Student’s note

Literature of the Middle Ages

#1. Anglo- ____________ period (5th - 10th centuries)

#2. The Anglo-_______________ Period (11 th-13th centuries)

#3. The Pre--_______________ (14-15th centuries) or Middle English Period

A. Anglo- Saxon period (5th - 10th centuries)

- The earliest people in Britain’s history were called _________. They lived in tribes.

- The land was taken over by the tribes of people called the Angles, Saxons, and _________.

- Literature at this time is in the form of _________.

- This were first told _________. (spoken only, not written)

* The Epic: An epic is a long poem that celebrates a hero's deeds (actions).

The Song of Beowulf

- The first ______________ of English literature, the epic poem

- describes the historical past of the land from which the Angles, Saxons and Jutes
came.
- The Epic Poem describes a _________ __________, named Beowulf.
- Sings the ________ ________ of a man, his courage and his _______ of justice, his
______ for his people and ___________ for the sake of his country.

B. Anglo- Norman period (11th-13th centuries)

- Anglo- Saxon king’s army was defeated by the ____________.

- The Normans were from what is now called ___________.

- A strong ________ _____________ was established in the country. A feudal

monarchy describes a _______ or queen that is supported by a feudal ________
_________ system.
 - In a feudal system there is a King, a ruling class, and __________ or lower-class
people that are unable to own land for themselves. This kind of social system makes
life very difficult for the lower-class people. The ruling classes consisted of the
Norman ____________ (people that inherited a high class position because of their
family) and the __________ (or church workers). Most of the English people became
serfs (or manual workers).

- Languages in social classes:

Nobility: ________________
Clergy/churchmen: ______________
Common people: ______________

Sir Gawain and The green knight

Draw a chart to describe the sequence of events that happened in “Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight”

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In his struggles to uphold his oath, Gawain faithfully demonstrates the qualities of
___________ and _____________.

C. The Pre-Renaissance (14th -15th centuries)

- In this period, the fight between English, Latin & French came to an end. In 1362, the
government decided to use _______________. In 1399, Henry IV, the first king
whose mother tongue was English came to the throne.

- The Beginnings of ___________: Drama was a common type of literature used

during the Pre-Renaissance.
 - The drama was born in the ____________. In the early times, the clergymen
explained the truths of religion by using drama. The plays were known as Mysteries
and Miracles.

- The performance of these stories in church marked the first stage in the
development of drama.

- The Morality plays, which came next were didactic (______________).

Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

• Geoffrey Chaucer was considered the most famous writer at this time.
• He was the _______ ________of the Middle Age. The Canterbury Tales is his most
important work.
• The Canterbury Tales is a __________ of _________ in _______ (poetry) told by
people of different social standing.
• The characters describe a _____________ or religious journey to a special place.
• The pilgrimage consists of these characters journeying to Canterbury and back, each
telling _________ tales (stories) in each direction.

PRE-READING:

1. What is was a fighter in the past history of Vietnam called?

2. What did they fight with?

3. Who did they fight?

4. Identify the weapon below. What is it usually used for?

5. What is this weapon called?

Important Phrases:

-whistled through the air:

- as a token

- make good our bargain:

Literary Terms:

Character: a person or animal in a story

Conflict: opposition or struggle between two characters in a story

Protagonist: the central/main character with mostly good qualities (good guy)

Antagonist: an opposing character, whom the protagonist struggles with (bad guy)

Predicting the Story:

Directions: Get in a group of 6. These strips are part of a story. Your group needs to decide on the
order you think the story should go in. Read your own strip silently. Then, the teacher will read the
first strip of the story to you to help you get started. Each group will decide the correct order of the
strips.

Write the best order for the strips:

1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____ 5. _____ 6. _____ 7.

_____

a. The Green Knight raises his axe above his head.

b. Sir Gawain sees a cave in the mountain.

c. The Green Knight lowers his axe onto the neck of Sir Gawain.

d. Sir Gawain puts his head down and readies himself for his head to be cut off.

e. Sir Gawain remembers never to be proud.

f. The Green Knight

g. The Green Knight turns into the Lord of the Castle.