3 – 18.10.11
Anglo-Saxon & Medieval Period
Anglo-Saxon = Old English literature
Anything created before ← 1066 (Battle of Hestings)
It existed in oral tradition.
It shows confusion about the matter of faith.
Medieval monks (scribes) written down their literature
Scope – composed lyrics, songs (poets), one of the warriors. Anglo-Saxon warrior was pagen, he believed in wyrd (man's enemy) man was powerless. You cannot escape faith. A society of wariors.
There were many types of Christianity
663 England would adopt the Roman version of Christianity.
Monks censored some parts that seemed pagan or included prayers.
Liege – mutual loyalty, a warrior was ready to die for his lord, and lord paid him for it.
When warrior lost his lord, he lost sense of life.
Courage do or die – warrior was brave, he never deserted his lord, battlefield. 'The weaker in the body, the stronger in the spirit' (battle of Moldon).
They had respect for the enemy.
Wergeld – war many.
Each human had a value in many. If you killed someone, depending on how valuable he was (satus, etc) you had to pay his family certain amount of gold.
Christian warriors had no respect for enemies.
Anglo-Saxon period:
unknown-1066 William The Conqueror invades England
Medieval 1066 – 1471 / 1475 / 1476
The image/icon of medieval knight survived much longer then in rest of the Europe
Anglo-Saxon warrior Medieval Knight
Wyrd Christian
Liege 3 loyalties
God
King
Lady of his hart
Do or die
Respect for enemies Infidels (pagans)
Culture anthropology – comparative study of cultures
Model of a Fisher King – he's dying and he needs a man of a pure hart who will go on a journey and find a cure (holy grail), but he also needs to ask a question (which he doesn't know)
Fish – symbol of early chistianity
In France: Parsifal, king dies
In Germany:
In England:
King – King Arthur
Knight – Galahard
Healthy king would guarantee a healthy country, kingdom
Chronological framework of the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval period?
Characteristic features of Anglo-Saxon literature – oral, monks wrote it down, it shows confusion (religion, politics)
Compare the figure of the Anglo-Saxon warrior and the figure of the medieval Knight
What is cultural anthropology?
Grail Romance:
Knight on errand (a knight who was a mission)
Journey perilous (difficult journey/quest)
cure
Lord of the Rings is a grail romance.
King of Rohan – ill king
Frodo – Knight
Aragorn – one who tried but had no pure hart
1516 Sir Thomas More publishes Utopia about a perfect state/country/system
In Utopia there were:
Freedom of worship
No kings, authorities are chosen in democratic election
Woman are citizens just like man
No wars (no room for knights) ← that's why medieval knights culture died
1471/1475 Sir Thomas Mallowey – Medieval knight who found himself in the prison, he was innocent, he was accused of all possible crimes but accusations could not be proved so he was murdered in 1471. In prison he wrote a prose 'Le Morte d'Arthure' – about the corruption of Camelot, nobody wants to help the king, the knights are not Christians but the believe in the witchcraft. It's an epigonic work. It was published (printed) in 1475 by William Caxton.
1485 – the date of the battle of …. the beginning of The Tudors.
A form doesn't go without a meaning.
Romance was the most popular in medieval times
A romance – is a story about adventures of knights
Lament – a poem in which a persona be mouning (opłakuje) a plot (the loss of friend, faith)
Dream vision – three components:
The dreamer falls asleep
He has a dream which is a lesson for him
He has a mission
In today's world 'Christmas carol' (Ebenezer Scrooge)
Epic poems (Beowulf) – each epic needs 2 elements:
The historical perspective – an epic needs to presents some ppl who really lived
Features of morals (cechy obyczajowe), a panorama of the times, how ppl lived, what they believed, did
Beowulf – the tribe were Beowulf came really lived, features of moral – the queen was to pour wine, how Anglo-Saxons buried dead ppl