History of British Literature
Late Medieval Period 14th Century British Literature
14th and 15th were period of transition from feudalism to pre-industrial era. A time of political, social and ideological conflicts;
England was in war with France (the hundred year war 1337-1453 Edward’s claim to the French throne and attempt to bring England, Gascony and Flanders under unified political control). The defeats in France lead to deepening the internal crisis. The decline in agriculture together with the rise in the population resulted in frequent famines and helped the spread during the 14th c. of the “Black Death”. 1381 – The Peasants’ Revolt.
Culture: by 15th century England had become a nation with the sense of separate identity and indigenous culture
1362- English became the official language in court and was also used in schools. 14thc. witnessed the first original literary works written in English.
Middle English literature
English literature of the medieval period, c.1100 to c.1500.
Background
The Norman conquest of England in 1066 traditionally signifies the beginning of 200 years of the domination of French in English letters. French cultural dominance, moreover, was general in Europe at this time. French language and culture replaced English in polite court society and had lasting effects on English culture. But the native tradition survived, although little 13th-century, and even less 12th-century, vernacular literature is extant, since most of it was transmitted orally. Anglo-Saxon fragmented into several dialects and gradually evolved into Middle English, which, despite an admixture of French, is unquestionably English. By the mid-14th cent., Middle English had become the literary as well as the spoken language of England.
The Early Period
Several poems in early Middle English are extant. The Orrmulum (c.1200), a verse translation of parts of the Gospels, is of linguistic and prosodic rather than literary interest. Of approximately the same date, The Owl and the
14th and 15th were period of transition from feudalism to pre-industrial era. A time of political, social and ideological conflicts;
England was in war with France (the hundred year war 1337-1453 Edward’s claim to the French throne and attempt to bring England, Gascony and Flanders under unified political control). The defeats in France lead to deepening the internal crisis. The decline in agriculture together with the rise in the population resulted in frequent famines and helped the spread during the 14th c. of the “Black Death”. 1381 – The Peasants’ Revolt.
Culture: by 15th century England had become a nation with the sense of separate identity and indigenous culture
1362- English became the official language in court and was also used in schools. 14thc. witnessed the first original literary works written in English.
Middle English literature
English literature of the medieval period, c.1100 to c.1500.
Background
The Norman conquest of England in 1066 traditionally signifies the beginning of 200 years of the domination of French in English letters. French cultural dominance, moreover, was general in Europe at this time. French language and culture replaced English in polite court society and had lasting effects on English culture. But the native tradition survived, although little 13th-century, and even less 12th-century, vernacular literature is extant, since most of it was transmitted orally. Anglo-Saxon fragmented into several dialects and gradually evolved into Middle English, which, despite an admixture of French, is unquestionably English. By the mid-14th cent., Middle English had become the literary as well as the spoken language of England.
The Early Period
Several poems in early Middle English are extant. The Orrmulum (c.1200), a verse translation of parts of the Gospels, is of linguistic and prosodic rather than literary interest. Of approximately the same date, The Owl and the