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43: MEDIEVAL LITERATURE OF ORAL TRANSMISSION:THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR.…

- - - - Epic & ballads appeared in writings
        
        1st bibles and grammars in Eng also appeared
        
        Response to ↑ demand for written texts in this language among the population and in monasteries (learning centres)
      - AND a new oral form called romance.
- - - - Romans brought the art of writing through their historical accounts
        
        Later, Germanic tribes were illiterate - their orally-composed verses were not written unless they formed part of runic inscriptions.
        
        Writing appeared with Christianization - AD 597
    - - Wars and leaders
      - Pagan religion & folklore
      - Most OE poetry is didactic and moralising
        
        Diction & rhythm were achieved by techniques such as alliteration & it was performed & accompanied by harp music
        
        Kenning another technique - using compound nouns & figurative phrases eg whale-path (sea) or bone-house (cemetery
        
        OE poetry has survived almost entirely in 4 manuscripts
        
        The Exeter Book
        
        The Junius Manuscript
        
        The Vercelli Book
        
        The Beowulf manuscript.
      - Caedmon's Hymn
        
        One of v earliest examples (7th C) of literature written in OE (only 9 lines survived)
        
        Story is known from Bede´s Ecclesiastical History of the English People - 731
        
        (the most informative historical narrative produced in England until the 12thC - recounts the history of the inhabitants of Britain from the times of J Caesar)
        
        Bede translated the poem into Latin & incorporated it in his book
        
        OE text of Caedmon’s Hymn is preserved because scribes later recognized the Hymn and translated it back into OE
        
        Story: Caedmon, a shepherd in Northumbria, was commanded to sing “the beginning of things”, while he was asleep. He was believed to be divinely inspired and wrote into verse a portion of sacred history. (All poetry of the time concerned with ‘the sacred’.
      - The Dream of the Rood
        
        Religious poem, anonymous.
      - Beowulf
        
        Considered to be the 1st great work of English literature & highest achievement in OE written expression
        
        Epic and episodic poem, written in the best traditional style & metre
        
        Poem of historic scope about heroes and the world (human and non-human)
        
        Style made for oral composition
        
        Written c.1000 AD in the West-Saxon dialect (though must have been composed as part of oral tradition two centuries earlier).
        
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  - - - CONSEQUENCES
        
        Intro of new nobility - old AS nobility annihilated (lands confiscated etc) & all important positions/great estates held by Normans. By the time of the Domesday book(1086) - 4000 AS Thanes replaced by 200 barons. Power & wealth → far fewer hands
        
        Many castles built - transformed landscape. Big cathedrals too - Durham, Ely, Lincoln etc.
        
        Normans → all imp positions in Church (bishops, abbots etc). Many religious orders introduced throughout Eng - ∴ ↑ in monasteries & nunneries
        
        System of feudalism developed as William gave out lands in return for military service
        
        Settlement of Norman troops, craftsmen & merchants meant ↑ in trade between Eng & continent
        
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    - - Triglossia - Latin = church, Fr = court, law etc, spoken masses - English.
    - - Lit in this period developed in directions set largely in France. Epic and elegy gave way to Romance & structures based on alliteration gave way to rhyme and focus on end of words
        
        Literature in this period survived in 3 langs:
        
        Latin = the language of learning. Used when people wanted to write something important for posterity. Religious works, philosophic works, scientific works … - eg Domesday Book.
        
        French = works addressed to U/Cs written to entertain them. Many romances & poems of courtly love tradition. .
        
        English = literature of the Ballads. Audience = lower classes. Themes adapted from lit written for U/Cs. Also romances & stories of Celtic Kings. Also have oral literature.
        
        Also there are translations from both L & F to Eng.
      - After 1360 - re-establishment of the English language.
        
        English won parity with French as a literary medium. Its literature found modern forms, such as verse (in Chaucer) in the 14th C and prose (eg in Malory) in the 15 century.
    - - Classical OE verse 1st died out but later revived in a different form: romance - a new genre of oral tradition about marvellous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of a superhuman ability, who often went on a quest. It introduced the new theme “LOVE”. (Before NC no love poetry in Eng lit).
        
        Plots connected with religion: lives of the saints, homilies, poems
        
        Didactic works: connected to philosophy, science
        
        Intro of women: not present in OE period because it was a warrior society. BUT in the ME period, women had a primary role due to the courtly love tradition consisting of a relationship between a man and a woman.
        
        Form: two new poetic elements: Rhyme & Syllabic verse
  - - - Romance is a story of a fictitious (+ normally marvellous/supernatural) adventure written in verse or prose". E.g.: "Richard Lion-heart", "Romance of Alexander", "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (the GK is a supernatural element).
        
        Love is an optional ingredient (Eg "Lancelot and Guinevere" deals with love, but majority deal with adventures.)
        
        Length varies; some have 1000 lines and others 6000.
        
        Metre used is the octosyllabic couplets and the rhyme is variable.
        
        Heroic adventures. (Also were heroes in OE period ∴ connection between AS epic poetry & romance)
        
        Characters not individuals - there’s always the same kind with same characteristics.
        
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- - - - Court: What we most characteristically see is that Arthur is ruling a court. The knight always returns to the court after the quest to recount his tale, so the court is a relatively stable backdrop.
        
        Quest: Typically, a knight goes off on a quest to be tested away from the court
        
        Holy Grail: has been considered a Christian chalice, the vessel of Last Supper, & is said to have magical characteristics. Only those who are truly graceful are allowed to find it and look inside in order to see the mysteries it contains.
        
        Sword of Excalibur - attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain.
  - - - Arthur; legendary king, sovereign of knights of Round Table. Sometimes centre of action but often actually more of a background figure, with the action centering on another knight (eg Gawain) from the court.
        
        Guinevere: King Arthur’s wife. Themes of abduction & infidelity.
        
        Lancelot: one of greatest knights in Arthurian tradition. Lover of Guinevere and the father of Galahad.
        
        Merlin: enchanter and counsellor of Uther Pendragon and his son Arthur. The prophet of the Holy Grail, and the source of most of the magic taking place.
        
        Gawain: one of most important heroes of Arthurian romance. Nephew of King Arthur and example to all good knights. Featured n an anonymous 12th C poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where he is depicted as an example of courage and truth.
        
        Galahad: Lancelot’s son, one of the 3 Arthurian knights that take part in the Quest
        
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  - - - 1st mention of King A is in "Historia Britonum" (9th C) by Nennius - said Arthur was a leader of the Celts who fought against the ASs but doesn’t say he was a king.
        
        Idea of King Arthur really gets going in 12C.
        
        Geoffrey of Monmouth = most important source. In "Historia Regum Britannia" mentions Arthur’s birth, becoming king, places he conquered & his death. Praises him as an excellent king & great warrior. Geoffrey claimed to have translated the Historia into Latin from Welsh - but no modern scholars take claim seriously - the book is an amalgamation of various previous texts enriched by Geoffrey's own imagination. Despite few knowing how to read Latin it was v popular - even more so when later translated into French.
        
        Several others then made further embellishments & additions to the stories. Eg Wace talks about knights of round table. Layamon (2nd half of 12th C) wrote a new romance -"The Brut" (inspired by the previous ones) - 1st time the story of King Arthur was written in English. Layamon said to be a truly English writer because he used alliteration and preferred native words over Fr loanwords.
    - - The most important writers are Chretien de Troyes who talked about Arthur as a king in the Romance tradition. Also Marie de France.
    - - Most imp. writer = Sir Thomas Malory - wrote "Le Morte D’Arthur". Influenced by the Fr writings.
  - - - 2 theories explain origin:
        
        The Celtic theory. Many similarities/parallels between the lit. written in Wales and that written by the French. This theory says Welsh literature was 1st and French writers imitated it. So, origin of the King Arthur tradition is Welsh. In the Black Book of Carmarthen, King Arthur is mentioned and this manuscript is Welsh.
        
        The Inventionist theory. The Arthurian tradition was formed in France. The French romances reached the highest literary perfection with Sir Chretien de Troyes.
- - - - Learnt Fr & Latin at school & Italian in street from merchants. At school- emphasis on debate & independent thought. Read different versions of texts eg Aesop's fables & debated which was best etc - can see this influence in TCT where everyone tells a different version of the same story.
        
        Had a great variety of jobs - served all 3 kings of his lifetime (various bureaucratic civil service jobs) & also worked as a trader. Also sent on overseas diplomatic missions, where met French & Italian writers & read lit. - heavily influenced by his experiences
        
        Knew life of court, diplomatic life & everyday life. All reflected in his works - eg TCT famously contains characters from all walks of life.
        
        Chaucer was very European in outlook. Very fact he chose to write in Eng reflected the European trend at the time of promoting vernacular langs (started by Dante).
        
        Died 1400 as he was writing "TCT".
  - - - Lots of satire & humour
        
        Because of his travels to Fr he adopted the octosillabyc couplet & after reading works by Boccaccio in Italy he developed the rhymed iambic pentameter - would become the foundation on which all English poetry was built
        
        Despite restrictions of iambic pentameter his language is natural & colloquial. Also used the Rhyme Royal which began to be used in France in 13th C. Chaucer improved this metrical form and because of this is known as Chaucerian stanza. The pattern of this stanza is a b a b b c c (used in “TCT").
  - - - 4.3.1 The French period 1359-1372
        
        Here C uses the Courtly Love Tradition & also the allegorical dream. When in France, he read the "Romance de la Rose" -he translated this to Eng & it was the source of many poems.
        
        "Book of the Duchess". An allegorical dream & also elegy to his patron John of Gaunt. Tells about a man who lost his wife after playing chess with Death.
        
        "The House of Fame" (1379) Also an allegorical dream, it also belongs to Italian period because of influence of Dante. Theme: the poet is taken to a place, The House of Fame, where the names of important people are written.
        
        "The Parliament of Fowls". Also allegorical dream. Characters are birds in a forest (follows the convection of the "Romance de la Rose"). Contains one of the earliest references to idea that St. Valentine's Day is a special day for lovers. It also comments on the role of the house of commons in Parliament - shows C’s familiarly with govt.
        
        "The Legend of Good Women". Again inspired by "Romance de la Rose" - it's a collection of stories about women famous for their faithfulness in love. Unfinished.
      - 4.3.2 The Italian period
        
        Characterised by the influence of classical writers eg Ovid & Virgil. C visited Italy 1372 & probably met Petrarch and Bocaccio – huge influence (+ Dante) esp Boccaccio - in content & also in form. He had a collection of tales, just like TCT is a collection of tales.
        
        The extent of his influence by these writers points to the fact that, at the time, the notions of plagiarism and concept of originality are different to that of today - creativity was seen more of a collaborative endeavour.
        
        Most important work: "Troilus and Criseyde". Uses the Rhyme Royal. The source of this poem is "Filostrato" (Bocaccio). Plot is the same in both works, but C’s version is richer in details, because he conducts a psychological study of the 2 main (title) characters who are at the centre of this love story. It has a classical setting (takes place in Greece) & is divided into five books. Most important character = Criseyde- combined mystery (she unpredictable) with beauty (so also connected with courtly love tradition).
      - 4.3.2.The English period. 1386 to 1400.
        
        "The Canterbury Tales". Takes place in Eng & deals with English characters &themes. The pilgrims belong to each of the social classes, except U/C. "TCTs" is a group of tales told by different people that are all travelling from London to Canterbury to go & visit St. Thomas Becket’s grave.
        
        TCT reflects importance of religion and pilgrimage in Cs time. Going on P was seen as a v positive, with people receiving donations from their parish in order to fund it etc. Several imp pilgrimage sites in England - Canterbury most imp. Religion governed all aspects of life in Cs time. EVERYONE R Cath & v religious.
        
        TCT
        
        Structure: General Prologue before tales
        
        The general prologue (858 lines) - remarkable due to vivid picture of contemporary life. Functions: 1) **introduces 2) establishes characters (describes each with brilliant & striking brief portraits – some are def portraits of people known to him), & 3) **sets scene. Pilgrims stopped for the night at Tabard Inn (Southwark). Each agreed they would tell 4 tales; 2 on their way from London to Cant. and 2 on the way back.
        
        BUT scheme not followed as C didn’t finish it (though some debate regarding this). 30 pilgrims but only 24 tales. Also, one says he’ll use verse but it’s in prose, indicating that C didn't revise it. Plus the host 1st says each will tell 4 tales, but at end says just 1, so various contradictions.
        
        Purpose = to show the life of different people belonging to different classes.
        
        CHARACTERS
        
        30 pilgrims inc a knight, doctor, lover, merchant, religious figures eg monk, parson etc plus others like miller, cook, etc.
        
        Order of tales represents rank - knight ∴ 1st
        
        Characters are individuals AND representatives of social class. ∴ show daily lives of their class, habits, prejudices & good & bad qualities.
        
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        MAJOR FEATURES
        
        Written to be listened to rather than read.
        
        Vocab, syntax & tone are colloquial
        
        Speech resembles lang that was spoken by Londoners
        
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