THE MIDDLE AGES

(TO CA. 1485)

Historical Context

Tala Abdulraheem Qbelat

The Middle Ages
1. Time span: from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the
Renaissance.
The term Middle Ages represents a vast historical era bridging the fall
of Rome (5th century) and the emergence of modern Europe through
the Renaissance (14th–16th centuries).

2. “Medieval” from medium (middle) + aevum (age).

Refers to all intellectual, artistic, and cultural production between
these eras.
The Latin roots of “medieval” emphasize its perceived position as an
in-between period — neither ancient nor modern.
This term is retrospective: those living during the time did not see
themselves as “medieval,” but as part of their own unfolding history.
The Renaissance and the Reformation
1. “Renaissance” = “rebirth,” named by 19th-century historians.
Marked by revival of Greek and Latin learning and creative energy.
The Renaissance, originating in Italy and later spreading across Europe,
was interpreted by later scholars as a revival of classical antiquity — a
symbolic “rebirth” of humanistic inquiry and artistic innovation.

2. “Reformation” = religious reform movement beginning in early 16th

century.
Rejected authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Reformation, by contrast, was a revolutionary theological and
institutional shift initiated by figures like Martin Luther, challenging papal
supremacy and altering the spiritual landscape of Europe. Both
movements define the transition from medieval to early modern
consciousness.
Reconsidering the Idea of a “Middle” Age
1. The notion of “rebirth” implies medieval decline.
Modern scholarship emphasizes continuity rather than rupture.
The Renaissance view of the medieval world as a “dark” period is a
historical construct that served to glorify modernity.
2. Some sixteenth-century writers constructed the idea of the “Middle
Ages.”
Moreover, early modern writers (like those of the 1500s) actively shaped
the myth of medieval “backwardness” to define their own brilliance.
3. Medieval thinkers saw their era as “old” or “declining,” not “middle.”
Medieval writers, however, framed their world through Christian
eschatology — the belief that history was nearing its divine conclusion
— rather than through humanistic progress.
Cultural and Artistic Flourishing

The Middle Ages were not

intellectually dormant. Monastic and
scholastic traditions preserved
classical learning (especially through
Latin texts), while Christian theology
reinterpreted these ideas for new
moral and metaphysical purposes.
The era witnessed innovation in
literature, architecture (e.g., Gothic
style), and natural philosophy —
demonstrating synthesis rather than
rupture between classical and
Christian worlds.
Historical and Linguistic Transformation
The era saw vast historical, social, and linguistic change.
Period divided into:
 Anglo-Saxon Literature
 Anglo-Norman Literature
 Middle English Literature (14th–15th centuries)

The division into three literary phases reflects not only temporal
but also linguistic transformations — from Old English to Middle
English — shaped by successive invasions and cultural
assimilations.
I. Anglo-Saxon (Early Middle Ages 500-1000 CE, known as The
Dark Ages)
England Before the Anglo-Saxons (1st- 5th Century)
England (Britannia) was a Roman province from the 1st to the 5th
century.
Inhabited by Celtic-speaking Britons, who adopted Roman
civilization.

Before the Anglo-Saxon conquest, England had been fully integrated

into the Roman Empire’s political and cultural network.

The Britons, originally Celtic, assimilated to Roman customs,

architecture, and urban life.
The Anglo-Saxons
1. “The Anglo-Saxons were a confederation of Germanic peoples
who initially lived in contemporary northern Germany, southern
Denmark, and the northern Netherlands, and sailed across the
North Sea to Britain during the Early Middle Ages.”

2. “In British historiography, the Anglo-Saxon period is commonly

referred to as the timeline between the mid 5th century to the
mid-late 11th century.”

3. “The end of this historical period coincides as such with the

Norman conquest of England which took place in 1066 at
the Battle of Hastings.”
The term “English” derives from the Angles.

4. “After successfully settling Britain, the Anglo-Saxons founded four

important kingdoms which will eventually form the basis for the Kingdom
of England. These were East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
There were also three additional noteworthy ones known as Essex, Kent,
and Sussex. The latter were conquered by the neighbouring kingdoms at
some point in history.”
The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England
 The Britons were Christianized in the 4th century under Emperor
Constantine.
 Christianity survived only in remote western and northern regions during
early Anglo-Saxon invasions.
 In 597, Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to convert
King Ethelbert of Kent.
 Simultaneously, Irish missionaries evangelized the north.
 Within 75 years, Christianity spread across the island.
 Christianity introduced literacy and book culture to England.
 The first extended English text: Ethelbert’s code of laws — written
after conversion.
Early English Scholarship and the Church
 Christianity produced distinguished scholars and clerics.
 Bede (673–735) wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People
(731).
 Bede’s work remains a primary historical source for early
England.
 Alcuin of York (735–804) became a leading figure at
Charlemagne’s court.
 By 800 CE, English learning influenced continental Europe.

The Christian monasteries became centers of learning that

connected England to the intellectual life of Europe..
Viking Invasions and the Resilience of English Culture
 In the 9th century, Christian Anglo-Saxons faced new Danish (Viking)
invasions.
“The Norsemen started to raid the eastern and southern coastlines of
Britain as early as 789, when a group of Norwegian Vikings from
Hordaland landed on the Isle of Portland, in the English Channel.
“However, the date often given as the start of the Viking Age in England
is 793, when another convoy of Norwegian Vikings plundered the Catholic
abbey of Lindisfarne.”
“As in the case of the Vikings, one of the important causes which explains
the migration of the Anglo-Saxons to the west is the fact that they
needed good farming soils.”
The Vikings in England:
1. Late 8th century (793) – Vikings raid Lindisfarne: One of the first
recorded Viking attacks in England, targeting monasteries.
2. 9th century – Danish Viking invasions: Large-scale invasions begin,
with Vikings settling in eastern and northern England (the Danelaw).
3. 871–899 – Alfred the Great of Wessex resists Viking invasions:
Key victory at Battle of Edington (878): Alfred defeats the Viking leader
Guthrum, who later converts to Christianity.
This leads to the Treaty of Wedmore, establishing boundaries between
Wessex and the Danelaw.
4. 937 – Battle of Brunanburh: King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred,
defeats a coalition of Vikings, Scots, and others, securing English dominance.
5. Late 10th–early 11th century – Danish kings briefly rule parts of
England (King Cnut, 1016–1035).
6. 1066 – Final major Viking influence ends with Norman conquest, as the
Normans themselves were of Viking descent but had adopted French culture.
Old English Poetry- Anglo-Saxon Literature
 Old English poetry began as an oral art form, brought to Britain by the
Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes).
 Before the Christian conversion, no written records existed—poems
were memorized and performed by scops (bards).
 Literacy emerged with Christianity, and writing was centered in
monasteries, where Latin remained dominant.
 As a result, early English poetry that survives—like The Dream of the
Rood or Caedmon’s Hymn—is largely religious and preserved in only
four major manuscripts (the Exeter Book, Beowulf Manuscript,
Vercelli Book, and Junius Manuscript).
 These texts reveal the fusion of Christian theology with Germanic
heroism.
The Heroic Tradition

 The Germanic heroic ethos remained strong even after

Christianization. Alliterative verse was used for both ancient
legends and contemporary events.
 These works share the kinship-centered worldview of The Iliad:
the warrior’s identity is bound to his lord and bloodline.
 The moral center is reciprocal loyalty—the lord gives gifts and
protection; the thane gives courage and his life if necessary. This
heroic code, though pre-Christian, remained emotionally resonant in
a world now officially Christian.
Language, Style, and Poetic Devices
1. Poetry used elevated diction, alliteration, and formulaic repetition.
2. Poetic vocabulary included kennings (“whale-road” = sea, “life-
house” = body).
3. Use of synecdoche, metonymy, and variation (parallel
expressions).
4. Irony and understatement (litotes) were key rhetorical modes. The
poetic diction is deliberately indirect, reflecting a culture that
valued subtlety and understatement (litotes). Even violence is
softened by irony—battle is “battle-play.”
II. High Middle Ages (1000-1300 CE)
Transformation
 By the 11th century, the Norman invasion ended Anglo-Saxon
dominance, replacing the native elite with French-speaking rulers. The
Anglo-Norman dialect became the language of court and clergy,
while English evolved unstandardized among the populace.
 Consequently, the literary tradition in Old English faded. Yet, its
influence endured—its alliterative style reappeared in Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight and other Middle English works.
 The Anglo-Saxon poetic legacy thus stands as the foundation of
English literary consciousness, shaping the language’s first
articulation of heroism, exile, and faith.
The Norman Conquest and Cultural Transformation
 1066: The Battle of Hastings established Norman rule in England.
 Normans: descendants of Norse settlers in France (from “Norsemen”).
The Normans, originally Vikings who settled in northern France,
had assimilated into French culture and Catholicism
 Adopted French language and Christianity before coming to England.
 Built castles and churches—symbols of military and spiritual
dominance. Upon conquering England, they imposed a feudal
hierarchy sustained by castles (for control) and cathedrals (for
divine authority).
 Plantagenet expansion (Henry II’s reign) deepened ties with France.
Under Henry II (r. 1154–1189), England’s monarchy expanded across
France through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, linking English
culture with the courtly traditions of southern France. This cross-
channel world became the crucible for linguistic and literary fusion
—Latin, French, English, and Celtic voices coexisted and interacted.
Multilingual England
Four major languages coexisted: Latin, French, English, and Celtic
tongues.
1. Latin: language of learning, theology, and international
communication.
2. French: language of the aristocracy and the court.
3. English: spoken by the common people; gradually reemerged in
writing.
4. Celtic dialects: preserved in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, and
Brittany.
Bilingualism fostered literary and cultural exchange.
Their Literature
Anglo-Norman poets drew from Celtic oral legends: The romance genre
emerged from the encounter between Celtic myth and French courtly taste.

1. Poets such as Marie de France, Thomas of England, and Chrétien de

Troyes transformed oral legend into artful narrative poetry.
Marie’s Lais explore love’s tensions between passion and social constraint,
while Chrétien’s Arthurian cycles use chivalric quests to probe ethical
dilemmas and spiritual ideals.
2. Their works introduced psychological complexity, courtly love, and
moral testing—features that distinguish romance from the earlier heroic epic.
3. Thomas’s Tristran and Isolt and Chrétien’s Arthurian romances explore love,
honor, and ethics.
4. Court of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine served as literary centers.
These works reflected the cosmopolitan court culture of Henry II and
Eleanor, where female patronage and intellectual discourse played central
roles.
The Arthurian Legend and Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey’s History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136–38): source of Arthurian
myth.
It was later translated into French verse (1155).
Then, it was adapted into English alliterative verse with rhyme.
Established Arthur as the ideal king and chivalric model.

 Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “History” transformed scattered Celtic lore

into a grand national myth. Though largely fictional, it gave England a
heroic past centered on King Arthur, who became a symbol of ideal
kingship, national unity, and tragic heroism.

Women and Religious Prose in Early Middle English

1. Emergence of religious writing addressed to women: A significant body
of religious prose for women arose in early Middle English, indicating
both female literacy and spiritual agency.
The Anglo-Norman Legacy
 The Anglo-Norman period (1066–1300) unified diverse traditions.
 Fostered linguistic blending that shaped Middle English.
 Introduced romance, courtly love, and chivalric ideals to English culture.
 Encouraged female participation in literary production.
 Established the foundation for later medieval English literature (e.g.,
Chaucer).
III. Late Middle Ages (1300-1500 CE)
The Fourteenth Century — A Period of Crisis and Transition

The fourteenth century in England was an age of upheaval.

1. The Hundred Years’ War drained the country’s resources.
2. The Black Death decimated the population.
3. The massive loss of laborers destabilized the feudal economy, giving
rise to new opportunities for the lower classes but also to resentment
from the ruling elite.
 The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, although quickly suppressed, revealed the
growing discontent among rural workers and the lower clergy,
exemplified by the rebel priest John Ball.
 At the same time, the Church faced mounting criticism due to its
immense wealth and moral decay.
 These crises formed the backdrop for a new, morally conscious literature
that explored issues of class, power, and faith.
The Rise of the Merchant Class and the Modern State

1. Despite wars and epidemics, commerce thrived. London’s merchants

became economically and politically influential, and trade in English wool
fueled royal revenues.
2. The Crown’s dependence on taxation fostered negotiations with
Parliament, enhancing its political role.
3. A new class of educated laymen emerged—neither clerics nor nobles
but administrators, diplomats, and writers.
Influences : Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio

1. Italian humanism influenced English literary consciousness.

2. Dante made himself both pilgrim and poet-prophet in The Divine
Comedy, setting a new standard for literary authority.
3. Petrarch’s Latin scholarship and vernacular sonnets fused moral
philosophy with emotional introspection.
4. Boccaccio’s Decameron provided a model of narrative variety and
realism.
Chaucer drew heavily from these figures; however, he maintained a
characteristic English irony, presenting himself as a humble observer
rather than an exalted laureate.
This self-awareness distinguished English humanism from its Italian
prototype.
Major Fourteenth-Century Poets
 Geoffrey Chaucer: Humanist, ironist, and narrative innovator. (integrated
continental forms with English realism and humor, elevating Middle English
to a literary language)
 William Langland: Author of Piers Plowman; moral and social critic. (.
Langland’s Piers Plowman reflected the spiritual turmoil of the age,
combining allegory with social critique. )
 John Gower: Trilingual poet; moralist and political thinker. (Gower,
conversant in Latin, French, and English, sought moral balance through
narrative exempla in Confessio Amantis. )
 The Gawain Poet: Anonymous author of Pearl, Patience, Cleanness, Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight. (The anonymous Gawain poet revived
alliterative verse, merging Arthurian romance with Christian ethics and
psychological complexity. )
 Julian of Norwich: First known woman writer in English; visionary mystic.
(Julian of Norwich, in her Revelations of Divine Love, brought a female
contemplative voice into English prose, blending theological depth with
intimate visionary experience.)
The 15th Century:

The fifteenth century opens with political instability that shapes both
England’s monarchy and its literature.
Henry Bolingbroke’s usurpation of Richard II in 1399 marks a decisive
rupture in the medieval order, dramatized later by Shakespeare as a
crisis of legitimacy.
Although Henry IV quelled several uprisings, his rule remained tenuous.
His son, Henry V, temporarily restored national unity through his military
triumph at Agincourt (1415), but his early death in 1422 left a power
vacuum.
The ensuing Wars of the Roses — a dynastic struggle between
the rival houses of Lancaster and York — devastated the nobility
until Henry Tudor’s victory in 1485.
The establishment of the Tudor monarchy under Henry VII ushered in
political stability, centralization of power, and the early foundations of the
Renaissance state.
Themes and Legacies of Middle English Literature

By the end of the fifteenth century, English literature had come of age. It
absorbed foreign influences without losing its native vigor. Writers used
English not merely for storytelling but as a medium for philosophical
reflection, social observation, and aesthetic experimentation. The
period’s crises—war, disease, and class tension—became sources of
moral inquiry and creative energy.
The figure of the poet emerged as both a moral voice and an artist,
conscious of his or her role in shaping cultural identity. The achievements
of Chaucer, Langland, Gower, and their contemporaries paved the way
for the linguistic richness and intellectual breadth of the Renaissance.
The Poets of the Lancastrian Court

John Lydgate and Thomas Hoccleve embody the continuation of

Chaucer’s poetic legacy within the courtly and religious milieu of the
early fifteenth century.
Lydgate, a Benedictine monk and literary craftsman, composed a massive
body of allegorical, devotional, and historical verse. His Fall of Princes
translates and adapts Boccaccio’s De Casibus Virorum Illustrium,
illustrating the late medieval notion of tragedy as a moral warning to the
mighty.
Hoccleve, in contrast, turned inward, writing of his own struggles with
poverty and mental breakdown in a voice that anticipates modern
psychological self-consciousness. Both poets depended on patronage
from the Lancastrian elite, linking literature with power, propaganda, and
moral didacticism.
Sir Thomas Malory and the Chivalric Ideal
Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur crystallizes the chivalric and tragic
imagination of the fifteenth century. Compiling and adapting French
romances, Malory presents a unified narrative of King Arthur and his
knights, dramatizing the tensions between honor, loyalty, and human
frailty. His portrayal of the Round Table’s collapse mirrors England’s own
civil wars, rendering political conflict as moral tragedy.
William Caxton’s introduction of printing in 1476 revolutionized the
dissemination of texts. By publishing Morte Darthur, The Canterbury
Tales, and other foundational works, Caxton not only preserved the
medieval canon but also democratized reading.
References:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed., edited by Stephen
Greenblatt, W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.