The Middle Ages

1066 is one of the most important dates in English history. In October of this year, a daylong battle near Hastings, England changed the course of history. William of Normandy, a place in France just across the English Channel, conquered King Harold of England, who was the last remaining of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. William of Normandy would now forever be known as William the Conquerer, which is fortunate since he was previously known by a name that rhymes with Billiam the Wastard. This began what is known as the Norman Conquest, and it would eventually lead to England having a single ruler, and a single language that is closer than the Old English spoken by the Anglo-Saxons to the English we speak today.

England changed drastically under William. For instance, William was able to inventory nearly every piece of property in England. He called this the Doomsday Book, and it allowed a government to tax people according to what they owned for the first time European history. William remained a duke in Normandy, which made for a alliance between England and Normandy (what we call France today). This made England a European power for the first time.

Feudalism is another one of Williams innovations that would shape the future of England. Here is a very good chart that explains the Feudal system. It does well to show what each level gave and received from the others. Feudalism operated from the king all the way down to the serfs, who were peasants who were not permitted to leave the land where they worked. Some of the most familiar figures from the Middle Ages were knights who were loyal protectors of the king.

Knights strictly obeyed a code of conduct called chivalry, which included their oath of loyalty to their overlord, rules of warfare (like never striking an opponant who was unarmed), and the adoration of a particular lady which may not have been their wife. The adoration of the lady was meant as a means of self-imporvement for the knights, and they would spend their idle hours composing poetry and songs of praise. This gave birth to a new form of poetry: the romance. Though women where highly idealized in Medieval culture, they had very few rights.

Please post the following to your blog:

1. Research these important events that took place in the Middle Ages: The Crusades; The Murder of Thomas a Becket; The Magna Carta; and The Black Death. Provide a paragraph on each of the subjects.

2. Have you seen The Breakfast Club? For those of you who have not, it is a story about five teenagers who serve detention on a Saturday afternoon at their school. The writers of the movie cast a jock, geek, hood, rich girl, and basket case as the main characters. The movie takes place in the school library where they get to know each other and their differences. The most well-known text from the Middle Ages is Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury tales. It is the original story with this format where several people from different backgrounds are forced to share the same area. In this story, the characters are going on a pilgrimage to see the body of Thomas a Becket (remember him?), and they have a storytelling contest to pass the time on the journey. The tales are often humorous, and Chaucer uses these tales to poke fun at all levels of society.

Read the prolouge to the Caterbury tales here. When you are through, provide a brief description of each of the main characters, as well as a line of direct text that supports your description. This may take a while.

3. From the link above, choose one of the character's tales to read. Many student texts include the Wife of Bath's Tale, or the Pardoner's Tale. You can choose whichever you like. Be forewarned that the Miller's Tale and the Reeve's Tale would be rated "R" by todays standards. When you finish reading, provide a 1-2 paragraph response to what you've read. Not feeling The Canterbury Tales? Reading the excerpt of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the purple textbook would be a good substitution.

4. How does the literature you've read reflect the Middle Ages? Give three seperate examples of how the piece you chose reflected what is written above. Provide quotes from the texts to support what you have to say.