t has been observed that a comrnunity's tall- orders were very strict, demanding poverty, fast- est buildings reveal its dominant values. On ing, absollrte obedience, and manual labor. the b:rsis of this standard, modern skyscrap- Enghsh monks established libraries and schools ers strikingly indicate the importance of within their monasteries, where they emphasized commercial values in U.S. society. By con- the importance of the written word-especiaiiy of trast, in medieval English cities, the tallest build- the Bible. Working as scribes, Anglo-Saxon monks ings were towering stone cathedrals, which copied manuscripts by hand, thereby preserving symbolized the importance of the Roman Catholic much of the classical and Anglo-Saxon literature Churcli in the life of the people. The first English that survives today. The Venerable Becle and other cathedral was built in Canterbury between 1070 monks also composed their own scholarly litera- and 1180, beginning a period of more than four ture, which represents the first written literature in hundred years of cathedral-building. These awe- England. The earliest important work of this kind some and towering cathedrals were artistic master- was Bede's Ecclesiastical Hlsrory of the Engtish People pieces, createcl by the most talented architects, (see page 86), which offers a remarkably complete masons, artists, and craftspeople of the time to picture of early Anglo-Saxon life and times. celebrate the glory of God. However, like most monastic scholars of the era, Bede composed his Hlsrory in Latin, the language Christianizing England of church scholarship. It was Alfred the Great, the In 596 Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to convert era's most important political leader, who first the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. By the year 650, encouraged the widespread use of Old English in most of England was Christian in name, though written literature. Alfred's greatest achievement in many people retained some pagan beliefs and tradi- this regard was the Anglo -Saxon Chronicle, an Old tions. Me:rnwhile, Celtic monks from Irelancl had English history in prose and poetry. brougl-rt Christianity to other parts of England, est:rblishing England's first monastery on the Pilgrimages coastal island of Lindisfarne. With Christianity One way to express religii'rus devotion in the came the glimmerings of edr-rcation and culture. In Middle Ages was to r-rndertake a pilgrimage, or the eighth century, Anglo'Sirxon culture reached journey, to a sacred site. If English pilgrims were its pe:rk in the Northr-rmbrian monasteries that pro- unable to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Rome, duced elaborately decorated manuscript books, or the famous shrine at Santiago de Compostela some of which, such as the Book of Durrow and the in Spain, they could still visit various holy sites in Lindisfarne Gospels, rank among the most beautiful their own country. One of the most important works of art produced in the Middle Ages. destinations for English pilgrims was Canterbury Cathedral, where in 1170 Archbishop Thomas h Monasteries Becket had been slain. The pilgrims described in As Christianity spread throughout Anglo-Saxon Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (see page 100) are England, some men and women chose to dedi- journeying to this holy site to seek blessings from cate their lives tc-r work and prayer. These men the martyred archbishop. (known as monks) and women (known as nuns) joined religious orders, which varied greatly in their rules for cornmunal living. Some religior-rs

u-N,tT ,l THE ANGX"O,SAXON Religious l)rama In a time when few people could read, the church used sermons, stained-glass windows, and popular entertainment to teach the truths and historical events of religion. Enghsh drama developed from enactments of biblical stories during church ser- vices on feast days such as Palm Sunday and Easter. Eventually, these dramatic scenes moved from the cathedral to the village green and finally to pageant wagons. The actors in such a scene were often common people, such as members of a bakers' guild, dressed up as bibhcal characters. In several cities in England, these plays were well attended, and as a result complete cycles developed, begin- ning with the creation of the world and concluding with the last judgment. These plays were known as mystery plays because they were performed by trade guilds (at that time myster) meant "trade" or "craft"). Less realistic dramas called morality plays were also popular. Featuring allegorical figures rep- resenting good, evil, and other abstract qualities, these plays presented moral lessons.

The following passa.qe comes from a cycle of m)srer) play performed in the city of York.

from The Creation of Adam and Eue

coo: ln paradise shall ye sam won; sam won: bgether dwell Of earthly thing get ye no need. lll and good both shall ye con; con: know I shall you learn your life to lead.

ADAM: Ah, Lord since we shall do no thing

But lof thee for thy great goodness, lof: love Stoined gloss window ponel, Canterbury Cathedral, We shall obey to thy bidding, I2th century. Panel in the west window depicts And fulfil it both more and less. Adam digging. Canterbury Cathedral, UK.

rvr: His sign since he has on us set Before all other thing, certain, Him for to lof we shall not let, tet: stop And worship him with might and main.

coo: At heaven and earth first I began, And six days wrought ere I would rest; My work is ended now at man: All likes me well, but this the best. Closely allied to the code cif chivalry, courtly love il,ffi?J ;:* :,':*i'r :l; f:lT l was an idealized picture of a rel:rtionship between Middle Ages. This is partly because a knight nnd a courtly lady, who w:rs usually rnar- of the enduring popularity of medi- ried to someone else. In meclieval times, upper- eval romances. With their descrip- class marriage was usually a commercial tions of brave knights, lovely m:ridens, arrangement involving an exchange of property or mysterious castles, and splendicl tournaments, an alliance of families. However, courtly love, as romances convey a striking, albeit mostly imagi- popularized in the songs and poems of the trouba- nary, picture of medieval life. dours in southern France, proclaimed the tran- scendent value of passionate love and the The Knight all-consuming devotion of a knight toward his lady-the kind of relationship shared by Sir Constant war{are characterized life in the Middle Lancelot and Guinevere in Arthr-rrian legend. Ages, with tror-rps of heavily armed warriors, or knights, fighting one another for suprelnacy. These knights enjoyed great social prestige and formed the nucleus ilf the feudal :rristocracy, which was "Whither has not flying fame spread based on the relationship between krrds and vassals. and the name of Arthur In exchange for tracts of land, vassals pledged tir famiLiarired fulfill various obligations to their lords, the fore- the Briton,, eqL)en as far as the empire most of which was military service. of Christendom extendsl " Trained as warriors but with few other responsibil- Alain de Lille ities, knights had little to do but flght. \7hen not engaged in actr-ral warfare, knights provided sport and entertainment for others by participating in showy tournaments, which gave thern the oppor- The Rise of Romance tunity to practice fighting and improve their skills. Originating in France in the 1100s, the romance Even these mock battles, however, were dangerous became the most popular literary genre in medi- ancl sornetimes fatal. eval England. Many romances describe the adven- turcs of legendary knights ernd ce lebrate chivalry Chivalry and Courtly Love and courtly krve. Working in both verse and In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, under the prose, Enghsh writers produced romances about influence of the church, an ideal of civilized the legendary King Arthr-rr and his knights of the behavior, c:rlled chivalry, gradually took hold Round Table. The rnost highly regarded verse among the nobility of Europe. The code of chiv- romance in English is Slr Gawain and the Green alry encouraged knights to be honorable, gener- Knight. This seriocomic tale of a quest undertaken by King Arthur's finest knight was the ous, brave, skillful in battle, respecrful tc) written in women, ancl protective of widows and orphans. 1300s by an unidentified poet. Around 1470, as Ages Although only partly sr-rccessful, the code did the Middle were waning, Sir Thomas Malory help to civilize the conduct of knights and to retold an entire cycle of Arthuriiln legends in Le ("The elevate the status of women. Morte d'Arthur Death of Arthur"), a superb work of English prose.

16 UNIT I THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE ACES lr:ilrL

i*rjl

TEKS

For poges 98-99 12.1.D Analyze and explain how the English language has developed and been The Development of Ertglish influenced by other languages.

I Hp ENclrsH LANGUAGE BEcAN as Enghsc, the speech of a scattered population of Anglo-Saxon peoples on Lrn island ofT the European coast. Today, Enghsh is ir global langu:rge spoken by perhaps a billion peoplc around the worlcl. This is largely due to the political power and cultural influence of the British Ernpire :rnd the LJnited States. However, it is :rlso the resr,rlt of the sirnplicity that English grammar has acquired during its long history. Before re:rching its modern form, English passed through two major stLrges, Old English and Middle Enghsh.

"One c&nnot but be lmpress ed by the ama{ing hospitality of the English Langttage." Rurchfield -Robert

Old English. 450-1150 The Anglo-Saxons spoke various Germanic dialects, a mixture of which is the basis of Old English, the form of the English language used frorn the mid-400s to the early 1100s. Tb present-day readers of English, Old English looks likc a foreign language, as these lines from the Old English epic poem Beowulf show:

Da com of more uruler misvhleol-tum Grende| gong&n, Gode.s ",trre bx.r lnterior of Scriptorium, School of Segovio. Spanish (Then out of tl-re marsh, uncler rnist-covered cliffs, School. Oil on panel. Museo Lazaro Caldiano, Grenclel stalkecl, bearing Ciod's wrath) Madrid, Spain.

Old English has had a significant effect on Modern By the 600s, Christian scribcs hacl fr-rrthcr devekrped English. Although less th:rn one percent of the English by replacing the :rncient Genn:rnic characters words-4,500 or-rt of 500,000-in the O4fordEnglish known as runes with the Old English alphabet of Dictionary are from Old English, these words form twenty-four letters. The scribes who tr:lnscribecl our most basic (man, wife, work, Friday, house) and Beowulf arouncl the yetrr 1000 trsccl this alphabet. functional (to, for, but, and) v<-tcabulary. One computer analysis revealed that all of the hundred most commonly used English words are of Anglo- Saxon origin.

98 UNIT I THE ANGLO.SAXON PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE AGES 10,000 words, of which are still Middle English: 1 150-1500 staggering 7,500 in use. Almost half of Modern English's vocabulary 1200, Latin, Danish, Old Norse, Between 450 and comes from Latin and French. French influence also French fed the growing English language. and Norman led to a gradual simplification of Enghsh grammar 1066, England's new After the Norman Conquest in and spelling. aristocracy spoke French.'!7e11-educated people needed to know three languages, however: French for Over time, the dialect spoken in London-the dealing with the nobility or the courts; Latin for the language in which Geoffrey Chaucer wrote- church, business, and scholarship; and English for became the standard form of English. Compare communication with the majority of the common these opening lines of his Canterbury Tales with the people. French had a strong influence on English. passage from Beowulf quoted earlier: French words were introduced into the Many Whan that ApriIIe with his shoures .soore English, and language that was becoming Middle The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, fact, many Old English words were dropped. In And bathed euery ueJne in swich licour French increased the English vocabulary by a Of which uertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Insl>ired hath in euerj holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halqte cours yronne, And smale fowel,es maken melodle, That slepen aI the nJght with open ye (So priketh hem nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgimages, And palmeres for tct seken streunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; And specially from euerJ shires ende Of Engelond to CaunterburJ the! wende, The hooly blisful. mertir for to seke, Thathemhathholl:en whan that they were seeke.

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Literature and Reading For more about the develop- llluminated page from St. Luke's Gospel taken from ment of English, go to i;;iljiir t.t',:t t,':.'i"rtand enter QuickPass Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 695. code CLB7B29ul.

Respond and Think Critically t. Synthesize ldeas Consult a history of English to Draw Conclusions About the Translation find ten words that were introduced from French in Consult a Middle English dictionary @rinted or the Middle Ages. How do these words differ from electronic) and look up at least three words that you the words derived from Old English mentioned in don't recognize in the Chaucer excerpt above. Then the text? compare the definitions you find with how the words are translated on page 102. What conclusions can 2. Analyze Details ln what ways is the language of you draw about the translation from this comparison? The Conterbury Toles more accessible to a modern reader than the language of Beowulf? Research Quotations Use a book of quotations to find another quote by Roberl Burchfield or a quote by Ceoffrey Chaucer. Discuss with a partner ways you might benefit from the idea in the quote you found.

LITERARY H ISTORY 99 Before You Read

from The Canterbury Tales

Meet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1342-1400)

n eoffrey Chaucer has often been called the tJ'IT;:!;:J;h;;;rHff.iJ?i::::,, a portrait gallery virtually unparalleled in English vices, idio- literature. Its catalog of the virtues, and lnitial with a portrait of Chaucer holding a book. syncrasies of a cross section of medieval English English illumination, c. 1400. society still resonates for modern readers. During his career, he traveled abroad on diplo- A Man of the World Chaucer understood how a variety of people spoke and acted. This knowledge matic missions to France, Spain, and Italy and proved invaluable to his writing. Chaucer's father became familiar with the literature and culture was a prosperous middle-class wine merchant, and of these countries. Thereafter he held a variety posts. the young Chaucer was likely exposed to the col- of governmental orful banter of the characters who frequented the Despite his busy professional duties, Chaucer man- London docks. Chaucer became a page in the aged to write a large body of work. His early poetry, royal household while still a teenager. Despite the such as the Book of the Duchess, was influenced by lowly duties of the job, such as running errands, the French medieval tradition. Later he wrote the the position offered Chaucer exposure to a world Parliunent of Fow|s and the masterly Troilus and of fine manners and high-born people. In 1359 Cressida. Chaucer's most mature writing, crafted he went to France to fight in the Hundred Years' while he was in his forties, includes the Legend of '$7ar. Thken prisoner, he was ransomed in the G ood Women and The Canterbury Tales . following year with money contributed by lnnovato The Canterbury Tales is con- King Edward himself. Literary r sidered Chaucer's masterpiece for several reasons. First, it marks the beginning of a new tradition- the use of Middle English, rather than French or " Although Chmrer' s inuented Latin, as a vehicle for major literary works in personnges are now six hmdred years England. Second, because The Canterbwy Tales focuses on an assortment of people who are old, they are flesh and blood todny; drcy thrown together on a journey, it gives a lifelike are, in f*t, the people whom we I'nue and engaging picture of the various strata of English society during the 1300s. Finally, it is an l

q"yhw Public Servant While in his twenties, Chaucer w iwft q,wr a; L,rnltt tr: was made a court official, an appointment that Author Search For more about Geoffrey Chaucer, go was the start of many years of public service. to glencoe.com and enter QuickPass code GLB7B29ul.

IOO UNIT I THE ANGLO.SAXON PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE AGES