TEMA 43: LA LITERATURA MEDIEVAL DE TRADICIÓN ORAL: LA LEYENDA

ARTÚRICA. G. CHAUCER: LOS CUENTOS DE CANTERBURY

1- Introduction
2- A Historical Background for the Middle English Period: Oral Tradition in
Old English Literature
2.1. Historical Background
2.2. Oral Tradition
2.3. Old English Literature
3- Early Middle English Literature: The Arthurian Legend
3.1. The Romance: Heroic Poetry and Courtly Love
3.2. Literary Manifestations of the Arthurian Legend
4- Late Middle English Literature: Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
4.2. Chaucer’s Life, Style and Works
4.3. The Canterbury Tales
5- Educational Implications
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1- INTRODUCTION:

Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works

available in Europe during the Middle Ages. The present unit aims to provide a detailed
account of the relevance of orality in medieval literature so as to link this oral tradition
with the two highest literary exponents in Middle English literature, which are the
Arthurian Cycle as well as The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

In order to analyze these two literary works, among others, the social, historical, cultural
and linguistic background of the British Isles during the Middle English period should
be presented.

2- A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE MIDDLE ENGLISH

PERIOD: ORAL TRADITION IN OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE :

2.1. Historical Background:

When examining earlier works that took place in Britain under the influence of Celts
(also known as Britons), Romans and Anglo-Saxons, we realize that Old English
literature, namely epic and lyric, was not written but, rather, transmitted through oral
literary tradition.

Medieval English literature is regarded to start after the Norman Conquest in 1066
lasting until the 16th century. When the Normans came to Britain under William the
Conqueror, the literature made by its Anglo-Saxon inhabitants consisted basically of
heroic poems. Heroic poems are narrative verse in an elevated style, describing the
extraordinary deeds of aristocratic warriors and rulers. As Anglo-Saxons were
Germanic, they took the material from the great migrations of the Germanic peoples
across Europe in which they politically and militarily triumphed over Rome. Although
some of the heroes portrayed in these poems are historical personages, their actions are
often combined with fantastic events.

2.2. Oral Tradition:

Out of the wanderings of these Germanic tribes (Jutes, Angles and Saxons) came a rich
oral tradition from which many heroic poems were developed. Oral poetry (epic) was
considered to be the art of memorable speech. It dealt with a set of heroic and narrative
themes in a common metrical form. However, as they were extremely long, the poets or
bards used certain techniques to remember the lines:

- The use of music, based on rhythm and alliteration. It was characteristic the use
of alliterative verse in which each line was divided in two halves and
comprises four stressed syllables and a varying number unstressed, with a
caesura between the two halves. Rhythm was given by the position of stresses,
and the predominant stress determined the predominant sound (alliteration)
which linked these two parts.
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- Formulaic expressions, common sets of stock phrases and phrase patterns

which were repeated at intervals.

Therefore, knowing the essentials of a number of traditional stories and armed with a
stock of formulaic expressions to describe common happenings bards could improvise
their tale as they were going along with new incidents and details.

2.3. Old English Literature:

The Norman invasion brought about great changes in England. Apart from the political
and cultural influence, the linguistic and literary influences were enormous, as the
introduction of new topics, such as the Code of Chivalry and Courtly love. However, it
is not until the Roman Conquest of England that the English learned to write following
their Christianization.

Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated Western and
Central Europe, and since the Church was virtually the only source of education, Latin
was a common language for Medieval writings. Religious scholars such as Anselm of
Canterbury or Thomas Aquinas wrote lengthy theological and philosophical treatises.
The only widespread religious writing that was not produced by clerics were the
mystery plays, re-enactment of the key events in the Bible and whose texts were often
controlled by local guilds.

The common people continued to use their respective vernaculars and in that way
coexisted three languages: French for the high classes, Latin for the clergy and English
for the common folk.

The Old English Beowulf, the Middle High German Nibelungenlied or the Old French
Chanson de Roland are some instances of literature from this time. Although the extant
versions of these epics are generally considered the works of individual (but
anonymous) poets, there is no doubt that they are based on their peoples’ older oral
traditions.

The Anglo-Saxon epic is traditionally classified into two great themes: the epic, inspired
in the war and the heroes of the battles, and the religious epic, which uses the formulas
of the classic epic as the framework for religious topics.

The main example of early Anglo-Saxon epic is the poem Beowulf, an epic poem of
3,280 lines set in Scandinavia which narrates the combat between an ideal Germanic
hero and demon monsters, with background of legendary history and Christian
symbolism. It is an epic poem told in historical perspective; a story of epic events and of
great people of a heroic past. Although the author is unknown, its themes and subject
matter are generally believed to be formed through oral tradition, the passing down of
stories by scops.
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On the other hand, as the main exponent of the earliest religious epic is Caedmon´s
Hymn. Caedmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known and, allegedly, he
learned to compose one night in the course of a dream.

In the succeeding centuries there was an evolution in literature. Rhymed verse was
introduced opposing to alliterative Old English literature, as well as a new prosody
based on syllabic verse and there were also new formal structures in the poems such as
the division into strophes.

This old literature serves as a base for Romances and the Arthurian legend.

3- EARLY MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE ARTHURIAN

LEGEND:

The Norman Conquest (1066) brought political, linguistic and literary consequences. It
is a fact that literature in this period survived in three languages: Latin, which lived
alongside Norman French, and a kind of ‘English’ which was a mix of dialects, spoken
rather than written. Many works were translated from one of these languages to the
other and, sometimes, translators added something extra to the story.

When the classical Old English verse died out, it revived in a very different form, the
Romance. Heroic poetry and courtly love romance and chivalry are the hallmarks of the
literature of different periods in the history of European civilization.

3.1. The Romance: Heroic Poetry and Courtly Love

Romances were tales of adventurous and honorable deeds. At first theses were deeds of
war and later on were the defense of ladies. In romances unlike in heroic poems no
models for national heroism were shown, but they were mere entertainment in the form
of adventure stories with a strong component of courtly love, very extravagant and
fantastic happenings, with material from very diverse sources, such as supernatural
elements, Celtic myths and Christian and pagan legends.

The medieval romance as a literary form developed from the heroic epic nurtured by the
love lyrics which focused on the subject of love. To identify the sources of this romantic
notion of love we may go back to Ovid and to the Neo-Platonian philosophers and
poets.

Courtly love resembled the feudal relationship between a knight and his lord, as he had
to show courage, loyalty and honor in both spheres. Moreover, the shared passion of the
lovers was recognized as semi-religious in its intensity and ennobling, since love makes
the lover better and braver. It is the connection between the lovers that makes the story
in motion, since the knight has to rescue or fight for the lady.

Medieval Romance produced in England has been classified by Jehan Bodel into The
Matter of Rome, dealing with classic history and legend, The Matter of France, which
includes stories of Charlemagne, and the Matter of Britain or the Arthurian Cycle.
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These romances of the Arthurian Cycle were centered on the legendary King Arthur
that, as will be seen, has suffered an evolution, together with the elements of the legend,
through the variation of the story by different authors.

Gaston Paris maintains that the Arthurian tradition was preserved in Wales through the
medium of the bards, was by them communicated to their Norman conquerors, worked
up into poems by the Anglo Normans, and by them transmitted to the continental poets.

3.2. Literary Manifestations of the Arthurian Legend.

The Arthurian legend is the body of stories concerning King Arthur. This famous cycle
of medieval romances describes the birth of Arthur, the establishment of the fellowship
of the round table, his kingdom in Camelot, the adventures of his knights -Lancelot,
Perceval and Gawain-. The adulterous love between his wife Guinevere and his knight
Sir Lancelot together with the quest for the Holy Grail brought about the dissolution of
the knightly fellowship, the death of Arthur, and the destruction of his kingdom.

The most accepted conclusion is that Arthur was probably a Romanized Celtic leader
who lived at the beginning of the 6th century and who led Britons in victory against the
Saxons for some years. Later oral legends created King Arthur, his Knights of the
Round Table, and even Camelot was set up as the legendary capital of Arthurian reign
in Cadbury Hill (Wales).

The earliest apparent mention of Arthur in any known literature is a brief reference to a
mighty warrior in the Welsh poem Gododdin (c.600). Arthur next appears in Nennius’
Historia Britonium, where it is said that he was a Celtic military chief (dux belorum)
who fought twelve victorious battles against the Saxon invaders.

These and several subsequent references indicate that his legend had already developed
into a considerable literature before Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his Historia Regum
Britanniae (1135), where he narrates the life of kings related to the legendary founding
of Britain, especially Arthur’s deeds, where he mixes the already existing legend with
his own imagination as he introduced Queen Guinevere and some of the knights like
Gawain.

After Monmouth’s contribution, Wace wrote his Roman de Brut, which infused the
legend with the spirit of chivalric romance due to his French influence. Wace is more
romantic than Geoffrey of Monmouth and also introduces an important innovation: the
Round Table. Layamon translated the work into English and gave one of the best
pictures of Arthur as a national hero. His Brut was written in alliterative unrhymed
verse.

It was in northern France that the legends of Arthur, his Round Table and the Quest for
the Grail improved before they re-crossed the Channel. Chrètien de Troyes wrote five
romances dealing with the knights of Arthur's court. His Perceval contains the earliest
extant literary version of the quest of the Holy Grail. Chrétien’s works are basically
adventure romances with a strong love interest. Using Celtic sources, de Troyes made
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Arthur the ruler of a realm of marvels in five romances of adventure, all written in
octosyllabic couplets.

This matter of Brittany continued all through the Middle Ages, shown in important
works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1370). Written in Northwest Midland
dialect, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight embodies the ideal of chivalric knighthood.
The genius of the author is to have been able enough to reunite several stories, from
various roots and literary styles, in a highly complex and sophisticated language so as to
make a mature work of art.

The Vulgate Cycle was a cyclic work around Lancelot and Guinevere’s adultery,
connecting it with the Grail legend through the figure of Galahad, Lancelot’s son and
guard of the Grail. Sir Galahad achieved the vision of god through the Grail, whereas
Sir Lancelot was impeded in his progress along the mystic way because of his adultery
with Guinevere. The legend told by the Vulgate Cycle was transmitted to English
speaking readers in Sir Thomas Malory’s prose Le Morte D'Arthur, which was the last
important medieval work dealing with the Arthurian legend. Printed by Caxton in 1485,
Le Morte D’Arthur tells the whole story of Arthur and Camelot, recounting the
foundation, history and destruction of King Arthur’s court and the Knights of the Round
Table. Mallory’s work is the principal responsible for the survival of the myth so far.

4- LATE MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE: CHAUCER AND THE

CANTERBURY TALES:

Before William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer was the preeminent English poet, and
still retains the position as the most significant poet to write in Middle English.

Chaucer made a crucial contribution to English literature in writing in English at a time

when much court poetry was still composed in Anglo-Norman or Latin.

4.2. Chaucer’s Life, Style and Works:

 Life:

Born in London (c.1340-1400) to a well-to-do wine merchant, was sent to serve as court
page for the Countess of Ulster. Later he went to France with Edward III’s army during
the Hundred Year’s War, where he was taken prisoner. The king brought him back to
England and took him to his service. He held a number of positions at court and spent
some time in Spain and Italy in diplomatic missions. It is said that the example of Dante
gave him the idea of writing in the vulgar English rather than in the court French of the
day. After losing his employment as government official, he moved to Kent where he
was appointed as Justice of the Peace. He was also elected to Parliament. This was a
period of great creativity for Chaucer, during which he produced most of his best
poetry, among others Troilus and Cressida. According to tradition, Chaucer died in
London on October 25, 1400.
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 Literary Style:

He had a special ability to contemplate the varieties of human nature with a combination
of sympathy, irony and amusement together with the fortune of knowing men in all
ranks of society. He wrote in the South East Midland dialect with some Kentish
characteristics and was in part responsible to convert it into the medium of all later
major literature.

His greatness is due to his capacity to assimilate the techniques, themes and conventions
of French and Italian poets, using them to enrich his native language.

He also made great use of the stereotypes and conventions of his time, which include
the “dream poet”, where the poet falls asleep and has a dream or a vision (The Legend of
Good Women) and conventions of knighthood, courtly love or the verse forms that he
used, like the octosyllabic couple or the rhyme royal.

His style is simple, fluent, unforced and almost colloquial but with abundant
vocabulary.

Chaucer took his narrative inspiration for his works from several sources, such as
classical and Medieval Latin authors. These include Dante, Petrarch and specially
Ovid's Metamorphosis and Boccaccio’s Decameron and Teseida, on which he based
many of his works like “The Knight’s Tale.”

 Works:

Regarding his works, Chaucer’s literary activity is often divided into three periods:
French period, the Italian period and the English period.

1. The first period includes his early works, which are based largely on French models
of dream visions. “The Book of the Douches” was an elegy written to commemorate
the death of Blanche of Lancaster and it is a long work with a very intricate plot
written in octosyllabic couplets.
2. The second period is called his Italian period because during this time his works
were modeled primarily on Dante and Boccaccio. Major works of the second period
include The House of Fame recounting the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of
Troy; The Parliament of Fowls is a dream allegory treating with humor the theme of
courtly love; Troilus and Criseyde, based on Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato, is one of the
great love poems in the English language in which Chaucer perfected the seven-line
stanza later called rhyme royal. Criseyde is considered the first complete character of
a woman in English literature. Finally, The Legend of Good Women is an unfinished
collection of tales written in the first decasyllabic couplets in English in which the
poet dreams how Cupid reproaches him for treating women unfairly in some of his
writings (Troilus and Criseyde). He promises to write a collection of stories about
women who were faithful in love.
3. In his last period Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, which is his most popular.
In the following section an analysis of this work is going to be provided.
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4.3. The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is one of the landmarks of English literature, perhaps the greatest
work produced in Middle English and certainly among the most ambitious. It is formed
by a series of linked stories told by a number of pilgrims on their way to that city. In
"The General Prologue" Chaucer tells how, at the Tabard Inn in Southwark the night
before his pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, he fell in with a
company of some twenty nine pilgrims. At the suggestion of the host of the inn they
agreed to tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back, and the best
tale would earn its teller a free supper at the Tabard on their return. The first teller is the
knight, afterwards comes the Miler, the Reeve, the Cook, and so on. However, Chaucer
did not complete the entire Canterbury Tales and instead of the over on hundred that
were planned only twenty-four tales were completed.

As in other medieval collections of popular stories, such as The Arabian Nights or

Decameron, the primary story forms a convenient framework to a miscellany of many
different kinds of tales. However, Chaucer’s narration is more ambitious since in
Boccation,the ten speakers all belong to the same sophisticated social elite, while
Chaucer’s pilgrim narrators represent a wide spectrum of ranks and occupations, from
the nobility to ecclesiastic and servants. The great variety of tales is matched with the
great variety of their tellers. Tales are assigned to appropriate narrators and juxtaposed
to bring out contrasts in genre, style, tone and values. Thus, the knight’s courtly
romance about the rivalry of two noble lovers for a lady is followed by the Miller’s
fabliau of the seduction of an old carpenter’s young wife by a student. Thus they
become individualized dramatic characters.

 Literary Techniques and Conventions:

This work follows a number of literary techniques and conventions characteristic of

medieval literature.

The Canterbury Tales is considered to be a Estates satire. This was a type of literature
that described the characteristic qualities and failings of the members of the different
estates and professions. Almost all the social classes of 14th century England are
represented by Chaucer, thus giving a panorama of that society.

Moreover, No single literary genre dominates The Canterbury Tales. The tales include
Romance, such in “The Night’s Tale”; fabliaux, which are popular bawdy stories dealing
with adultery as “The Miller's Tale”; saint's biographies, as in “The Prioress' Tale";
exemplum, as "The Pardoner's Tale", confessions, as “The Wife of Bath” animal fables,
religious allegories and even a sermon, and range in tone from pious, moralistic tales to
lewd and vulgar sexual farces.

Chaucer as a poet takes part in the poem as a modest, innocent narrator and participant.
Chaucer presents himself as a naive man repeating the idea that he is telling things as he
heard them from the characters.
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Like most authors in the Middle Ages, Chaucer wrote rather to be listened to than to be
read. The vocabulary, syntax and the tone are colloquial. The style is plain as there are
no remote allusions, hardly a metaphor or hyperbole.

 Topics:

Some of the most important topics in the book are:

- Chivalry. The knight in "The Knight's Tale" is a living embodiment of the ideal
warrior:
- Love, sex and marital relations. Love is seen as courtly love is “The Knights Tale”
as being pure and noble and in “The Clerk’s Taleç”, the pains of love are
illustrated. Sex is described as mere sexual love, as lust and adultery, which is not
condemned but associated with characters who are not noble or admirable.
- Religion is one of the main topics as in that time it permeated all aspects of the
everyday life. From the mere pilgrimage to the devotion to the Virgin Mary to the
topic of free-will and predestination.

6- Educational Implications:

Literary language and the production of literary genres are mentioned as one of the aims
of our current educational system. Actually, students are asked to use literary textual
features (lexical choice between formal and informal syntactic structures) when writing
fiction and non-fictional texts.

Although the original texts might not be suitable for certain levels of second language
learners, certain abridged versions, or even multimodal texts can be brought to class so
that their content is reachable for students, since the Legend of King Arthur or The
Canterbury Tales can be easily adapted.

The sociocultural context of these works can be used in cross-curricular settings so as to

stablish a comparison between Spanish and English Medieval literature. As we have
seen, understanding how oral literature developed into written one is important to
students, who are expected to be aware of the richness of English literature, due to the
mingling of English, French and Latin elements in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Studying these texts together with the historical and sociocultural panorama can
improve their cultural, social and linguistic competences.