Literatuurgeschiedenis

BLZ. 10 & 11

400 ® Germanic tribes entered Britain after the Roman people had withdrawn.

Four hundred years before, Britain had been a province of the Roman Empire and the original inhabitants of Britain, the Celts, had really relied on the Roman armies for protection.

Invaders: Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

They drove the Celts westwards until they had occupied a large part of Britain. We now call that England. The German invaders are the founders of the English nation. Christianity became popular and England enjoyed a period of peace.

793 ® Scandinavian Vikings pirates invaded England the same way the German tribes had done themselves. As the years the passed, the amount of Vikings grew larger and larger.

Edward the Confes-sor, a English king in 1042.

BLZ. 12

The Angles, Saxons and Jutes brought their own poetry and tales with them, to Britain. They were passed on by the word of mouth. Beowulf is one of the longest and most important works that have survived:

Young Swedish prince, visiting a court in Denmark. There is a monster called Grendel, and no one had been able to stop the monster so far. Beowulf wants to seek fame and kill Grendel. When he attacks the monster, he tears off his arm, and the monster flies away. Later on, he gets in a fight with Grendel’s mother and only a huge ancient sword that hangs on the wall can save him. After that, he is seen as a great hero. In the second part of the story, Beowulf is an old man, and king of Sweden. He needs to save his country when a dragon is destroying his kingdom.

The poem seems simple yet it is told in an impressive way, moving slowly, with many noble speeches and fine descriptions. There is no rhyme, and no fixed rhythmical pattern.

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1042 ® Danish rule over England came to an end

Edward the Confessor became king. His tastes and habits were French for he had spent years in Normandy. He died in 1066.

Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy both wanted to claim the throne. Harold was crowned. William decided to take action. This resulted in the Battle of Hastings. Harold was eventually killed, his army defeated, and William the Conqueror became king.  He organized society along the lines of the feudal system. French dialect became the language used in the higher circles of society, and English was only spoken by the common people.

1300 ® English had reestablished itself as one national language, with words of French origin. A new language had been born. In poetry, the alliterative line was replaced by the French type with end-rhyme and fixed syllable patterns. Ballads, romances and tales of love and adventure became popular.

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Chaucher ® one of the most important poets of the Middle English period.

The Canterbury Tales, a link-and-frame story.

Pilgrims, who are preparing to go on a pilgrimage to the grave of Archbishop Thomas Becket. They decided to hold a contest. Each pilgrim was to tell two tales on the way to Canterbury, and another two on the way back, which would bring the total number of some hundred and twenty. It is a panorama of medieval society.

A squire ® a young man of noble birth, preparing to be a knight. He is a soldier and a lover.

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The majority of the people could neither write nor write, and poems and tales were sung and told by persons who made it their job to do so.

Ballad ® a simple poem originally meant to be sung. The language is simple, and often lines and phrases are repeated. Subjects were tragic love stories, often ending in the death of one of the lovers, famous battles fought, meetings with fairies and demons and Robin Hood.

1700 ® people started to gather ballads and write them down. Many romantic poets wrote ballads themselves, art-ballads.

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Renaissance means ‘rebirth’. It refers to the renewed interest in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. Renaissance scholars had open minds and didn’t look too much at Christianity. For them Greek and Roman culture became an ideal. They were called humanists (Erasmus and More).

‘Rebirth’ also refers to the changes in the way man looked upon himself and upon the word around him.

1. In the Middle Ages, people were seen as one large family, a religious community. Gradually, however, man came to view himself as an individual being. In religion, that led to the Reformation and the rose of Protestantism, mostly on the individual relation between man and God. In the arts, the artist became less anonymous, signing his work.
2. Church was important in medieval society. In the Renaissance religion didn’t disappear, but people began to enjoy life more, realizing that you only had one. Carpe Diem.
3. In the Renaissance, there was a growing desire for intellectual independence. Scholars and scientists began to explore themselves. The New Printing Press caused newly discovered information and knowledge to be spread faster and cheaper.

 The English Renaissance changed a lot. In literature, it resulted in new dramas. Marlow & Shakespeare. Macbeth & Hamlet.

Dr. Faustus ® typical Renaissance man: a good scholar, an individualist, proud of his own achievements and eager to explore the limits of human knowledgee.