FULL NAME: NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH TUYỀN CLASS: FSP313 STUDENT ID: 20C7148803819 ĐỀ I Answer the following questions: (50 points) What three languages were spoken in England in the 11th - 13th centuries, and whom were they spoken by? Mention some reasons Three main languages spoken in England in the 11th - 13th centuries: Middle English, Anglo-Norman (or French) and Latin - Middle English: The earliest literary document in English in the University of Nottingham’s collections is a fragment from the life of St Bridget, from the South English Legendary, composed in the late thirteenth century The scribe uses the Anglo-Saxon letters ‘yogh’ for ‘y’ or ‘g’ and thorn for ‘th’ He leaves a wide gap between the first capital letter of each line and the rest of the word - Anglo-Norman: Anglo-Norman had emerged as a distinct dialect of French after the Norman Conquest in 1066 established a French-speaking aristocracy in English It was still dominant in the mid-thirteenth century when Robert of Gretham wrote his advice on moral conduct, the Mirur For Robert the appropriate language for lay education was French, but by the late fourteenth century his book had been translated into English - French: John Gower, a contemporary and friend of Geoffrey Chaucer in the late fourteenth century, wrote in all three languages His ballades include the French poem Traitié pour les amantz marietz, promoting the virtues of married love Shown here is a section headed by an introduction (rubricated in red ink) in which Gower apologises for any mistakes in his French The introduction to the passage is in Latin, and reads 'Gower, qui Anglicus est, sua verba Gallica … excusat' ('Gower, who is English, makes excuse for his French words') This followed a familiar convention of bilingual presentation Gower’s great English work was known by its Latin title Confessio Amantis and included Latin running titles and section headings What is a romance, a fabliaux, a bestiaria? In what language were they written? a Fabliau - Fabliau, plural fabliaux, a short metrical tale made popular in medieval France by the jongleurs, or professional storytellers Fabliaux were characterized by vivid detail and realistic observation and were usually comic, coarse, and often cynical, especially in their treatment of women - About 150 fabliaux are extant Many of them are based on elementary jokes or puns—such as one called Estula, which can either be a person’s name or mean “Are you there?” - or on wry situations, such as one tale in which a man is rescued from drowning but has his eye put out by the boat hook that saves him The majority of fabliaux are erotic, and the merriment provoked often depends on situations and adventures that are sometimes obscene Recurring characters include the cuckold and his wife, the lover, and the naughty priest The theme of guile is often treated, frequently to show the deceiver deceived b Romance - In the strictest academic terms, a romance is a narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest However, modern definitions of romance also include stories that have a relationship issue as the main focus - In the academic sense, an example of a romance is a story in which the main character is a hero who must conquer various challenges as part of a quest Each challenge could be its own story and can be taken out of the overall story without harming the plot c Bestiaria - A bestiary (from bestiarum vocabulum) is a compendium of beasts Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson This reflected the belief that the world itself was the Word of God and that every living thing had its own special meaning For example, the pelican, which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus Thus the bestiary is also a reference to the symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature - Medieval bestiaries contained detailed descriptions and illustrations of species native to Western Europe, exotic animals and what in modern times are considered to be imaginary animals Descriptions of the animals included the physical characteristics associated with the creature, although these were often physiologically incorrect, along with the Christian morals that the animal represented The description was then often accompanied by an artistic illustration of the animal as described in the bestiary II Comments (50 points) Write what you know about the life and works of Geoffrey Chaucer - The founder of English realism Geoffrey Chaucer, (born c 1342/43, London, England - died October 25, 1400, London), the outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and “the first finder of our language.” His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English He also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil servant In that career he was trusted and aided by three successive kings—Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV But it is his avocation—the writing of poetry—for which he is remembered Perhaps the chief characteristics of Chaucer’s works are their variety in subject matter, genre, tone, and style and in the complexities presented concerning the human pursuit of a sensible existence Yet his writings also consistently reflect an all-pervasive humor combined with serious and tolerant consideration of important philosophical questions From his writings Chaucer emerges as poet of love, both earthly and divine, whose presentations range from lustful cuckoldry to spiritual union with God Thereby, they regularly lead the reader to speculation about man’s relation both to his fellows and to his Maker, while simultaneously providing delightfully entertaining views of the frailties and follies, as well as the nobility, of mankind Chaucer’s forebears for at least four generations were middle-class English people whose connection with London and the court had steadily increased John Chaucer, his father, was an important London vintner and a deputy to the king’s butler; in 1338 he was a member of Edward III’s expedition to Antwerp, in Flanders, now part of Belgium, and he owned property in Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, and in London He died in 1366 or 1367 at age 53 The name Chaucer is derived from the French word chaussier, meaning a maker of footwear The family’s financial success derived from wine and leather Chaucer’s service as clerk of the king’s works lasted only from July 1389 to June 1391 During that tenure he was robbed several times and once beaten, sufficient reason for seeking a change of jobs In June 1391 he was appointed subforester of the king’s park in North Petherton, Somerset, and an office that he held until his death He retained his home in Kent and continued in favor at court, receiving royal grants and gifts during 1393–97 The records show his close relationship during 1395–96 with John of Gaunt’s son, the earl of Derby, later King Henry IV When John died in February 1399, King Richard confiscated John’s Lancastrian inheritance; then in May he set forth to crush the Irish revolt In so doing, he left his country ready to rebel Henry, exiled in 1398 but now duke of Lancaster, returned to England to claim his rights The people flocked to him, and he was crowned on September 30, 1399 He confirmed Chaucer’s grants from Richard II and in October added an additional generous annuity In December 1399 Chaucer took a lease on a house in the garden of Westminster Abbey But in October of the following year he died He was buried in the Abbey, a signal honour for a commoner Chaucer’s great literary accomplishment of the 1390s was The Canterbury Tales In it a group of about 30 pilgrims gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from London, and agree to engage in a storytelling contest as they travel on horseback to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, Kent, and back Harry Bailly, host of the Tabard, serves as master of ceremonies for the contest The pilgrims are introduced by vivid brief sketches in the General Prologue Interspersed between the 24 tales told by the pilgrims are short dramatic scenes presenting lively exchanges, called links and usually involving the host and one or more of the pilgrims Chaucer did not complete the full plan for his book: the return journey from Canterbury is not included, and some of the pilgrims not tell stories Further, the surviving manuscripts leave room for doubt at some points as to Chaucer’s intent for arranging the material The work is nevertheless sufficiently complete to be considered a unified book rather than a collection of unfinished fragments Use of a pilgrimage as a framing device for the collection of stories enabled Chaucer to bring together people from many walks of life: knight, prioress, monk; merchant, man of law, franklin, scholarly clerk; miller, reeve, pardoner; wife of Bath and many others Also, the pilgrimage and the storytelling contest allowed presentation of a highly varied collection of literary genres: courtly romance, racy fabliau, saint’s life, allegorical tale, beast fable, medieval sermon, alchemical account, and, at times, mixtures of these genres Because of this structure, the sketches, the links, and the tales all fuse as complex presentations of the pilgrims, while at the same time the tales present remarkable examples of short stories in verse, plus two expositions in prose In addition, the pilgrimage, combining a fundamentally religious purpose with its secular aspect of vacation in the spring, made possible extended consideration of the relationship between the pleasures and vices of this world and the spiritual aspirations for the next, that seeming dichotomy with which Chaucer, like Boethius and many other medieval writers, was so steadily concerned  ... Geoffrey Chaucer - The founder of English realism Geoffrey Chaucer, (born c 13 42/ 43, London, England - died October 25 , 1400, London), the outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and “the first... pilgrims are introduced by vivid brief sketches in the General Prologue Interspersed between the 24 tales told by the pilgrims are short dramatic scenes presenting lively exchanges, called links