Middle English
Literature refers to the period of time between the Norman conquest and the
begining of Tudor dynasty. 1066- 1485.
Historical
background:
After the
Norman conquest we have new aristocracy: barons closely attached to the king,
but there are conflicts between most powerful barons.
There is conflict
between the church and the monarchy.
We should
associate middle English literature with terms such as: feudalism, courtly
love, code of chivalry, knights, this is the time o
As far as
literature is concerned these are most important of medieval genres:
Medieval
genres
Fabliau: rude,
bluff story about sex, cheating, very coarse language.
Fable:
fictional stories, written in prose or verse, personified animals are the
characters, there is usually a moral lesson.
Hagiography:
about lives of holy people, especially biographies of saints.
Sermon: an oration
given by clergymen; they address biblical, religious or moral topic
Exemplum: a
moral anecdote, they’re usually part of sermons, they’re educational stories.
Romance: high
genre in literature
Warlike
adventure, quest, crusades against Saracens, characters are in quest of
supernatural foes
Love and
chivalrous service performed for noble ladies
Complications
of personal relations like: false accusation, separation from the families,
Quest for
information, magic talismans.
Thank you for these rather interesting snippets of information. You helped me a lot to have an overview about literature.
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