English Literature in the 14th century

Instructor: Professor Ecaterina Haniu PhD

England in the 14th and 15th centuries - General presentation

The 14th and 15th centuries were characterized by conflict in the political and military fields both at home and abroad, and also in the daily life of villages. War with France continued intermittently throughout the period, and included the Hundred Years' War from 1337 to 1453. Chivalry ideals were cultivated by the King and his courtiers as a useful way of persuading men to fight, by creating the idea that war was a noble and glorious thing.

Dieu et mon droit (God and my right)

Edward III (1327 1377) and his eldest son, the Black Prince, were greatly admired in England for their courage on the battlefield and their courtly manners. They became symbols of the code of chivalry. Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1348, from a story that is even now famous. Once, a lady at court dropped her garter while dancing, and Edward III noticed some of the courtiers laughing at her. He picked up the garter and tied it to his own leg, saying in French Honi soit qui mal y pense (Let him be ashamed who sees wrong in it.). Edward chose as members of the Order 24 knights, the same number the legendary King Arthur had chosen, who decided to meet once a year, on St Georges Day at Windsor Castle. The custom is still followed and the motto has remained in the royal family up to the present day.

Richard II and Henry IV

The English never rebelled against Edward III, but Richard II, Edwards grandson, was less fortunate. He didnt have either the diplomatic talents of his grandfather, or the popularity of his father, the Black Prince, and as he was only 11 when he became a king, it is obvious that others governed for him. Towards the end of the 14th century, Richard II was killed by ambitious lords. Young and proud Richard quarrelled with the nobles in 1388 and imprisoned his uncle, John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III, who was the most powerful and wealthy noble of the time. John of Gaunts son later came to the throne of England as Henry IV.

Henry IV (1367 1413)

The Black Death

The 14th century in England did not mean political and government problems only. The outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 brought about profound social and economic changes. The disease killed between one third and one half of the population, and was followed by further outbreaks in 1361 and 1369. This population decline resulted in severe labour shortages and in the abandonment of a large number of villages. People's attitudes towards music and art changed as they began to see the depression surrounding them. The horrific nature of the Black Death was reflected in the realistic depictions of human suffering and carnage as well as the symbolic use of the skeleton.
"The Dance of Death" by Hans Holbein the Younger

The Peasants Revolts

Higher wage rates were demanded by hired labourers, now fewer in number, and food prices fell. Peasant tenants, also fewer in number, asked for better conditions. As early as 1349, a royal ordinance provided that wages should be no higher than the pre-Black Death rates. This was followed after the plague had died away by the famous Statute of Labourers, which forbade men to leave their parish on pain of imprisonment. In 1377 the Poll Tax was first levied throughout the country, largely to pay for the ruinously costly French wars. The resulting resentment was combined with a strong religious movement, which questioned the inequalities of the feudal system. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was one result of this social tension: its leaders, John Ball, Wat Tyler, and Jack Straw, all lost their lives for their views.

The end of the revolt: Wat Tyler killed by Walworth while King Richard II watches

The 15th century

Towards the end of the 14th century, there appeared some other revolutionary movements, and the beginning of the war between England and France (1337 1453) brought its contribution to the development of social contradictions as well. The 15th century was a period of transition: the Middle Ages were coming to an end, and the foundations of modern society were being laid. The epoch of feudal chivalry was replaced by that of discovery and commerce. Social conditions were disturbed, as the French Wars of the three Henrys, IV, V and VI, had an exhausting effect. Conflict at home dominated the middle years of the 15th century, with the Wars of the Roses between two noble houses having as emblems a white rose (the Yorks) and a red rose (the Lancasters). Finally, King Henry VII (1485 1509) married Elizabeth of York in order to put an end to the feud and unite the two families.The two emblems were placed together in order to form the Tudor rose.

Portrait of Henry, holding a red Lancastrian rose

LITERATURE IN CHAUCERS TIME

It is surprising to observe that under the given circumstances, the second half of the 14th century marked a great developement of literature. Wonderful artistic works appeared, describing in a more or less explicit way, life in that eventful period. In spite of the many continental influences, mainly French and Italian, the basis of a national English literature in the true sense of the word was created then. Four important writers defined the spirit of the time in their literary creations:
William Langland John Gower Geoffrey Chaucer and a poet whose name has remained a mystery up to the present day, the anonymous creator of the controversial long poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

As the greatest of all remains Geoffrey Chaucer, this period in the history of English literature is often called the age of Chaucer.

THE ANONYMOUS POET OF THE 14TH CENTURY

Sometime in the 17th century, Sir Robert Cotton, whose hobby was to collect antiques and discovered a lot of old English poetry in this way, got an old book containing four poems in Middle English ; The Pearl, Cleanness, Patience and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The auhtorship of these poems is much discussed by the critics, but as the style is very similar, the general opinion is that all the poems belong to the same author, whose name is still a mystery, but who is sometimes referred to as The Pearl Poet.

The original Gawain Manuscript

John Gower (c. 1330 1408)

John Gower was a contemporary of William Langland and Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which are united by common political and moral themes. The learned people of the 14th century had the choice of French, Latin and some form of English, and Gower - who was a rich landowner in Kent and had a solid aristocratic learning - was capable of using all three with equal facility. The Middle Ages aristocratic education had left its hall-mark on Gowers works, but some influences from Italy, where a fresh humanistic spirit was in bloom, can also be observed. Nevertheless his mind was narrowly medieval and showed nothing of Chaucers creative imagination. Chaucer was not wrong when he called his contemporary moral Gower, as he was indeed a moralizing poet.

William Langland (ca.1330-1387)

William Langland is the author of The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Ploughman, a long didactic poem in the form of an allegory and written in alliterative verse. The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Ploughman was written on the eve of the great Peasants' Uprising (1381) and it reflects the religious and political unrest of the time, the situation of the peasants as compared to that of the feudal lords. The frequent allusions to John Wycliff, Wat Tyler and John Ball, veiled in allegorical figures, connect the poem to the events of the time. In the character of Piers the Plowman, the worthy guide of the pilgrims on their road to The Castle of Truth, Langland glorifies labour, as a sound basis for the welfare of society.

The structure of the poem is medieval. It is written in the form of a "vision", an allegorical work of a religious, didactic and satirical character, presented by means of a succession of pictures or images seen in a dream. The poem is full of fantastic elements, just like the story about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but these are of a different type and the whole atmosphere of the poem is different. The author does not want to present the refinement of the knights moral principles, but the problem of earning ones living. The whole poem is a keen satire, a call addressed to the people, a warning to the upper classes.

The Visions

The dream that the poet pretends to have had while sleeping on a beautiful May day on the grass on Malvern Hill includes several parts: a) the vision of Lady Meed, Lady Profit and the Castle of Truth, b) the vision of repentance and the allegory of Piers as the only one who knows the way to the Castle, c) Pierss search for Do-Well, Do-Bet and Do-Best . Piers the Ploughman came down to us in a large number of manuscripts (47 in all), proving that Langland's poem had enjoyed much popularity at the time it was written.
Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

The Seven Deadly (Capital) Sins and the Seven Heavenly (Holy) Virtues
In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven holy virtues are

1. Lust (Latin, luxuria) 2. Gluttony (Latin, gula) 3. Greed (Latin, avaritia) 4. Sloth (Latin, acedia) 5. Wrath (Latin, ira) 6. Envy (Latin, invidia) 7. Pride (Latin, superbia)

1. chastity 2. abstinence 3. temperance 4. diligence 5. patience 6. kindness 7. humility.

The Middle Ages is often referred to as the Age of Faith as during this period religion dominated all aspects of life from architecture, literature, art and music. Tales of Sin and Virtue were an almost-daily treat, inspired from the daily struggle between Good and Evil. Which side will win? was a common question. Saving ones soul was a permanent concern.

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 1400)

Geoffrey Chaucer is regarded as England's first poet of world importance who deserves to be called the morning star of English poetry. The novelty of his poetic artistry and his deep interest in the aspects of his society prove that a new spirit was already at work in the 14th century English literature. A realistic spirit, opposed to the theological and scholastic interpretation of phenomena and to the traditional versification of mediaeval poetry, is to be felt in Chaucer's works. He did not only present life in a realistic way, but he also worked on the language and was an inovator in the poetic field.

 While William Langland expressed in his work the protest of the peasants, of the poor and needy in general, and John Gower voiced the opinion of the upper classes, Chaucer was the first to adopt a neutral attitude and to give an all-round picture of the society in which he lived.

Geoffrey Chaucer - His life and literary activity

Chaucer was born in 1343 in London, although the exact date and location of his birth are not known. His father and grandfather were both London vintners and before that, for several generations, the family were merchants in Ipswich. His name is derived from the French chausseur, meaning shoemaker.

Chaucers life is known primarily through records pertaining to his career as a courtier and civil servant under the English kings Edward III and Richard II. In 1359 he was taken prisoner in the French wars and was ransomed in 1360. On his return to London, Chaucer became the kings attendant. Later on, he travelled to France again in 1369, in Italy during 1372-73, then in other countries too, being sent on several diplomatic missions. Once more he visited France in 1377 and Italy in 1378. At home he detained several official positions: as a controller of customs in the port of London, where he could meet lots of merchants and tradesmen; as a Justice of Peace in Kent, and so on, besides travelling abroad on royal business. Towards 1386 Chaucers situation began to deteriorate. Little by little he lost the protection of the noblemen and finally he even lost his royal pension. In 1399 he wrote a poem entitled Complaint to His Purse which he sent to the new king. He regained his pension, but he could not enjoy it for a very long time, as he passed away in 1400.

Chaucers Literary Activity

As Chaucer had spent much time in France in his youth, and later on he visited Italy, to spend his later days in England, his literary creation bears the mark of all these influences and can be divided into three well-defined groups: 1.) The first consists of works translated and imitated from the French (The Romaunt of the Rose, three Complaints, The Book of the Duchess or The Death of Blanche, some minor Ballads and others). 2.) The second consists of pieces inspired from Italian originals (Troilus and Criseyde, The Legend of Good Women, The Knights Tale and perhaps a few stories included in The Canterbury Tales). 3.) The third period marks the most original part of Chaucers activity, including works that are entirely English. The most interesting creation of this period is the collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales, in which Chaucer displays his talent as an original artist.

The Black Knight Chaucers protector, John of Gaunt

The Chaucerian Stanza

Complaint Unto Pity, composed during the French period, has a special interest for the new type of stanza used by Chaucer. Although introduced by Chaucer in English literature, this new device came to be called the rhyme royal, because King James I made use of it in The Kingis Quair. The stanza consists of 7 lines, each formed of 10 syllables and rhyming ababbcc. It became the fashinable stanza and it held position until the appearance of the Spenserian stanza, created by the Renaissance poet Spenser. Here is a sample of rhyme royal, or Chaucerian stanza.

Pity, that I have sought yore ago With heart sore and full of busy pain, That in this world was never wight so woe Without death and, if I shall not feign, My purpose is to Pity to complain Upon the cruelty and tirany Of Love, that for my truth doth me die.

The Italian Period The terms galaxy and Milky Way first appeared in the English language in Chaucers work: "See yonder, lo, the Galaxy Which men clepeth the Milky Wey, For hit is whyt." Geoffrey Chaucer The House of Fame, c. 1380.
The influence of the great Italian poets (Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio) can be observed in the works created by Chaucer between 1372 1384, and even in his Canterbury Tales there are some ideas or characters that are inspired from Italian literature. Among some of the minor works of this period we can mention The Life of Saint Cecily (later made the Second Nuns Tale in The Canterbury Tales) and the Story of Constance. The longer and more important creations are The Parliament of Fowls, Troilus and Criseyde, The Legend of Good Women and The House of Fame.

The Canterbury Tales Chaucers plan of collecting tales and uniting them by a central idea was already evident in such early works as The Parliament of Fowls or The Legend of Good Women. By doing so, he was inspired by such successful chains of stories like The Arabian Nights, Boccaccios Decameron and others. In England, this kind of writing was actually known before Chaucers time (e.g. John Gowers Confessio Amantis The Lovers Confession).

The Canterbury Tales Structure of the Work

Chaucers Canterbury Tales appeared quite naturally, as to tell stories or to go on pilgrimages was in the air of the time. Somewhere about 1386, the poet planned to collect about 120 to 124 tales and to put them together in one single work, as told by a number of about 30 pilgrims on their way to the tomb of Thomas-Becket in Canterbury.

 The initial plan was not carried out though, as only 24 tales were composed and 3 of them were left unfinished, but they are enough to reveal Chaucers qualities as a poet, as an excelent psychologist, his talent of drawing realistic portraits, his humour and wit.

The Canterbury Tales is a complex linkand-frame work, consisting of: a General Prologue in which the story-tellers are presented and described, and the tales preceded by their own minor prologues.

The Canterbury Pilgrimages - Thomas Becket and Henry II

Thomas Becket was born in around 1120, the son of a London merchant. He was well educated and became an agent to Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him on several missions to Rome. Becket's talents were noticed by King Henry II, who made him his chancellor and the two became close friends. When Theobald died in 1161, Henry made Becket archbishop. Becket transformed himself from a pleasure-loving courtier into a serious, simply-dressed cleric. The king and his archbishop's friendship was put under strain when it became clear that Becket would now stand up for the church in its disagreements with the king. In 1164, realizing the extent of Henry's displeasure, Becket fled into exile in France, and remained in exile for several years. He returned in 1170.

 On the 29th December 1170, four knights, believing the king wanted Becket out of the way, murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Henry II was horrified when he heard the news as he believed that it was his words that had been the cause of Beckets death. As an act of penitence he donned sackcloth and ashes, and starved himself for three days. Becket was made a saint in 1173 and his shrine in Canterbury Cathedral became an important focus for pilgrimage.

The General Prologue to Chaucers Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue in itself is the splendid creation of a genius. It begins with a brief description of nature in spring time, not extremely ornamented, but very suggestive. It is April, everything exhales an air of joy, the birds are singing, the sun is shining and the flowers are in bloom. The relationship between man and nature is observed, even if in a rather mocking tone.

The General Prologue to Chaucers Canterbury Tales (Excerpt)

When the sweet showers of April fall and shoot Down through the drought of March to pierce to the root, Bathing every vein in liquid power From which there springs the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run, And the small fowls are making melody That sleep away the right with open eye (So nature pricks them and and their heart engages) The people long to go on pilgrimages, And palmers long to seek the stranger strands Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands And specially from every shires end In England, down to Canterbury they wend To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick In giving help to them when they were sick.

 The pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (a suburb of London), agree to sleep at the inn and start on their journey early in the morning the following day. The poet, who was already at the inn, is accepted to their fellowship.

 The description of all the pilgrims comes next, beginning with the Knight, his son - the young Squire and their servant, a worthy Yeoman. Some representatives of the clergy follow, such as a Prioress, a Monk and a Friar, together with other pilgrims, such as a Merchant, an Oxford Cleric, a Habrdasher, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Carpetmaker, a Doctor, a Woman of Bath, a Miller, a Pardoner, a Ploughman etc After describing all of them in his usual half-serious, half-mocking manner, the poet introduces Harry Bailey, the Innkeeper.

The merry hearted innkeeper has the idea of a story-telling contest: each of the pilgrims was to tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back. He also declares himself the judge of the competition, able to appreciate which of the stories is more interesting. The winner of the contest is to be offered a square dinner at the expense of the others. Harry Bailey is a typical representative of the middle class people, full of common sense and the joy of life, whose ideas are quickly accepted by the others.

 The other pilgrims are representatives of almost all the social strata existing in Chaucers time: the poor peasants (represented by the Ploughman) the nobility (the Knight, the Squire) the clergy (the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar) the middle class townsfolk, representatives of the liberal professions (the Merchant, the Weaver, the Carpenter) and of the learned liberal professions and science (the Doctor) the law (the Man of Law, the Oxford Cleric) the rural middle class the landed gentry (the Franklin a small landowner) All these were genuine members of the 14th century society. In spite of the very large and detailed description displayed in the General Prologue, there are some social groups that, for evident reasons, Chaucer did not want to speak about, such as the court aristocracy or the high clergy.

Chaucer as Portrait Painter Chaucers peculiar technique of drawing portraits is remarkable. He describes each character in a few lines only, yet the portraits are life truthful. The pilgrims' portraits, drawn in the General Prologue and then further rounded off by the Minor Prologues preceding the tales, minutely observe the essential physical and moral features of each character which the author delineates humorously and sometimes satirically. His satire is directed towards the dishonest representatives of clergy, middle-class townsfolk and country people, but he regards with sympathy the hardworking, honest men, such as the parson and the ploughman.

WILLIAM BLAKE'S CANTERBURY PILGRIMS c. 1808

The Use of Details

The physical portraits of the characters are accompanied by the description of their way of speaking, their manners and so on, pointing to their education and revealing their moral features too. Every small detail is important to Chaucer, who often goes so far as to insist on his heroes clothes, shoes, horses.
There was a Knight, a most distinguished man

The Knight
There was a knight, a most distinguished man Who from the day on which he first began To ride abroad had followed chivalry, Truth, honor, generousness and courtesy. He had done nobly in his sovereigns war And ridden into battle, no man more, As well in Christian as in heathen places, And ever honored for his noble graces He was of sovereign value in all eyes. And though so much distinguished, he was wise And in his bearing modest as a maid He never yet a boorish thing had said In all his life to any, come what might; He was a true, a perfect gentle-knight. Speaking of his equipment, he possessed Fine horses, but he was not gaily dressed. He wore a fustian tunic stained and dark With smudges where his armour had left mark; Just home from service, he had joined our ranks To do his pilgrimage and render thanks.

The Knight
In the narrator's eyes, the Knight is the noblest of the pilgrims, embodying military courage, loyalty, honor, generosity and good manners. The Knight conducts himself in a polite and mild fashion, never saying an unkind word about anyone.

The Squire

He had his son with him, a fine young Squire, A lover and cadet, a lad of fire. With curly locks, as if they had been pressed. He was some twenty years of age, I guessed. He was embroidered like a meadow bright And full of freshest flowers, red and white...

The Yeoman
This Yeoman wore a coat and hood of green. He had a sheaf of arrows, bright and keen, Beneath his belt positioned handily He tended to his gear most yeomanly, His arrow feathers never drooped too low And in his hand he bore a mighty bow. His head was closely cropped, his face was brown. The fellow knew his woodcraft up and down.

The Wife of Bath

There was a WIFE of BATH, or a near city, Who was somewhat deaf, which was a pity. At making cloth she had a skillful hand She bettered those of Ypres and of Ghent. Her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground; I dared have sworn they weighed a good ten pound The ones she wore on Sunday, on her head; Her hose were of the finest scarlet red And gartered tight; her shoes were soft and new... Easily on an ambling horse she sat Well wimpled up and on her head a hat As broad as is a buckler or a shield; She had a flowing mantle that concealed Large hips, her heels spurred sharply under that.

The Monk
There was a Monk, a leader of the fashions; Inspecting farms and hunting were his passions... This Monk was therefore a good man to horse; Greyhounds he had, as swift as birds, to course. Hunting a hare or riding at a fence Was all his fun, he spared for no expense. I saw his sleeves were garnished at the hand With fine grey fur, the finest in the land, And where his hood was fastened at his chin He had a wrought-gold cunningly fashioned pin Into a lover's knot it seemed to pass. His head was bald and shone as any glass.-

Chaucer's Prioress: Simple and Conscientious, or Shallow and Counterfeit?

There also was a Nun, a Prioress, Her way of smiling simple was and coy. Her greatest oath was only By St Loy! And she was known as Madam Eglantyne. And well she sang a service, with a fine Intoning through her nose, as was most seemly, And she spoke daintily in French, extremely, After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe; French in the Paris style she did not know. At meat her manners were well taught withal; No morsel from her lips did she let fall, Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep; But she could carry a morsel up and keep The smallest drop from falling on her breast. For courtliness she had a special zest She wore a coral trinket on her arm, A set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green, Whence hung a golden brooch of brightest sheen On which there first was graven a crowned A, And lower, Amor vincit omnia.

 Chaucers gallery of portraits is fascinating indeed. Ranging in status from a Knight to a humble Ploughman, they are a microcosm of 14th century society.

The Tales
The tales present varied themes, as their sources of inspiration were also varied, and the characters only retell them. They belong to all types of medieval literature. They were inspired from: the chivalry romances (e.g. the Knights tale, the Squires tale); the burlesque of chivalry romance (e.g. Chaucers tale of Sir Thopaz) adaptations of the Arthurian cycle that have become folk fairy tales (e.g. the Wife of Baths tale) stories based on medieval scriptural stories which have a moralizing tendency (the Sergeant of Laws Tale, the Monks Tale. The Nuns tale) the French fabliaux (the Millers tale, The tales of the Reeve, Merchant, Friar, Summoner, Cook, Shipman) one tale sugessted by the French romance Le Roman de Renard ( the Nuns story of the cock Chanticleer, who managed to cheat on Russel, the fox).

 Due to the success of his work, Chaucer had a lot of disciples and imitators, both in England and in Scotland. Among them John Lydgate (1370 1450), Thomas Occleve (1368 1450), Stephen Hawes (1474 1523), John Skelton (1460? 1529) the greatest of Chaucers English imitators, famous for his Colin Clout in which some notes of social satire are to be felt, not to mention King James I of Scotland (1394 1437), famous for his Kingis Quair, an allegory set in the form of a dream, written in Chaucerian stanza.

Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in 'Poets' Corner', Westminster Abbey, London. He was the first poet to be buried in the Abbey.

 Chaucer introduced in the General Prologue and in some of the tales a side of medieval culture now unfamiliar, the carnival world of medieval popular life.

The Most Important Person in the 15th century Cultural Britain

Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany around 1450, but William Caxton (1422?-1491), was the first English printer. His translation and print of The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, in 1474, was the first book printed in English. Caxton printed nearly 100 publications, about 20 of which he also translated from French and Dutch. The more notable books from his press include The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer and Confessio Amantis by John Gower. Fewer than 40 of Caxton's publications still exist. Following the introduction of a printing press into England by William Caxton in 1476, vernacular literature flourished (literature written in the vernacular - the speech of the "common people).