the late 12th century until the 1470s. During this time, English started to become more standardized due to the Chancery Standard (A term used to refer to the 15c written usage of the clerks of Chancery in London, who prepared the king's documents) and the influence of the printing press. The literature didn't undergo significant changes until the Renaissance and the impact of Reformed Christianity, which became evident during King Henry VIII's reign. Middle English literature can be categorized into three main types: religious, courtly love, and Arthurian. However, Geoffrey Chaucer's works stand apart from these categories. Notable religious works include those by the Katherine Group and the writings of Julian of Norwich and Richard Rolle.
The Norman Conquest of 10666 didn't immediately change the English language or literature. Old poetry continued to be copied, and some poems in the early 12th century showed that alliterative verse was still being composed. Rhyme started to replace alliteration in certain poems even before the conquest. After the conquest, the influence of the new aristocracy led to Law French becoming the standard language for courts, parliament, and polite society.
Although Anglo-Norman and Latin were preferred for high culture and administration, English literature didn't disappear. Several important works demonstrate the language's development. Layamon's Brut, written around the turn of the 13th century, is a Middle English work influenced by Old English. In the 14th century, major English literary works began to reappear. These included the poems by the Pearl Poet, Piers Plowman by Langland, Confessio Amantis by John Gower, and the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, who was highly regarded as a poet. The 15th century saw the reputation of Chaucer's successors decline in comparison to him, although Lydgate, Hoccleve, and Skelton are still studied. Scottish poetry had its origins during this time, with James I of Scotland writing The Kingis Quair. Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, and Gavin Douglas were notable Scottish poets, with Douglas's version of Virgil's Aeneid being an early example of Renaissance literary humanism in English.
Features of the Middle English Period:
Transition and Experimentation: This period was all about trying new things and figuring out what works. The old poetic techniques were fading away, and English poets were looking at both French and Latin models for inspiration. Over time, though, the native features of English poetry, like alliteration, started to come back. It took a while for the influence of the old traditions to regain strength after the Norman Conquest.
Anonymous Authors: It's funny how so many works from this time have no known authors. Most of the authors we do know about are pretty much just names without much detail. There aren't any standout literary personalities that we can point to from this era. The reason is partly that then, people were interested in the poem rather than in the poet. The medieval author was at a disadvantage compared with popular writers today in having no publisher interested in keeping his name before the public. Also the reproduction of books by hand gave them a communal character, where a text changed due to both unconscious alteration and conscious change. The different manuscripts of a work often differed greatly from one another.
Poetry Ruled the Roost: When it comes to surviving material, poetry dominates the scene. It's used for all sorts of stuff like history, geography, religion, and even basic science. But here's the catch: a lot of it was mediocre monastery work. The quality wasn't always top-notch. Compared to poetry, prose was seriously lacking. Most people were using Latin and French for writing, leaving English prose neglected. The majority of the prose we have from this time consists of sermons, like the Ancren Riwle. And guess what? Most of them were just plain translations from Latin, with no unique style to speak of.
Major Events in the Late Middle English Period (14th-16th Centuries)
The Great Famine (1315–1317): Let's talk about the Great Famine that went down from 1315 to 1317. Sh*t hit the fan all across Europe, from Russia to Italy. It was a major crisis that messed up the good times Europe was having in the 11th to 13th centuries.
It all started with crappy weather in 1315, screwing up the crops. And guess what? The crops kept failing until the summer of 1317. It took Europe a damn long time to recover, not until 1322. And it wasn't just crops going down the drain, man. Cattle got sick too, with sheep and cows dying like crazy, like 80 percent of them! This whole period was a nightmare, full of crime, disease, mass deaths, and even people turning to cannibalism and killing babies. It was messed up, bro. The whole thing screwed up the Church, the government, and messed up European society. And it set the stage for more bad sh*t to come in the 14th century.
The Black Death (1347 to 1352): Now, let's talk about the Black Death, bro. This sh*t was a deadly plague that messed up medieval Europe from 1347 to 1352. It killed like 25 to 30 million people, can you believe that? The disease came from Asia and those Mongol warriors and traders took it to the Crimea. Then it spread like wildfire to Europe through Italy on trading ships infested with rats.
This plague was caused by some nasty bacteria carried by fleas on rats. That's why they called it the Black Death, 'cause it turned your skin and sores black. People were dropping like flies, man. It's estimated that like 30 to 50 percent of the population died in the affected areas. The death toll was so damn high that it had major consequences for medieval European society. There weren't enough farmers left, so people started demanding an end to serfdom, questioning authority, and even rebelling. Whole towns and villages were abandoned 'cause everyone was dead or scared sh*tless. It was the worst plague ever, bro. It took Europe a freaking 200 years to recover the population it had before the Black Death hit. Crazy stuff, man.
The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453): Yo, let's talk about the Hundred Years' War that went on for a whopping 116 years, from 1337 to 1453. It was like a never-ending drama between England and France. It all started when King Edward III of England and Philip VI of France got into a fight over some feudal rights in Gascony. Next thing you know, they're battling it out for the French Crown. Spoiler alert: France eventually came out on top and took control of the whole damn country, except for Calais.
At first, the English were killing it with big wins at the battles of Crécy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356. But then Charles V of France was like, "Nah, we're taking our lands back," and steadily started reclaiming what was lost. Then Richard II of England married the daughter of Charles VI of France, and there was a moment of peace. But of course, the war had to explode back into action with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, won by Henry V of England. He even got nominated as the heir to the French throne, but his early death and the weak rule of Henry VI of England messed things up. Charles VII of France took the lead with the help of Joan of Arc, and they sealed the deal with victories at Formigny in 1450 and Castillon in 1453. France was like, "We got this!"
The Peasants' Revolt (1381): Alright, let's talk about the Peasants' Revolt, or as some call it, Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising. This was a massive uprising that went down all over England in 1381. Sh*t was hitting the fan for a bunch of reasons. First, there were the economic and political tensions caused by the Black Death back in the 1340s. Then, you had those crazy high taxes from the Hundred Years' War with France. And on top of that, the local leadership in London was all messed up.
So, this dude named Wat Tyler was leading the charge, inspired by sermons from a radical cleric named John Ball. The rebels from Kent marched their way to London, ready to kick some ass. The royal government tried to talk them out of it, but no dice. King Richard, who was just 14 years old at the time, ran off to the Tower of London for safety. Most of the royal forces were either out of the country or up north. On June 13, the rebels stormed into London, joined by a bunch of pissed-off locals. They went on a rampage, attacking prisons, setting fire to buildings, and killing anyone associated with the royal government. The next day, Richard met with the rebels at Mile End and gave in to most of their demands, like getting rid of serfdom. Meanwhile, some rebels even took over the Tower of London and offed some important dudes like the Lord Chancellor and the Lord High Treasurer. It was total chaos, man.
Fall of Constantinople, (May 29, 1453): Yo, let's talk about the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453. It was like the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The Byzantine Empire was on its last legs, and the Ottomans finally broke through the ancient land wall of Constantinople after a 55-day siege. Mehmed had the city surrounded from all sides, using cannons to blast the city walls like crazy. With the fall of Constantinople, the once-strong defense against Muslim invasion for Christian Europe was gone, giving the Ottomans a clear path for expanding into eastern Europe. It was a major blow, man.
The Invention of Printing: Alright, let's go way back to the early days of printing. Like, we're talking about 3500 BCE when the ancient civilizations of Elam and Sumer started using cylinder seals to certify clay documents. They had other funky ways of printing too, like block seals, hammered coinage, imprints on pottery, and even printing on cloth. The Chinese were ahead of the game with woodblock printing for texts on paper in the 7th century during the Tang dynasty. That led to book production and woodblock printing spreading to other parts of Asia like Korea and Japan. The oldest known printed book with an exact publishing date is the Chinese Buddhist Diamond Sutra, printed on May 11, 868, using woodblock. There was this dude named Bi Sheng in China who invented movable type in the 11th century, but it didn't catch on as much as woodblock printing. But hey, the technology spread outside of China, and the oldest book printed with metal movable type was the Jikji, printed in Korea in 1377. Printing was taking over the world, man!
Wars of the Roses, (1455–1485): Alright, here's the deal with the Wars of the Roses that went down from 1455 to 1485. King Henry VI, bless his weak little heart, was married to a super ambitious French princess named Margaret of Anjou. But there was drama at court, bro. Powerful noble families were all up in each other's business, being all jealous and sh*t. The Queen and her crew were called Lancastrians because of Henry's last name, Lancaster. On the other side, you had Richard, Duke of York, who was Henry's cousin and also had a claim to the throne since he was descended from King Edward III. His crew was known as Yorkists.
Henry VI had some mental health issues, man. So when he went crazy in 1454, Richard of York was like, "I got this, I'm the Protector of the Realm now." He fired some of the Queen's Lancastrian advisors, which caused some major drama. But then Henry recovered, and York got the boot real quick. The poor king couldn't control his ambitious wife and the Yorkist Earl of Warwick, who they called the 'kingmaker.' Both sides started gathering soldiers and prepping for war. It was easy to find soldiers because a bunch of dudes had just come back from the Hundred Years War in France. Each side even had their own badge: Lancaster had the Red Rose, and York had the White Rose.
In 1455, just two years after the Hundred Years War ended, sh*t hit the fan with this civil war. It was brutal, man. The victors straight-up murdered the losers, and there was bloodshed all over the place. It was a total mess.
Battles in the Wars of the Roses:
The First Battle of St Albans May 22, 1455
Battle of Blore Heath September 23, 1459
Battle of Northampton (1460) July 10, 1460
The Second Battle of St Albans February 17, 1461
Battle of Towton March 29, 1461
Battle of Barnet April 14, 1471
Battle of Tewkesbury May 4, 1471
Battle of Bosworth Field August 22, 1485
Battle of Stoke Field June 16, 1487
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