Characteristics+of+Medieval+Literature

= = = **Themes of Medieval Literature:** =
 * =__Characteristics of Medieval Literature__=
 * The Seven Deadly Sins
 * The Seven Heavenly Virtues
 * Physiognomy and "The Humours"
 * Values of "courtly love"
 * The Code of Chivalry(CF)

= **The Poets and Authors:** = Caedmon : First English poet; author of "The Dream of the Holy Rood." Venerable Bede : wrote the Ecclesiastical History of England and the scientific treatise, De Natura Rerum. Geoffrey Chauce r: Famous Medieval author of the Canterbury Tales. Margery Kempe : Author of the first autobiography in English. John Gower : Medieval poet and friend of Geoffrey Chaucer Francesco Petrarch : Italian poet, and a humanist. Famous for his poems addressed to Laura. Dante : Medieval poet and politician. Christine de Pizan : Medieval author and feminist. William Longland : English poet who wrote the Vision of Piers Plowman. Boccaccio : Italian writer who was famous for writing the Decameron. Raphael Holinshed : Medieval author of Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. (KM)

 **Rom** **ance:**

 * Chivalry was the reason behind this type of literature.
 * The greatest English example of the romance is //Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.//
 * The romance hero-who often has the help of magic-undertakes a quest to conquer an evil enemy. (KM)

**Chivalry:**
 * A system of ideals and social codes governing the behavior of knights and gentlewoman.
 * The rules included: taking an oath of loyalty to the overlord and observing certain rules of warfare.
 * Adoring a particular lady was seen as a means of self-improvement. (KM)

**Courtly Love:**
 * The idea that adoring a lady would make a knight braver and nobler was central to one aspect of chivalry, courtly love.
 * Courtly love was nonsexual
 *  A knight might wear his lady's colors in battle.
 * The knight could glorify his lady in words, but the lady had to remain pure and out of reach. (KM)

=Ballads: =
 * The emerging merchant class expressed their point of view in ballads.
 * A ballad is a song or songlike poem that tells a story.
 * These were sung in alehouses and at firesides, mystery miracle plays performed outside, craft unions, and even cathedrals and municipal buildings. (KM)

How were books made back then?
(KM)
 * Early medieval books were painstakingly hand-copied and illustrated by monks.
 * Paper was a rarity, with vellum, made from calf's skin, and parchment, made from lamb's skin, were the media of choice for writing.
 * Students learning to write used wooden tablets covered in green or black wax.
 * The greatest number of books during this era were bound with plain wooden boards, or with simple tooled leather for more expensive volumes.(SK)

Language in the middle ages:

 * Language saw further development during the Middle Ages.
 * Capital and lowercase letters were developed with rules for each.
 * Books were treasures, rarely shown openly in a library, but rather, kept safely under lock and key.
 * Finding someone who might loan you a book was a true friend.
 * Some might rent out their books, while others, desperate for cash, might turn to the book as a valuable item to be pawned.(SK)

= Random Facts = > (SK)
 * ==== The medieval literature talks about the dark ages of the western culture and civilization. ====
 * ==== At this time, the church was a powerful institution that 's why the literature texts that could survive had to appeal to the teaching of the church,otherwise their writers would be condemned. ====
 * ==== There was elegance of speech and manners. ====
 * ==== is considered as a pure love, platonic and idealistic love. (SK) ====

**Sources:** > > > >
 * Alchin, Linda. //Medieval Life and Times//. N.p. 20 December 2008. Web. 25 October 2011. (KM)
 * "The Middle Ages: Topics." //The Norton Anthology of English Literature.// W.W. Norton and Company, n.d. Web. 26 October 2011. (KM)
 * Beers, Kylene, and Lee Odell. Elements of Literature Sixth Course. New York: Holt, 2007. 116-129. Print. (KM)
 * ===== "Medieval Literature." //Medieval Life//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.  (SK) =====
 * "What are the characteristics of medieval literature." //The Q&A wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are (SK)