Independent Readings Chapter 11

Independent Readings – Chapter 11

The following questions deal with arts and literature in the late Middle Ages. Many of the things that happened at this time period greatly influenced the Renaissance, which is the last chapter we will study this semester. The questions are designed to get you thinking about trends in art and literature that give rise to the Renaissance ideals.

1. Compare and contrast the view of women proposed in the Prologue to the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and the view proposed by Christine de Pisan in The Book of the City of Ladies. For this question, it is fine for you to look at Cliffsnotes or Sparknotes for the Prologue of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” in Chaucer. Both of these authors are presented in the textbook (in the back of the 7th edition) or p. 352 8th ed, but you may need to rely on the Cliffsnotes or Sparknotes. I am not looking for specific quotations (although you certainly may include them), but about your thoughts on how women were viewed theoretically, and how they are actually portrayed in these two pieces of literature.

In addition, there is a very nice article concerning the Wife of Bath in the 8th edition of the textbook. It is one of those text-boxes towards the end of the chapter.

2. What effects did the cataclysmic events of the fourteenth century—the Black Death, the Great Schism, and the Hundred Years’ War—have on the arts and culture of Europe? Be very specific, and discuss at least THREE examples from the textbook. You may choose from architecture, literature, painting, and/or music.