1. OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(450 – 1066)
MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(1066 – 1500)
LITERATURE
Authors
Becerra Loreanggi
Chacón Andrea
Orozco Daniela
Ramírez María
2. OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(450 – 1066)
This age started in the 5th
century.
The term Anglo-Saxon comes
from two Germanic tribes, the
Angles and the Saxons.
The Anglo-Saxon Period (the
earliest time-1066)
1. Social background
2. Literature
3. Religion
3. OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE
(450 – 1066)
Or Anglo-Saxon literature, encompasses
the surviving literature written in Old
English in Anglo-Saxon England.
These works include genres such as epic
poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible
translations, legal works, chronicles and
riddles. In all there are about 400
surviving manuscripts from the period.
Oral tradition was very strong in early
English culture and most literary works
were written to be performed.
4. MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(1066 – 1500)
This period started with the Norman
Conquest in 1066 and ended with the end
of fifteenth century.
The remarkable events of this period were:
∞ The English parliament was established
in 1295.
∞ Crusade, the religious battle between
Muslims and Christians took place in
between 11th and 13th century.
∞ In 1362 English was declared to be the
language of law and courts.
Notable works include
PiersPlowman and Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight.
5. Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous, twelve are
known by name from medieval sources, but only four of those
are known by their vernacular works with any certainty:
Cædmon
• His only known surviving work Cædmon's Hymn probably
dates from the late 7th century.
Bede
• He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous
work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People gained him the title "The
Father of English History".
Alfred «The Great»
• was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.
Cynewulf
• Dates in the 8th and 9th century, He is famous for his religious compositions,
like: The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II.
6. MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE
(1066 – 1500)
1. After the Norman Conquest
of England (1066)
Written form of Anglo-
Saxon, became less common.
2. From then until 12th century Anglo-Saxon underwent a
transition to Middle English.
3. In this period Religious Lit became so
popular that Hagiographies
were written.
4. At the end of the 12th
century
First English language work:
King Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table.
• West Saxon: Old English dialect used by the West Saxons, the chief literary dialect of Old English.
• Hagiography: the writing of the lives of saints.
• Layamon „s Brut: also known as The Chronicle of Britain, is a Middle English poem.
7. MEDIEVAL THEATRE
1. In the Middle ages
∞ Vernacular languages of Europe emerged from
presentations of the liturgy.
∞ Miracle and Mystery plays evolved into
elaborated forms of drama.
∞ Mummer‟s plays associated with Morris dance.
2. In the 15th century
3. From the middle of
14th century to 1569
4. During the 15th and
the 16th centuries
∞ The plays focused in Bible stories reached
popularity before being replaced for
professional theatre.
∞ Were performed in the city of York, the York
Cycle.
∞ The Morality plays were most popular in
Europe.
• Interludes: Interlude, in theatre, early form of English dramatic entertainment.
• Morris dance: form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music.
• Antiphon: short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain.
8.
9. GEOFFREY CHAUCER
London, England
(1342 – 1400)
Outstanding English poet before
Shakespeare and “the first finder of the
English language.”
He contributed in the second half of the
14th century to the management of public
affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil
servant.
The main characteristics of Chaucer‟s
works are their variety in subject matter,
genre, tone, and style.
• Courtier: someone who attends a royal court as a
companion or adviser to the king or queen.
• All-pervasive: having an effect on everything or
throughout something. Omnipresent.
10. Geoffrey Chaucer, from the 15th
century Ellesmere manuscript of
The Canterbury Tales.
The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic
works. It was written in Middle English.
Presented as a story-telling contest, it described a group of
30 pilgrims, including Chaucer himself, who traveled from
Southwark to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury
Cathedral.
Chaucer is a significant figure in the development of the
legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when
the dominant literary languages in England were still French
and Latin.
• Middle English: the English language of the period c1150–c1475.
• Pilgrim: someone who travels to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.
• Bickering: an angry, petty dispute or quarrel.
• Vernacular: (of language) native or indigenous.
THE CANTERBURY TALES
(1387 – 1400)
