World literature

1. Medieval Era

2. What comes to mind when we say Medieval
Era?
•Involves Castles, Knights and Chivalry.
•Also known as the Dark Ages (why?)
•Rule of Barbaric Kings (feudalism), war ravaged
lands and diseases.

3. What did Medieval Literature include?
The literature included:
• Chivalric Romance
• Religious Themes, mostly written by the church monasteries,
medieval literature stood out mostly because of its religious
importance.
• Poems or songs, which the bards sang to the common folk about real
life inspired events.

4. Chivalric Romance
• Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

5. Religious Themes
• Written by the Church Monasteries, as the religious
influence had a grasp on Europe during the Middle Ages.

6. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
• Dante was an Italian Poet/Bard during the Medieval times.
• Most famous for his work "Inferno" or most famously called "Dante's
Inferno".
• The literature of his era influenced his poem.
• The poem is about the Poet's journey to hell, as Dante descends
into the nine circles of hell.

7. Characteristics of Medieval Literature
• Use of Poetry, Drama and Romance.
• Work of imagination, for example, heroic knight going on a quest to
fight a battle in honor of their king.
• Proper use of Allegory, usually against politics.
• Hand Made books, hand-made written scriptures by the Christians.
An example of Medieval Literature would be King Arthur, a local warrior
who becomes a symbol of justice, chivalry and kingly power.

8. King Arthur
• https://youtu.be/8Fw_1TwxTRU
• King Arthur is one of the legends of Britian.
• Legendary kings and heroes associated with The Great Britain are the
body of medieval literature, particularly King Arthur.
• His story follows from him being a nobody to pulling out the great
sword to being the King of Britian.
• Arthur's stories in Medieval Literature have their own genre, known
as Arthurian Romance.

9. Famous Work about Medieval
Era
• The Black Death by Robert S Gottfried
It describes the changes in people's everyday
lives when the Black Death (a bubonic plague) hit
European and Asian countries, with deaths up to
200 Million. It can be compared to today's
COVID-19, where our lives changed when the
pandemic hit us, and in a few years COVID-19 will
be talked about similarly in the literature. It kind
of reflects today's life.

10. Medieval Novels
• Chaucer by Marior
Turner
• The Riverside
Chaucer by
Anthony Burgess

11. Geoffrey Chaucer
(1300-1400)
• Major Poet of England in the late middle
ages, and one of the most significant
writers before Shakespeare.
• Geoffery was an English Poet and an
author, most known for his work The
Canterbury Tales. He has been called the
"Father of English Literature".
• He was the first author to be buried in,
what is now called Poets' Corner.

12. The Canterbury Tales
• Written by Geoffrey Chaucer
• One of the most significant and famous literature works from
Medieval Era.
• Collection of 24 stories, which gives a different perspective from each
story, as a different character tells their own version of the story.
• Can also be called a poem, as it is written in verses.
• Teaches us about Medieval Society.
• One of the major themes is Social Satire. Geoffrey used satire as a
way of pointing out problems in Medieval England's culture.

13. Three Stages of Medieval Era
Early Medieval Era
• Social & Political changes due to the collapse of the Roman Empire,
declining population and counterurbanization (people moving from
Urban areas to rural areas).
High Medieval Era
• Many technological advancements, population growth, especially in
Europe, and feudalism grew popular.
Late Middle Age
Depressing time for everyone as the Black Death Pandemic struck
Europe & Asia, killing millions of people.

14. Comparison between Medieval and Classical
Era
Classical Era Medieval Era
Encompasses the years from 1200
BCE to 455 CE
Encompasses the years from 455 CE
to 1485 CE
Traditional Practices were followed. It was centered on concepts such as
religion, chivalry and courtly love.
Classical Architecture influenced by
the Romans and the Greeks.
Medieval art and architecture were
mainly influenced by religion.
Value of emotions weren't as much
as valued.
Romance and had value of emotions,
showed through poems mostly.

15. Conclusion

16. Thank you.