025 Lit Lma SG

Literature of the later Middle Ages
BA English
C.A. Maddern 2001 0033E025
This guide was prepared for the University of London by: Carole A. Maddern, PhD, Visiting Tutor, Department of English, Goldsmiths College, University of London. This is one of a series of subject guides published by the University. We regret that due to pressure of work the author is unable to enter into any correspondence relating to, or arising from, the guide. If you have any comments on this subject guide, favourable or unfavourable, please use the form at the back of this guide.
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Published by: University of London Press University of London 2001 Printed by: Central Printing Service, University of London, England
BA and Diploma in English
Correction
033E025 Literature of the Later Middle Ages

December 2008: First correction
Students should note the following examiners changes for the 2009 examinations onwards:
033E025 Literature of the Later Middle Ages There is one change to the demands of Section B: Instead of questions on specific named texts, Section B will contain a range of questions for students to answer on one text of their choosing from the period.
Contents
Contents
Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Objectives ..................................................................................................................1 Subject content ..........................................................................................................1 Suggested study syllabus ..........................................................................................3 Recommended secondary reading for suggested study syllabus ............................4 Study questions for all set texts ................................................................................4 Using this subject guide ............................................................................................8 General reading list ....................................................................................................8 Recommended texts ..................................................................................................9 Historical, cultural and intellectual background ....................................................11 Critical works ..........................................................................................................12 Methods of assessment ............................................................................................17 Examination technique ............................................................................................18 Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary ..................................................21 Reading list ..............................................................................................................21 Introduction ..............................................................................................................21 Section A of the examination ..................................................................................21 An illustration ..........................................................................................................22 Critical opinion ........................................................................................................26 Learning outcomes ..................................................................................................27 Sample examination question ..................................................................................27 A note on reading Chaucer ......................................................................................27 Suggestions for further study ..................................................................................27 Chapter 2: Section B: study of texts: William Langlands Piers Plowman ......29 Essential reading ......................................................................................................29 Recommended secondary reading ..........................................................................29 Introduction ..............................................................................................................29 The Prologue ............................................................................................................30 Passus 1 ....................................................................................................................32 Passus 24 ................................................................................................................33 The Alliterative Revival ..........................................................................................34 Dream vision ............................................................................................................35 Personification allegory ..........................................................................................36 Ambiguities of meaning ..........................................................................................38 Learning outcomes ..................................................................................................38 Sample examination questions ................................................................................38 Suggestions for further study ..................................................................................38 Chapter 3: Section B: single author/text study: Robert Henrysons Moral Fables ............................................................................................................39 Essential reading ......................................................................................................39 Recommended secondary reading ..........................................................................39 Introduction ..............................................................................................................39 The historical and cultural background ..................................................................39 The beast fable ........................................................................................................41 Allegory and the value of literature ........................................................................42
The relationship between narrative and Moralitates ..............................................43 Henrysons use of the Moralitates ..........................................................................44 Literature and fiction ..............................................................................................45 Humour ....................................................................................................................45 Learning outcomes ..................................................................................................45 Sample examination questions ................................................................................45 Suggestions for further study ..................................................................................46 Chapter 4: Section C topic study: the historical context ....................................47 Essential reading ......................................................................................................47 Suggested further reading ........................................................................................47 Introduction ..............................................................................................................47 The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales ....................................................47 A sense of nostalgia ................................................................................................48 A sense of time and place ........................................................................................48 The social grouping of the pilgrims ........................................................................49 Other social groupings ............................................................................................51 Learning outcomes ..................................................................................................52 Sample examination questions ................................................................................52 Suggestions for further study ..................................................................................53 Chapter 5: Section C topic study: women in the later Middle Ages ................55 Essential reading ......................................................................................................55 Suggested further reading ........................................................................................55 Introduction ..............................................................................................................55 Ideals and travesties: the anti-feminist tradition ....................................................55 Ideals and travesties: Marian worship ....................................................................56 Ideals and travesties: courtly love ..........................................................................57 The concept of chivalry ..........................................................................................57 Ideals and travesties: literary stereotypes of women ..............................................58 The female voice ......................................................................................................59 The narrative voice ..................................................................................................63 Learning outcomes ..................................................................................................64 Sample examination questions ................................................................................64 Suggestions for further study ..................................................................................64 Appendix: Sample examination paper ................................................................65 Section A ..................................................................................................................65 Section B ..................................................................................................................68 Section C ..................................................................................................................69
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Introduction
Introduction
Objectives
Literature of the later Middle Ages is a Group A advanced unit. It is concerned with the narratives and lyric poetry of the later Middle Ages. This subject has been designed: to encourage you to read in the original a variety of texts in different dialects of Middle English of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to enable you to explore a range of dialects, styles, genres and literary traditions within the period, as well as a range of different critical approaches to the literature to help you identify what is characteristic of the literature of the period to develop your understanding of change and continuity in the literary culture of the period to place the texts within a broader historical and cultural context.
It is important that you refer to these objectives in the planning of your study and when assessing your progress. (Self-assessment procedures are discussed in the Handbook.)
Subject content
You should organise your course of study around both individual texts and topics. Set texts The following is a list of the set texts for this subject. In sections A and B of the exam, specific questions will be set on a selection of these texts (see the sample examination paper at the end of this guide). As an absolute minimum, you will need to study five different texts and be prepared to answer questions on them. For information on editions, see the general subject reading below. Fourteenth century Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde. Sir Orfeo. A selection of lyrics of the fourteenth century. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Piers Plowman (B text) Prologue and passus 14 only.
Fifteenth century A selection of lyrics of the fifteenth century. The Book of Margery Kempe. Malorys Morte Darthur. The Towneley and Chester Noah plays. Henrysons Moral Fables and The Testament of Cresseid.
You are advised to read as widely as possible within this list, although it is not necessary to cover every text mentioned. In particular, I recommend that you include works from both the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in your selection in order to gain an understanding of the changes within the period. Suggested topics The following is a list of the kind of topics you might choose to investigate. You might prefer to come up with your own topics, based on comparisons and reflections across two or more texts. Most important are the definitions and meanings of the following genres and literary terms: estates satire romance fabliau breton lai the lyric medieval tragedy the beast fable the dream vision satire allegory irony.
Genre itself provides one kind of tradition. You will also need some understanding of other traditions within which the authors were writing: court literature courtly love the collection of tales the Arthurian tradition the Alliterative Revival the Scottish Chaucerians.
Medieval writers drew on traditional topoi, topics (i.e. conventional subjects) one obvious topos that runs through many of the works in this subject is the seasons, especially the reverdie, the celebration of the return of spring; others include: the formal portrait (descriptio) the locus amoenus (the idealised landscape) ernest and game the ages of man (youth versus age, etc.) the confession the nowadays topos (the complaint against the present times).
Other major topics might include: the treatment of gender, sex, love and marriage order and disorder the past and attitudes towards pagan cultures
Introduction
the comic and the tragic individual and society; public and private the real and the ideal the relationship between the sacred and the secular; views on the nature and value of literature within a Christian context; shifting attitudes towards the value of this world and human life the Otherworld.
As well as literary topics, you may wish to look at the broader historical context. You do not require extensive knowledge of factual information on historical subjects, nor do you need to look at all these areas in depth, though acquaintance with some of them is advised. I would, however, strongly advise you to develop a sense of the period by reading about the following areas and considering the ways in which they are reflected in the literature: the spiritual and religious context: the beliefs, values and changing nature of spirituality within Christianity itself in the period; the development of affective piety the political context: the interrelationship between the literature of the period and political events the social context of the various texts: high and low culture; courtoisie and courtly values; the portrayal of the bourgeoisie and the peasantry; the portrayal of women; economic issues and the shift from bastard feudalism to proto-capitalism education and literacy; Christian humanism the artistic context: definitions of the term Gothic and its relevance to the literature; the interrelationship of literature with other arts, such as architecture, manuscript illumination and other genres of painting, sculpture, music, etc. knighthood, war and chivalry the intellectual and philosophical background some understanding of the debates around nominalism and realism; free will and predestination.
Suggested study syllabus

The following is a sample 20-week outline to give you an idea of how a syllabus could be constructed for this subject. Weeks 12: Background reading on medieval history and critical surveys of the period. Topic study: the historical context (see Chapter 4 below). Author study: Chaucers Canterbury Tales (the First Fragment). Practise Section A questions. Author study: other Canterbury Tales and/or Troilus and Criseyde. Topic study: medieval drama (Towneley and Chester Noah plays). Topic study: women in the Middle Ages (The Book of Margery Kempe) (see Chapter 5 below). Topic study: Medieval lyrics. Practise Section A questions.
Weeks 35: Weeks 68: Weeks 910: Weeks 1113: Weeks 1415:
Weeks 1617: Weeks 1819:
Author study: Langlands Piers Plowman (see Chapter 2 below). Author study: Henrysons Moral Fables and/or Testament of Cresseid (see Chapter 3 below). Practise Section A questions. Revision. Practise one-hour timed questions to previous examination papers.
Week 20:
Recommended secondary reading for suggested study syllabus

Weeks 12: Weeks 35: See Chapter 4 below. Boitani, P. and J. Mann The Cambridge Chaucer Companion. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) [ISBN 0-521-31689-8]. Windeatt, B. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1992) [ISBN 0-19-811194-0]. Beadle, R. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) [ISBN 0-521-45916-8]. See Chapter 5 below. Woolf, R. The English Religious Lyric in the Middle Ages. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968) [ISBN 0-19-811487-7]. See Chapter 2 below. See Chapter 3 below.
Weeks 68:
Weeks 910:
Study questions for all set texts

Chaucer the First Fragment of the Canterbury Tales How far are Chaucers pilgrims depicted as representative types, and how far are they portrayed as distinctive individuals? What is the role of the fictive pilgrim Chaucer? Consider some of the ways in which Chaucers famous irony is operating in his presentation of the pilgrims. How do notions of order and hierarchy in the Canterbury Tales work to create, to enhance or to complicate meaning? To what extent can Chaucer be regarded as a political writer? (Consider the ramifications of the Tales as well as the General Prologue). How does the Knights Tale treat the following themes: love, politics, philosophy, religion? Consider how Chaucer exploits the following sets of oppositions: learning and ignorance; youth and age; male and female. Discuss the significance of clothing in at least two Canterbury Tales. Comedy depends on your point of view. Explore this statement with reference to the Millers Tale and the Reeves Tale.
Introduction
Troilus and Criseyde By announcing the double sorrow of Troilus at the beginning of the story, does Chaucer negate the possibility of suspense? Look carefully at the function of each of the Proems. How do they create different expectations and effects? How does each relate to its subsequent Book? How important to the story is the Trojan setting? Trace the developing role of the narrator as storyteller, spectator and authority. How far does Troilus and Criseyde exhalt social values over individual concerns? Does Criseyde fit into the traditional stereotypical view of woman as saint or sinner? Consider carefully Chaucers presentation of each of the main characters, analysing where and how our responses are being manipulated. How do minor figures contribute to the effectiveness of Chaucers narrative? In what ways does the ending of the story affect our interpretation?
Sir Orfeo Look up the definition of a lay in a dictionary of literary terms, and consider how far Sir Orfeo fits the category. How does the form work to contribute to the poems effect? Consider such aspects as: line length, rhythm, rhyme, use of minstrel tags, etc. How has the classical story of Orpheus been medievalised? Examine the poems treatment of time, space and place, paying particular attention to the depiction of the Otherworld. Consider how the poem explores the theme of honour with reference to the four main figures (Orfeo, Herodis, Pluto, the Steward). Pick out several passages where visual description dominates, and try to analyse how they create their effect. How does the narrator of the poem vary the pace of his narrative? Does the end of the poem coincide with its emotional climax?
Lyrics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Examine the range of tonal and stylistic effects in the lyrics of the period. Examine the treatment of consciousness of the self in medieval lyrics. Consider how and how effectively direct speech and dialogue are used in medieval lyrics. One of the most striking aspects of medieval lyrics is their delicate economy. Consider several lyrics in the light of this statement. Is the range of emotion in medieval lyric poetry restricted? What is encompassed, and what seems to be neglected? Select and analyse various lyrics which seem to supply the following: material for meditative contemplation; amusement; intellectual challenge. Look especially at cases where these functions overlap or are difficult to distinguish. Try to clarify how religious lyrics differ from secular ones. What kinds of situations and expressions recur? Can you identify formulaic elements? Does the use of conventions permit individuality of treatment?
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Notice how carefully patterned the poem is in terms of structure, content and thematic concerns, making detailed notes on these aspects. How does the narrator interact with and control his material? Does the division of the poem into fitts by modern editors enhance the effectiveness of the narrative? The figure of Gawain has been interpreted in many different ways, as exemplifying chivalric virtue; religious piety; ideal integrity; nave, over-scrupulous piety; pride. Examine each of these viewpoints and try to determine your own. Examine the Gawain-poets use of suspense. Consider the representation of the Green Knight, tracing the progressive stages in the revelation of his appearance and identity. Where and how do women feature in the poem? Think about how the ending of the poem resists easy resolution, offering various conflicting responses for the reader to consider.
The Book of Margery Kempe In what ways and with what success does Margery try to defend herself against possible detractors, both in her Prologue and in the course of her narrative? How does the Book of Margery Kempe convey a sense of everyday life in the later Middle Ages? What strategies enable Margery to assert herself as an authoritative female in a rigidly patriarchal society? Notice how a variety of different people react to Margery, some positively, some with open or concealed hostility. Does the way in which she presents such reactions reveal her own feelings? Consider the ways in which aspects of Margerys self-presentation depict her in the following roles: romance heroine (undertaking an arduous quest seeking the Holy Grail); sinner (humble penitent); saint (suffering and finally exalted Christian martyr). Look carefully at the treatment of the following: the body; sex; money. What attitudes towards each are displayed? In her dealings with Christ and Mary, Margery expresses a characteristic intimacy and directness typical of late medieval affective piety. Pick out examples and compare the kinds of imagery and language employed with other medieval texts, such as religious lyrics, mystical writings and so on. Do you agree with some critics that the spiritual autobiography Margery claims to be relating is in fact overwhelmed by her self-regard and concern with personal and material matters? What elements of the Book convey its origin as oral testimony? How far is the Book characterised by literary qualities?
Malorys Morte Darthur I am a woman and may nat fyght. Consider what women are able to do in Malorys romance. Consider the proposition that Malory had no interest in character.
Introduction
Analyse carefully Malorys language, noting aspects such as repetition; use of formulas; plain style; long, paratactic sentences, and so on. Where and why does the narrator intrude openly into the narrative? Are Books 7 and 8 capable of standing alone or are they inextricably linked? Compare and contrast the representation of the following paired figures: Lancelot and Arthur; Lancelot and Gawain; Galahad and Mordred; Guenevere and Elaine of Astolat. Examine Malorys treatment of the following typical romance ingredients: the forest; the damsel in distress; the tournament. Are his depictions of these uniform or do they vary? In what ways can the Morte Darthur be read as a chronicle, rather than a romance, that is, a narrative primarily interested in political concerns? What is the function and significance of each of Arthurs dreams on the eve of his final battle? How effectively does the theme of Christian salvation at the end of the Morte Darthur counter the prevailing mood of tragedy?
Noah Plays From what you know of medieval drama, try to visualise a medieval performance of the Noah plays, and identify which aspects would be alien or familiar to a modern audience. How do the plays use visual symbols and tableaux? Compare and contrast the opening scenes of the Noah plays. How does the action unfold? Similarly, compare the final scenes, determining how each achieves a sense of climax and resolution. Think of how the language of the plays is working. For instance, consider how effective the colloquial tone and expression are at moments of conflict, prayer, divine injunction and so on. Where is poetic diction evident, and what are the differences in effect? How successfully are the figures of Noah and his wife rendered as exemplary human beings, and as appropriate emblems of mankinds redemption? What do the minor figures such as the children contribute to the drama? Is it true that sinful man steals the show from God?
Henryson: Testament of Cresseid Analyse the narrative strategies contributing to the creation of a sombre opening mood. How far do you regard the role of the narrator as crucial to the effect and meaning of the Testament of Cresseid? Look at the presentation of the pagan gods, noticing what qualities are assigned to each and how they interact. Consider how Henryson uses ironic contrast and juxtaposition to good effect, as in the scene where the young boy innocently calls the disfigured Cresseid to dinner, thereby creating a sense of macabre horror from an ordinary domestic moment. Would you support or refute the opinion that Henrysons imagination is direct, dramatic and creative?
Henrysons middle Scots provides a fluid, expressive vehicle for his cautionary tale. Analyse the language of the poem in the light of this remark. How do the compression and brevity of Henrysons Testament of Cresseid enhance the tales effectiveness as verse narrative? Identify ways in which Henrysons Testament of Cresseid can be seen as a sermon in that it does not attack womankind or any specific woman, but is rather an exhortation to Christian justice, to make men awaken to the miserable facts of contemporary life.
Using this subject guide

This subject guide will be organised around the structure of the examination paper. You will find examples of the kinds of question you can expect in the examination as you work through the guide, and a sample examination paper at the end. This guide does not constitute the subject itself, but is an example of how you could construct an appropriate course of study and devise appropriate ways of studying the material you choose. It also indicates the range of material that is the minimum amount necessary to face the examination with confidence. Simple regurgitation in the examination of the illustrative material in this subject guide will be regarded as plagiarism and heavily penalised. You must adapt such material in ways appropriate to your own chosen syllabus of study. Examiners will always look unfavourably at examinations composed of answers that draw solely on the illustrative material provided in this subject guide. Each chapter starts with a suggested reading list for the topic(s) covered in that chapter. It is divided into essential reading and recommended secondary reading. The former sets out the text(s) discussed in the chapter. The latter list includes a number of books and articles that will enhance your knowledge and understanding of the topic. In every chapter you will come across questions in boxes. These questions are designed to help you reflect on what you have just read. You will make most progress if you attempt to answer each of these questions as you come across them in the text. You should refer back to the reading and then write your answers down or discuss them with someone else. A list of learning outcomes is included at the end of each chapter. Learning outcomes tell you what you should have learned from that chapter of the subject guide and the relevant reading. You should pay close attention to the learning outcomes and use them to check that you have fully understood the topic(s) under discussion. You will also find sample examination questions at the end of all the chapters. You should try planning and writing answers to these questions as part of your study and revision programme. You will find a sample examination paper at the end of the guide.
General reading list

No single textbook will adequately cover the whole of the period. What follows is a highly selective bibliography that you should supplement with your own research. You will find it useful to consult the bibliographies at the back of the books listed here and books referred to by the authors in their notes and in their discussions. The Riverside Chaucer, for instance, has an enormous amount of secondary reading suggestions in its detailed notes. It conveniently surveys and summarises the range of critical perspectives over the last hundred years or so, enabling you to select particular
Introduction
articles and books relevant to your particular interests. There are many useful anthologies of criticism and collections of essays covering the medieval period, some of which are listed in the following bibliographies. Do not be afraid to strike out on your own. In fact, it will be extremely useful if you seek out further material, and construct your own reading lists, covering topics of particular interest to you. You should consult the index of the libraries you have access to. Most libraries have computerised indexing which will cross-reference. So the entry Thomas Malory, for instance, should produce lists of editions of Malorys Morte Darthur, but also bibliographies, critical readings, etc. Bear in mind the importance of using up-to-date material. If all the criticism you read on, say, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the 1960s you may have a limited idea of the range of critical responses to this text. At the same time, do not assume that criticism from an earlier date is necessarily redundant. Classic studies of 20 or 30 years ago may still contain some helpful information or analysis.
Recommended texts
* The starred texts are especially recommended. Chaucer
*Benson, L.D. The Riverside Chaucer. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988) [ISBN 0-19-282109-1]. Contains all Chaucers works, with excellent notes and bibliographies.
Sir Orfeo The ideal edition, if you can get hold of it is:
*Bliss, A.J. (ed.) Sir Orfeo. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966) second edition [ISBN 0-198114-818].
Otherwise, any of the following are fine:

Rumble, T.C. The Breton Lays in Middle English. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1965) [ISBN 0-8143-12640]. Sands, Donald Middle English Verse Romances. (Exeter: Exeter University Press, 1986) [ISBN 0-85989-228X]. Speed, Diane, (ed.) Medieval English Romances. (Durham: Durham Medieval Texts, 1993) third edition [ISBN 0-9520078-00].
Lyrics By far the best edition is:

*Silverstein, T. (ed.) English Lyrics Before 1500. (York Medieval Texts; North Western, 1988) [ISBN 0-810-1-0354-0].
Otherwise, try:
Davies, R.T. (ed.) Medieval English Lyrics. (London: Faber, 1963) [ISBN 0-571-05522-2].
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The best edition from the linguistic point of view is:
*Tolkien, J.R.R. and E.V. Gordon Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Revised by Norman Davis (Oxford: Clarendon, 1967) second edition [ISBN 0-19-8114869]. This encourages you to do the translation work, and uses thorns and yoghs (unfamiliar, runic letters of the alphabet in use in medieval manuscripts).
Alternatives are:
Barron, W.R.J. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998) revised edition [ISBN 0-7190-5517-2]. This has a facing-page modern English translation which is helpful, but no substitute for the original. Cawley, A.C. and J.J. Anderson Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Cleanness, Patience. (London: Everyman, 1991) second edition [ISBN 0-460-87101-3]. Waldron, R. (ed.) Poems of the Pearl Manuscript. (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1997) [ISBN 0-85989-514-9].
Langlands Piers Plowman

Bennett, J.A.W. Piers Plowman: the Prologue and Passus IVII of the B Text. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1972) [ISBN 0-19-871090-9]. *Schmidt, A.V.C. The Vision of Piers Plowman: a Critical Edition of the B Text. (London: Everyman, 1995) second edition [ISBN 0-460-87509-4].
Margery Kempe
*Staley, Lynne The Book of Margery Kempe, TEAMS. (Western Michigan University: Medieval Institute, 1997) [ISBN 1-879288-72-9]. Windeatt, Barry (ed.) The Book of Margery Kempe. (London: Longman, 1999) [ISBN 0-582-30461-x].
Malorys Morte Darthur

*Vinaver, Eugene The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990) [ISBN 0-19-281217-3]. It is very important to note that other editions vary considerably. In particular, beware of editions that follow Caxtons version (such as the Penguin paperback edition) rather than that of the Winchester manuscript, which is quite different in terms of content and structure.
Also acceptable, although be warned that it is an abridged version with modernised spelling, is:
Cooper, Helen (ed.) Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) [ISBN 0-19-282420-1].
Towneley and Chester Noah plays

Brown, John Russell The Complete Plays of the Wakefield Master. (London: Heinemann, 1983) [ISBN 0-435-23138-3]. This is the Towneley cycle. Lumiansky, R.M. and David Mills (eds) The Chester Mystery Cycle, EETS SS 3. Two volumes. (London: Oxford University Press, 1974) [ISBN 0-19-722403-2]. Stevens, Martin and A.C. Cawley The Towneley Plays, EETS SS 13/14. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994) [ISBN 0-19-722415-6].
The separate Noah plays are often anthologised, for example, both are in:
*Happ, Peter English Mystery Plays. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1975) [ISBN 0-14-043093-8].
The Towneley Noah play is in:

Sisam, Kenneth Fourteenth-Century Verse and Prose. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, reprinted 1970) [ISBN 0-19-8113910-9/0-19-871093-3 pbk].
The Chester Noah play is in:

Cawley, A.C. Everyman and the Medieval Miracle Plays. (London: Everyman, reprinted 1974) [ISBN 0-460-11381-x].
Although these are out-of-print, they are worth looking for in libraries and secondhand bookshops.
10
Introduction
Henrysons Moral Fables The best edition is:

*Fox, Denton (ed.) The Poems of Robert Henryson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981) [ISBN 0-19-812703-0].
Also good, if you can get them, are:

Elliott, Charles Robert Henryson: Poems. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1974) [ISBN 0-19-871092-5]. Wood, H. Harvey (ed.) Poems and Fables by Robert Henryson. (Edinburgh: Mercat Press, reprinted 1978) [ISBN 0-901-82453-4]. However, these are currently outof-print. You might be able to find them in libraries, secondhand bookshops, etc.
These are anthologies containing all of Henrysons poems, but there is also a handy edition of the Moral Fables:
Gopen, George D. Robert Henryson: Moral Fables. (Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1987) [ISBN 0-268-01362-4]. This provides a parallel text (middle Scots on one page, English translation on the other), but the translation is not always accurate and stylistically is rather dead. Also it fails to provide a glossary. Try not to let the temptation to merely read the English rob you of the experience of reading Henrysons distinctly colourful middle Scots. It really is worth getting to grips with the language of the original.
Henrysons Testament of Cresseid As well as being in the collected works cited above for the Moral Fables, the Testament of Cresseid is regularly anthologised and can also be found in a separate, out-of-print edition:
*Fox, Denton The Testament of Cresseid. (London: Nelson, 1968) [ISBN 0-17-173109-3].
Historical, cultural and intellectual background

Barber, Richard The Knight and Chivalry. (London: Sphere, 1974) [ISBN 0-351-15270-9]. Bennett, Judith Medieval Women, Modern Women: Across the Great Divide in Aers, David (ed.) Culture and History 13501600. (London, etc.: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1992) [ISBN 0-7450-0789-9]. Blamires, Alcuin The Case for Women in Medieval Culture. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1997) [ISBN 0-19-818256-2]. Bloch, D. English Gothic Literature. (London: Macmillan, 1983) [ISBN 0-333-27138-6]. Looks at the general literary context and includes material on romance, Malory, etc. Bothwell, James, P.J.P. Goldberg et al. (eds) The Problem of Labour in FourteenthCentury England. (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2000) [ISBN 1-903153-04-2]. Brereton, G. Froissart: Chronicles. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968) [ISBN 0-14-044-200-6]. Brewer, D. Chaucer and His World. (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2000) [ISBN 0-85991-6073]. Brewer, Derek English Gothic Literature. (London: Macmillan, 1983) [ISBN 0-333-27139-4]. Coleman, Janet English Literature in History 13501400: Medieval Readers and Writers. (London: Hutchinson, 1981) [ISBN 0-09-144100-5]. Ford, Boris (ed.) Medieval Britain. Cambridge Cultural History of Britain. Volume 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992) [ISBN 0-521-42882-4].
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Keen, M.H. England in the Late Middle Ages. (London: Methuen, 1973) [ISBN 0-416-83570-8]. Kretzmann N. et al. (eds) The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982) [ISBN 0-521-22605-8]. *Ladurie, E. Le Roy Montaillou. (London: Scolar, 1978) [ISBN 0-8596-7403-7]. Leff, Gordon Medieval Thought: St Augustine to Ockham. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1958) [IBSN 01402-0424-5]. *Leyser, Henrietta Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 4501500. (London: Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 1995) [ISBN 0-297-81604-7]. Marenbon, John Later Medieval Philosophy: 11501350. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987) [ISBN 0-7102-0286-5]. Pollard, A.J. Late Medieval England 13991509. (London: Longman, 2000) [ISBN 0-582-03135-4]. Shahar, Shulamith The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages. Translated by Chaya Galai (London: Routledge, 1990) [ISBN 0-415-04605-x]. *Tuchman, Barbara W. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century. (London: Macmillan, 1979) [ISBN 0-333-19752-6]. Warner, Marina Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary. (London: Picador, 1976, reprinted 1990) [ISBN x-19-338303-8]. Watts, V.E. Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981) [ISBN 0-14-044-208-1]. Required reading for the Knights Tale, but Boethius was also enormously influential throughout the Middle Ages.
Critical works
General works of literary history
Aers, David (ed.) Chaucer, Langland and the Creative Imagination. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980) [ISBN 0-7100-0351-x]. Aers, David Medieval Literature: Criticism, Ideology and History. (Brighton: Harvester, 1986) [ISBN 0-7108-1021-0]. Aers, David Community, Gender and Individual Identity: English Writing 13601430. (London: Routledge, 1988) [ISBN 0-415-01378-x]. Aers, David and Lynne Staley The Powers of the Holy: Religion, Politics and Gender in Late Medieval Culture. (Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996) [ISBN 0-27101-542-x]. Brewer, D. English Gothic Literature. (London: Macmillan, 1983) [ISBN 0-333-271-394]. Burnley, David (ed.) Courtliness and Literature in Medieval England. (London: Longman, 1997) [ISBN 0-582-29216-6]. *Evans, Ruth and Lesley Johnson Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bath and All Her Sect. (London: Routledge, 1994) [ISBN 0-415-05819-8]. Everett, Dorothy Essays on Middle English Literature. (ed.) P.M. Kean (Oxford: Clarendon, 1970) [ISBN B55-06815]. Muscatine, Charles Poetry and Crisis in the Age of Chaucer. (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1972) [ISBN 0-268-00459-5]. Salter, Elizabeth Fourteenth-Century English Poetry: Contexts and Readings. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1983) [ISBN 0-19-811186-x]. Spearing, A.C. Medieval Dream-Poetry. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976) [ISBN 0-521-29069-4].
12
Introduction
Studies of texts and authors Chaucer

Andrew, Malcolm Critical Essays on Chaucers Canterbury Tales. (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991) [ISBN 0-335-09601-8]. Blamires, Alcuin The Canterbury Tales. (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987) [ISBN 0-333-37864-4]. *Boitani, P. and Jill Mann The Cambridge Chaucer Companion. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, reprinted 1994) [ISBN 0-521-31689-8]. Brewer, Derek A New Introduction to Chaucer. (London: Longman, 1998) second edition [ISBN 0-582-09348-1]. Cooper, Helen Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996) [ISBN 0-19-871155-7]. *Crane, Susan Gender and Romance in Chaucers Canterbury Tales. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994) [ISBN 0-691-06952-2]. Dor, Juliette A Wyf Ther Was. (Liege: University of Liege Press, 1992) [ISBN 2-87233-004-6]. Ellis, Steve (ed.) Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. (London: Longman, 1998) [ISBN 0-582-24881-7]. *Knapp, Peggy Chaucer and the Social Contest. (New York and London: Routledge, 1990) [ISBN 0-415-90150-2]. Kolve, V.A. Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative: The First Five Canterbury Tales. (London: Arnold, 1984) [ISBN 0-7131-6412-3]. Mann, Jill Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire: The Literature of Social Classes and the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973) [ISBN 0-521-09795-9]. Mann, Jill Geoffrey Chaucer. (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991) [ISBN 0-7108-10059]. *Martin, Priscilla Chaucers Women: Nuns, Wives and Amazons. (Basingstoke: Macmillan, reprinted 1996) [ISBN 0-333-64141-8]. Morse, R. and B. Windeatt (eds) Chaucer Traditions: Studies in Honour of Derek Brewer. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) [ISBN 0-521-35247-9]. Olson, Paul A. The Canterbury Tales and the Good Society. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986) [ISBN 0-691-06693-0]. Pearsall, Derek The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer: A Critical Biography. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992) [ISBN 1-55-786-205-2]. Weisl, Angela Jane Conquering the Reign of Femeny: Gender and Genre in Chaucers Romance. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1995) [ISBN 0-85991-460-7].
The Knights Tale Sources

Havely, N.R. (ed. and trans.) Chaucers Boccaccio: Sources of Troilus and the Knight and Franklins Tales. (Woodbridge: Brewer, 1980) [ISBN 0-84766-769-3]. Jefferson, B. Chaucer and the Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius. (New York: Gordian, 1968) [ISBN 0-8383-05741]. Minnis, A.J. Chaucer and Pagan Antiquity. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1982) [ISBN 0-85991-098-9].
General A good place to start is Helen Coopers section on the Knights Tale in Oxford Guides to Chaucer: the Canterbury Tales. (See historical section, above.)
Diamond, A. and L.R. Edwards Chaucers Women and Womens Chaucer in The Authority of Experience: Essays in Feminist Criticism. (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1988) [ISBN 0-87023-622-9].
13
Hanning, Robert The Struggle between Noble Designs and Chaos: the Literary Tradition of Chaucers Knights Tale, Literary Review (1980) 23: 51941. Important contribution to the debate about whether the tale endorses or subverts political rule and order. Keen, Maurice Chaucers Knight, the English Aristocracy and the Crusades in Scattergood, V. and J.W. Sherborne (eds) English Court Culture in the Later Middle Ages. (London: Duckworth, 1983) [ISBN 0-7156-1637-4]. Knapp, Peggy Chivalry and Its Discontents in Chaucer and the Social Contest. (See Chaucer section, above.) Kolve, V.A. The Knights Tale and Its Settings in Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative. (See Chaucer section, above.) Muscatine, C. Form, Texture and Meaning in Chaucers Knights Tale, Proceedings of the Modern Language Association (1950) 65: 91129. Patterson, Lee The Knights Tale and the Crisis of Chivalric Identity in Chaucer and the Subject of History. (London: Routledge, 1991) [ISBN 0-415-07315-4].
The Millers Tale and Reeves Tale

Beichner, Paul E. Characterisation in the Millers Tale in Schoek, R.J. and J. Taylor Chaucer Criticism. Volume 1 (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1960) [ISBN 0268-00036-0] 11729. Benson, C.D. Chaucers Drama of Style: Poetic Variety and Contrast in The Canterbury Tales. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986) [ISBN 0-8078-1679-5] Chapter 4. Bloomfield, Morton The Millers Tale an unBoethian Interpretation in Mandel, Jerome and Bruce A. Rosenberg. (eds) Medieval Literature and Folklore Studies. (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970) [ISBN 0-813-50676-x] 20512. Brewer, Derek The Poetry of Chaucers Fabliaux in Chaucer: the Poet as Storyteller. (London: Macmillan, 1984) [ISBN 0-333-28428-3] 10719. David, Alfred The Strumpet Muse: Art and Morals in Chaucers Poetry. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976) [ISBN 0-2533-5517-6] Chapter 6. Olson, Paul A. The Reeves Tale: Chaucers Measure for Measure, Studies in Philology (1962) 59: 117.
Troilus and Criseyde

*Benson, C. David Critical Essays on Chaucers Troilus and Criseyde and His Major Early Poems. (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991) [ISBN 0-335-09411-2]. Windeatt, Barry Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1992) [ISBN 0-19-811194-0].
Sir Orfeo
Bristol, M.D. The Structure of the Middle English Sir Orfeo, Papers in Language and Literature (1970) 6: 33747. Friedman, J.B. Orpheus in the Middle Ages. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1970) [ISBN 0-674-64490-5]. Knapp, J.K. The Meaning of Sir Orfeo, Modern Language Quarterly (1968) 29: 6373. Lucas, P.J. An Interpretation of Sir Orfeo, Leeds Studies in English (1972) 6: 19. Riddy, F. The Uses of the Past in Sir Orfeo, Yearbook of English Studies (1976) 6: 515.
14
Introduction
The lyrics
Dronke, Peter The Medieval Lyric. (Woodbridge: Brewer, 1996) third edition [ISBN 0-85991-484-4]. Gray, Douglas Themes and Images in the Medieval English Religious Lyric. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978) [ISBN 0-7100-7253-8]. Jackson, W. The Interpretation of Medieval Lyric Poetry. (London: Macmillan, 1980) [ISBN 0-333-24816-3]. Woolf, Rosemary The English Religious Lyric in the Middle Ages. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968) [ISBN 0-19-811487-7].
The Gawain-Poet
Barron, W.R.J. Trawthe and Treason: The Sin of Gawain Reconsidered: A Thematic Study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1980) [ISBN 0-7190-1294-5]. Benson, L.D. Art and Tradition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1965) [ISBN X-19-024369-3]. Brewer, Derek Studies in Medieval English Romances. (Bury St Edmunds: Brewer, 1988) [ISBN 0-85991-324-4]. Clein, Wendy Concepts of Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Norman, Oklahoma: Pilgrim, 1987) [ISBN 0-937664-75-8]. Davenport, W.A. The Art of the Gawain-Poet. (London: Athlone Press, 1978) [ISBN 0-485-12050-X]. Fox, D. (ed.) Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1968) [ISBN LC 68-014474]. Howard, D. and C. Zacher (eds) Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press, 1968) [ISBN 0-268-00064-6]. Putter, Ad An Introduction to The Gawain-Poet. (London: Longman, 1996) [ISBN 0-582-22574-4]. Wilson, E. The Gawain-Poet. (Leiden: Brill, 1976) [ISBN 90-04-04752-2].
Piers Plowman (B Text)

Benson, C. David The Function of Lady Mede in Piers Plowman, English Studies (1980) 61: 193205. du Boulay, F.R.H. The England of Piers Plowman: William Langland and his Vision of the Fourteenth Century. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1991) [ISBN 0-85991-312-0]. Finke, Laurie A. Truths Treasure: Allegory and Meaning in Piers Plowman in Finke, Laurie A. and Martin B. Schichtman Medieval Texts and Contemporary Readers. (New York: Cornell University Press, 1987) [ISBN 0-8014-9463-x]. McDavlin, Mary Clemente A game of heuene: Word-Play and the Meaning of Piers Plowman. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1989) [ISBN 0-85991-272-8]. Murphy, Colette Lady Holy Church and Meed the Maid: Re-envisioning Female Personifications in Piers Plowman, in Evans, Ruth and Lesley Johnson (eds) Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature. (See Critical works section, above.) Schmidt, A.V.C. The Clerkly Maker: Langlands Poetic Art. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1987) [ISBN 0-85991-233-7]. *Simpson, James Piers Plowman: An Introduction to the B-Text. (London and New York: Longman, 1991) [ISBN 0-582-01391-7].
Margery Kempe
Beckwith, Sarah A Very Material Mysticism in Aers Medieval Literature: Criticism, Ideology and History. (See General works of literary history section above.)
15
Hirsh, J.C. The Revelations of Margery Kempe: Paramystical Practices in Late Medieval England. (Leiden: Brill, 1989) [ISBN 90-04-08963-2]. Lochrie, Karma The Book of Margery Kempe: the Marginal Womans Quest for Literary Authority, Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1986) 16: 3355. Long, Julia Mysticism and Hysteria: the Histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O., in Evans, Ruth, and Lesley Johnson (eds) Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature. (See Critical works section, above.) Watkin, E.I. On Julian of Norwich and in Defence of Margery Kempe. (Exeter: University of Exeter, 1979) [ISBN 0-85989-054-6].
Malory
Archibald, Elizabeth and A.S.G. Edwards (eds) A Companion to Malory. (London: Brewer, 1996) [ISBN 0-8599-1443-7]. Dobyns, Ann The Voices of Romance: Studies in Dialogue and Character. (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1989) [ISBN 0-87413-351-3]. Field, P.J.C. Malory: Texts and Sources. (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1998) [ISBN 0-85991-1536-0]. Field, P.J.C. The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory. (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1999) [ISBN 0-85991-566-2]. Greenwood, Maria Women in Love, or Three Courtly Heroines in Chaucer and Malory: Elaine, Criseyde, and Guinevere in Dor, Juliette A Wyf Ther Was. (See Chaucer section, above.) Kennedy, Beverly Knighthood in the Morte Darthur. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1985) [ISBN 0-85991-178-0]. *Lambert, Mark Malory: Style and Vision in Le Morte Darthur. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975) [ISBN 0-3000-1835-5]. Lumiansky, R.M. Malorys Originality. (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1964) [ISBN 0-405-10612-2]. *McCarthy, Terence An Introduction to Malory. (Woodbridge: Brewer, 1991) [ISBN 0-85991-328-7]. Moorman, Charles The Book of King Arthur: The Unity of Malorys Morte Darthur. (Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press, 1965) [LC 65-011825]. Riddy, Felicity Sir Thomas Malory. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1987) [ISBN 9-0040-8370-7].
Towneley and Chester Noah Plays

*Beadle, R. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) [ISBN 0-521-45916-8]. Davenport, W.A. Fifteenth-Century English Drama. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1982) [ISBN 0-84767-120-8]. Evans, Ruth The Towneley Uxor in Dor, Juliette A Wyf Ther Was. (See Chaucer section, above.) Happ, Peter (ed.) Medieval English Drama: A Casebook. (London: Macmillan, 1984) [ISBN 0-333-34083-3]. Harty, Kevin J. (ed.) The Chester Mystery Cycle: A Casebook. (London: Garland, 1993) [ISBN 0-8153-0497-8]. Jack, R.D.S. Patterns of Divine Comedy: A Study of Medieval English Drama. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1989) [ISBN 0-85991-281-7]. Taylor, Jerome and Alan H. Nelson Medieval English Drama: Essays Critical and Contextual. (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1972) [ISBN 0-226-79146-7]. Woolf, Rosemary The English Mystery Plays. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1980) [ISBN 0-520-04081-3].
16
Introduction
Henrysons Moral Fables

Burrow, J.A. Henryson: The Preaching of the Swallow, Essays In Criticism (1975) 25: 2537. Clark, George Henryson and Aesop: the Fable Transformed, Essays in Literary History (1976) 43: 118. Gray, Douglas Robert Henryson. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979) [ISBN 90-04-05917-2]. Jamieson, I.W.A. The Beast Tale in Middle Scots: Some Thoughts on the History of a Genre, Parergon (1972) 2: 26-35. von Kreisler, Nicolai Henrysons Visionary Fable: Tradition and Craftsmanship in The Lyoun and the Mous, Texas Studies in Literature and Language (1973) 15: 391403. MacQueen, John Robert Henryson: A Study of the Major Narrative Poems. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1967) [ISBN X-10-232977-9]. McDiarmid, Matthew Robert Henryson. (Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1981) [ISBN 0-7073-0306-0]. Murtagh, Daniel Henrysons Animals, Texas Studies in Literature and Language (1972) 14: 40521. Powell, Marianne Fabula Docet: Studies in the Background and Interpretation of Henrysons Morall Fabillis. (Odense: Odense University Press, 1983) [ISBN 8-7749-2408-7]. Wittig, Kurt The Scottish Tradition in Literature. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1958) [ISBN 0-837106504-0].
Henrysons Testament of Cresseid

Gray, Douglas What Became of Criseyde, Chapter 5 in Robert Henryson. (Leiden: Brill, 1979) [ISBN 90-04-05917-2]. Hanna III, Ralph Cresseids Dream and Henrysons Testament in Rowland, B. Chaucer and Middle English Studies in Honour of Russell Hope Robbins. (London: Allen and Unwin, 1974) [ISBN 0-04-821030-7]. MacQueen, John Chapter 3 in his Robert Henryson: A Study of the Major Narrative Poems. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967) [ISBN x-27-061570-8].
Methods of assessment
Important: the information and advice given in this section is based on the examination structure used at the time this guide was written. However, the University can alter the format, style or requirements of an examination paper without notice. Because of this we strongly advise you to check the rubric/instructions on the paper you actually sit.
You will be assessed by one three-hour examination. The examination will be divided into three parts. You will be required to answer three questions, one question from each section. The rubric will read as follows: Answer three questions, one from each section. Candidates may not discuss the same text in more than one answer, in this examination or in any other advanced level unit examination. You are free to consider the General Prologue or individual tales within the Canterbury Tales as a single work. You may also consider individual books within the Morte Darthur as single works, if you wish. Section A consists only of Question 1. You must answer Question 1. Question 1 asks you to choose two from a series of sub-sections (labelled a, b, c, and so on through to f) asking you to comment on an extract, or to compare a couple of extracts, taken
17
from the authors or set texts for this paper. You will be asked to choose two of these sub-sections, answering as directed. It is important to remember that you will need to go beyond plot summary and to analyse in terms of genre, form and historical context. You must be prepared to respond to the exact requirements of the question. Section B offers individual questions on named authors or texts you have studied for this subject. There will be a choice of questions on each of the set areas covered: that is, Chaucer (the Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde); Sir Orfeo; the lyric; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Langlands Piers Plowman; Malorys Morte Darthur; the Noah plays; Henrysons Moral Fables, The Testament of Cresseid. Questions on Malory specify that you may, if you wish, confine yourself to discussing Books VII and VIII. Section C offers more general questions of a literary and historical nature. Some of these will be purely literary, while some will allow for the inclusion of background knowledge. Extensive knowledge of factual information on historical subjects will not be compulsory for answering these questions. Rather, they are designed to test your sense of the period. Most (not necessarily all) of these questions require reference to two or more works you have studied for this subject. Please note the information provided in the examination rubric as to what constitutes single works.
Examination technique
If you have followed the instructions offered in the subject guide, read as much of the suggested syllabus as possible and engaged with the topics under consideration, you should be well prepared for the examination. However, in order to do justice to yourself and the subject on the day of the examination, it is useful to think about your examination technique. Certain basic procedures should be followed. If possible, read a sample examination paper from a previous year so that you are familiar with the range and type of questions you might expect to encounter. (See the sample examination paper at the end of this guide.) Use the sample paper to practise writing timed examination answers. In the examination, always read the rubric carefully twice and follow the instructions given. Leave yourself sufficient time to answer all the questions you are asked to complete. If you do run out of time, write down in note form all the points you would have included. (You may be given credit for an outline of an answer which you have not had time to write in full.) Proof it! At the end of the examination, read through what you have written, correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. and checking titles and the names of authors for inaccuracies. Simple errors or slips can detract even from a good answer.
These rules may seem obvious but are essential for a good examination performance in any subject. To further develop and improve your examination technique, you should read the Examiners report from the previous year(s) and consider the following additional points. Choosing the question One of the most important examination techniques is the ability to choose the kind of question that you are well equipped to answer, that will enable you to demonstrate the particular knowledge and skills you have acquired during your course of study. For instance, if a question asks you to discuss Piers Plowman in relation to prevailing religious, economic or social conditions, you will need a framework of historical
18
Introduction
knowledge to answer this question adequately. (To know for instance, something about the tensions in the Catholic church, medieval society, and the developing capitalist economy, etc.) It is also important to remember that texts need to be contextualised in relation to other texts from the period. It would be useful to consider comparable or contrasting representations by other medieval writers, such as Chaucer. Avoid making generalisations, and do not fall into the trap of homogenising the entire medieval period. Specific conditions prevailing when Langland and Chaucer were writing would differ from those in which Malory and Henryson wrote. Again, if you are interested in and have read some of the twentieth-century theoretical debates about contextualisation and historicity, you should choose a question which allows you to bring these into your argument. Reading the question In order to answer questions effectively, it is important to understand what you are being asked to do, so look at the terms of the question (i.e. to consider, compare, contrast, define, evaluate or discuss) and make sure you do what the question asks you to do. If you are asked, for example, to consider representations of Mary in medieval literature, it is not enough to list examples of instances where Mary appears. To describe or list is not to consider. With this question, you might look at the increasing importance of Mary in medieval culture, considering how later texts such as the Book of Margery Kempe show a much greater intimacy and familiarity than some of the earliest lyrics. You might consider what differences emerge when Mary is portrayed by a man or by a woman, by a cleric or by a secular writer. You could explore the different uses to which images of the Virgin were put. For instance, sometimes she is represented as an ideal to which ordinary women may aspire, at other times, conversely, as a superior being, whose perfection only underlines womens generally inferior status. What are the points of contradiction or tension? There are lyrics and poems like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in which Mary is shown as an object for veneration, others where she functions as a speaking subject. What different effects result from such differing perspectives? There are many ways of answering this question, depending on the texts you choose and the argument you wish to construct, but the important thing is to engage with the question asked and to develop an answer which is clearly and consistently relevant to the question. When writing your answer, it is also helpful to begin with a (brief) definition of the key terms, stating what you understand by, for example, gender, romance, fabliau, etc. You should pay special attention to terms that are in quotation marks; this may signal that these terms require definition or discussion. General matters: essays In selecting topics on which to write practice essays, remember that your essays will be preparing you to answer examination questions, and therefore you should select essay topics that relate to each of the three sections of the final examination.
19
Notes
20
Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary
Chapter 1
Section A: extracts for commentary

Reading list
There are no guides to writing commentaries available. You will need to practise your analytical skills on short extracts from the texts you choose to study. This chapter serves as an example of the kind of approach to take when attempting a commentary. One article that will be useful in the course of this discussion is:
Strohm, Paul Some Generic Distinctions in the Canterbury Tales, Modern Philology (1971) 68: 32122.
For critical discussion of the Knights Tale, see:

Cooper, Helen The Canterbury Tales. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989) [ISBN 0-19-811978-X]. Hanning, Robert The Struggle between Noble Designs and Chaos: the Literary Tradition of Chaucers Knights Tale, Literary Review (1980) 23: 51941. Jones, Terry Chaucers Knight. (London: Eyre Methuen, 1982) [ISBN 0-4134-9640-6]. Knapp, Peggy Chivalry and Its Discontents in Chaucer and the Social Contest. (New York: Routledge, 1990) [ISBN 0-415-90150-2]. Knight, Stephen and Terry Eagleton Geoffrey Chaucer. (Basil Blackwell, 1986) [ISBN 0-631-13881-1; 0-631-13882-x (pbk)]. Mann, Jill Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973) [ISBN 0-521-09795-9]. Olson, P.A. The Canterbury Tales and the Good Society. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986) [ISBN 0-691-06693-0]. Patterson, Lee The Knights Tale and the Crisis of Chivalric Identity in Chaucer and the Subject of History. (London: Routledge, 1991) [ISBN 0-415-07315-4].
Introduction
This chapter will provide a sample commentary, as an illustration of how to approach Section A of the examination.
Section A of the examination

The compulsory Section A will typically consist of at least six passages or pairs of passages taken from the set texts. There will always be a passage or pair of passages from the First Fragment of the Canterbury Tales (i.e. the General Prologue, Knights Tale, Millers Tale and Reeves Tale) and one passage or pair of passages selected from among the lyrics. You will be asked to discuss two of the passages or pairs of passages, answering as directed. This section is designed to examine your knowledge of the texts, your ability to respond to the literary qualities of the language of medieval texts and your sense of the distinctive characteristics of the literature of the period. The rubrics will direct you to focus on areas such as style, tone and point of view. You will not be required to do any translation work, but you will be expected to show your knowledge of Middle English and the way in which literary effects are produced through the use of language.
21
It should be clear that this part of the paper differs from the kind of practical criticism exercise you might already be familiar with. You will be applying closereading critical skills of both a linguistic and a literary nature; in addition, you are expected to place these passages in various related contexts. This means that your critical reading should be informed by some of the following contexts: an ability to recognise genres, the conventions that govern them and the ways in which genre expectations may be adapted, subverted or parodied in the extracts knowledge of the literary conventions of the period, such as topoi, the functions and perspectives of narrators or lyric personae, common rhetorical figures and strategies, use of allegory, symbolism, irony knowledge of literary forms: the distinction between syllabic and non-syllabic rhymed forms, and alliterative verse structure; recognition and understanding of common medieval verse forms, such as rhyme royal, the heroic couplet, the octosyllabic couplet, etc. knowledge of the high, medium and low styles of literature recognition of different registers: the language of logic, rhetoric, the law, medicine, etc. some knowledge of the literary and cultural history of the late medieval period some knowledge of the social, political and economic history of the period.
In addition, your critical reading may carry a theoretical perspective. This might be very consciously and determinedly deployed because of your own theoretical stance. Or specific critical approaches might seem to be invited by the nature of the extract you are considering. This first section differs from those of other period papers, in that you will be expected to know the text from which the extract is derived and to use that knowledge where appropriate to illuminate the passage. It is, however, crucial that you answer the specific question as directed in the rubric and do not attempt a long-winded explanation of the place of the extract in the text as a whole. The questions are not conceived primarily as context questions. You will not gain much credit for merely showing knowledge of the plot. It cannot be emphasised enough that you need to tailor your answer to the specifics of the question. This may entail considering genre characteristics, analysing form, and relating passages to their specific historical context. General plot surveys will not score good marks. Everything you say needs to be directly relevant to the particular aspect you are being asked to focus upon. There are no hard-and-fast rules about structuring your responses to a passage. A great deal of variation in responses is expected and allowed for. However, you should note that the questions are very specific and it is crucial that your answer be directly relevant to the question.
An illustration
The following is a question based on a pair of extracts, one from Chaucers Knights Tale and the other from the Millers Tale. The comments that follow do not constitute an ideal answer. Instead, they indicate a model of the kind of processes you might deploy to formulate a response.
22
Compare and contrast the styles of the following passages:

1. And with that word Arcite gan espye Wher as this lady romed to and fro, And with that sighte hir beautee hurte hym so, That, if that Palamon was wounded sore, Arcite is hurt as muche as he, or moore. And with a sigh he seyde pitously: The fresshe beautee sleeth me sodeynly Of hire that rometh in the yonder place, And but I have hir mercy and hir grace, That I may seen hire atte leeste weye, I nam but deed; ther nis namoore to seye. (The Knights Tale) 2. Now, sire, and eft, sire, so bifel the cas, That on a day this hende Nicholas Fil with this yonge wyf to rage and pleye, Whil that hir housbonde was at Oseneye, As clerkes ben ful subtile and ful queynte; And prively he caughte hire by the queynte, And seyde, Ywis, but if ich have my wille, For deerne love of thee, lemman, I spille. And heeld hire harde by the haunchebones, And seyde, Lemman, love me al atones, Or I wol dyen, also God me save! (The Millers Tale)
Commentary Both of these passages are examples of narrative poetry, and both begin with a narrator and then shift from the narrative voice to the direct speech of one character. Activity
One way of beginning to compare these two passages might be to consider the differences in each passage between the narrative voice and the speaking character and you might find the similarities equally informative. Another strategy for looking at the passages would be to place them in their respective genres and to identify the conventions that govern the genres.
The Knights Tale is a courtly romance, written (by and large) in the high style, about aristocratic characters. The Millers Tale is fabliau, written primarily in the low style, and its characters are of the lower classes. Thus, to focus on diction for a moment, Emily is identified in courtly, aristocratic terms as this lady, whereas Alison is identified simply as a wyf.
23
Activity
As you work through this example, you might want to take some time to familiarise yourself with some scholarly definitions of romance and fabliau, and the debates about the nature of these genres. One starting point might be Paul Strohm, Some Generic Distinctions in the Canterbury Tales.
Content Both passages present a lover in some sort of contact with the object of his desires; both include an example of the complaint (the lament). In the first, the conventions of courtly romance operate at their purest, even their most extreme: the contact between lover and beloved is purely visual and, even then, only works one way Arcite can see Emily; she cannot see him. Corresponding to this, the language is highly emotionally charged, spiritual rather than physical. In contrast, the contact between Nicholas and Alison seems more reciprocal and the language is more physical, more sensuous, more down-to-earth (rage and pleye, queynte, haunchebones), more concrete (the local colour of the reference to Oseneye). Style The high style is elevated, often richly ornamented, rhetorically decorative, densely figurative; it may also be learned, allusive, knowledgeable, authoritative or imaginatively poetic in its texture. The low style is usually simpler, plainer, often barer of rhetorical effects, more down-to-earth in its diction, more straightforward and often colloquial in its syntax and structural organisations. Activity
At this point, you should go through both passages, listing all the features of diction, syntax, rhetorical devices and so on, which seem to you to belong to each style.
The middle style is not, as you might expect, a homogeneous mixture, somewhere between high and low, but a deliberate juxtaposition of elements from both styles (Henrysons Moral Fables are a good example of the middle style). You might like to consider the uses to which this middle style might be put and to what extent the Millers Tale is more usefully thought of as low or middle style. Activity
Elaboration of these stylistic differences and their relation to genre might well be an important part of your overall strategy in comparing these two passages.
Courtly love conventions The subject-matter of the romance is normally governed by the conventions of courtly love: the language focuses on Emilys fresshe beautee; the knights are wounded, hurte, or slain (sleeth), drawing on the conventional courtly love symbolism of love as wound or malady. Arcite sighs and yearns for his ladys mercy and grace. The last two terms draw on a fusion of feudal and religious imagery, typical of courtly love. On the other hand, the Millers Tale focuses less on romantic love than on sexual desire and perhaps particularly on the gap between these two. Its language thus adopts two distinct strategies: parody of the high style and the conventions of courtly love, and juxtaposition of this mock-reverential high style with deliberate vulgarity and bawdiness in the low style. Nicholas refers to deerne love (the Middle English equivalent of fin amor, courtly love) and uses the word lemman, both of which terms draw on English conventions of courtly love, though precisely how courtly they would actually sound to a contemporary ear is a moot point.
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Activity
You might like to consider their uses in other contexts in some of the lyrics, for example.
The (often repeated) epithet hende in front of Nicholass name calls on the conventions of popular romance (a debased form of high, or courtly, romance). The use of hende here is ironic in several ways: There is irony in the contrast between the original meaning of the term itself (courteous, noble, polite) and Nicholass actions (heeld hire harde by the haunchebones). There is irony in the debasing of the term already current in popular romance (its application to heroes who bear little resemblance to their aristocratic predecessors). Just possibly, there is an ironic pun on handy Nicholas is handy with his hands!
Activity
Consider some of the larger, contextual areas you might wish to draw on here, from your background reading. Spend some time studying the complexities of attitudes towards courtly love or fin amor in the English literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, bearing in mind that it is a late import from French culture, or look at the attitudes towards and presentation of women in the later Middle Ages.
The question of parody The above analysis tends to imply a simple contrast between the Knights Tale as straight romance and the Millers Tale as parody of romance, but many commentators find the Knights Tale also, perhaps more subtly, parodic of romance conventions. Activity
It is important for you to engage with the central issue of how much Chaucer is genuinely idealising the Knight and the values presented in his romance, and to what extent subtle parody or irony either of courtly love, or of other romance conventions is present. How might one provide evidence for these arguments, one way or the other? This is a matter of fine shades and subjective judgment, as a quick survey of different commentators on the tale will soon reveal.
In considering this passage specifically, we might ask if there is not perhaps something pointedly unnecessary in the rather limp use of the comparative:
if that Palamon was wounded sore, Arcite is hurt as muche as he, or moore.
Instead of intensifying the effect, the insistence on Arcites excessive pain in such a throwaway manner seems to undermine the seriousness. Activity
Is there a hint of the ridiculous in a character so obviously alive protesting that he has been slain and then continuing to threaten that, without his ladys favour, he will be dead? You might like to look for other traces of gentle irony in the treatment of the courtly lover in this passage. You might also wish to move to a broader context by considering the pointedness of the juxtaposition of the two tales.
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This pair of extracts is only one instance where passages from the second tale seem to comment directly on the first. The parallels are rather precise, particularly in the threats of the two lovers that they will die if they do not gain their desires. The sincerity and despair of Arcite contrast markedly with the mock-sincerity and manipulativeness of Nicholas. But the glibness of Nicholass lip-service to the conventions of courtly love could perhaps also mischievously reflect on the suffering and deeply-felt emotion of Arcite, suggesting something contrived. The interaction of the serious and the comic The style and tone of the first passage are overtly serious, verging on the tragic; that of the second high comedy. No commentary on Chaucers work would be complete without an acknowledgement of the humour and wit of his style. The juxtaposition of the two passages also suggests the topos of ernest and game that runs throughout much of the literature of the period. Activity
To what extent does this juxtaposition of ernest and game enhance the qualities of each, to what extent is one the serious undermined by or subsumed in the other the comic? Other forms of deflation are present how many can you pick out?
A particularly delicious example is the rhyming pun on queynte in the second passage. The rhyming pun is originally a formal rhetorical device found in aristocratic French romance. Homonyms words with the same form, but different meanings were rhymed in French courtly romance as a sign of high style. Chaucer here juxtaposes queynte (ingenious) the intellectual subtleties of clerkes with queynte (cunt), reducing not only Nicholass cleverness, but perhaps all intellectual pretensions, to crude lust. Activity
But through all the ironies and deflationary devices, what is being deflated? Is it just Nicholas, or Arcite with him? Is courtly love the object of satire? Or is it the romance, as literary form? Does it go further than this? Are all human ideals being subjected to sceptical scrutiny? And how seriously are we intended to take the religious references in the two passages? Do they in turn import a wider, religious context from which to view both fabliau lust and romantic love? Do they provide a context that ultimately destroys the fine distinctions between high idealism and crude appetite? Or do they operate quite differently in the two passages, importing perhaps a spiritual intensity to the first, a lighter comic note to the second?
Critical opinion
At this point you will want to broaden out again and take into consideration some of the critical commentaries on these two works written in the last few years. You could draw on a number of different, even conflicting, theoretical positions attempting to evaluate the Knights Tale and the Millers Tale in relationship to each other. There are central critical debates about the attitudes of Chaucer towards his narrators and the values they embody in their narratives, values that are not only social, but also political and moral. Some knowledge of these debates should inform your reading of the tone and style of the passages under discussion. For views arguing that the Knight is an idealised portrait, see, among others:
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Helen Cooper, The Canterbury Tales Jill Mann, Estates Satire Paul Olson, The Canterbury Tales and the Good Society. More sceptical readings are offered by: Terry Jones, Chaucers Knight Peggy Knapp, Chaucer and the Social Contest Stephen Knight, Geoffrey Chaucer. Compare: Robert Hanning, The Struggle Between Noble Designs and Chaos Lee Patterson, The Knights Tale and the Crisis of Chivalric Identity. We would stress again that the above does not represent an ideal, or an exhaustive, response. It merely suggests strategies you might follow. Of course, different responses to the extracts will develop in different directions and have different emphases.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: outline what is required in Section A of the examination focus closely upon the given passage(s) and provide specific analysis and commentary as required by the question approach a passage from a number of different angles, covering matters such as genre, tone, diction and narrative strategies where a comparison between two passages is required, compare and contrast areas such as content and style.
Sample examination question

Choose a passage or pair of passages from Section A of the examination paper appended at the end of this subject guide. Write a response, and evaluate your answer on the basis of the criteria and guidelines given above.
A note on reading Chaucer

For Section A of the examination, the Chaucer passages will be taken from the First Fragment of the Canterbury Tales, which you will be expected to know thoroughly. There is a relatively extended bibliography for the First Fragment of the Canterbury Tales in the general reading list in the Introduction to this guide. For Sections B and C, you will be expected to be familiar with a wider range of Chaucers works, including other Canterbury Tales and/or Troilus and Criseyde.
Suggestions for further study

The Riverside edition has an extensive bibliography, which you should use to further your study of Chaucer. Titles in the bibliography will help you with historical contexts and with theoretical approaches to the various genres.
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Notes
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Chapter 2: Section B: study of texts: William Langlands Piers Plowman
Chapter 2
Section B: study of texts: William Langlands Piers Plowman

Essential reading
Schmidt, A.V.C. The Vision of Piers Plowman: A Critical Edition of the B Text. (London: Everyman, 1995) second edition [ISBN 0-460-87509-4]. This is the recommended text for this topic. Passages set in the examination will be taken from this edition.
Recommended secondary reading

You will find the following extremely useful:
Simpson, James Piers Plowman: An Introduction to the B-Text. (London and New York: Longman, 1991) [ISBN 0-582-01391-7].
Other useful texts are:

Alford, John A Companion to Piers Plowman. (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1988) [ISBN 0-520-06006-7]. Baldwin, Anna P. The Theme of Government in Piers Plowman. (Cambridge: Brewer, 1981) [ISBN 0-85991-073-3].
On dream poetry, see:

Spearing, A.C. Medieval Dream-Poetry. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976) [ISBN 0-521-29069-4].
For estates satire, see:

Mann, Jill Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973) [ISBN 0-521-09795-9].
See the general reading list in the Introduction for further suggestions.
A note on the set text

In view of the length and difficulty of the poem, the examination requires only that you read the Prologue and passus 14, which cover the whole of the first dream. It is a good idea to try to read the whole poem in a modern English translation, such as the Penguin or Everyman editions, before starting to study the set extract. This will familiarise you with the poems overall development and the general themes. But if you cannot do so, there is a summary of the poem in the recommended edition by Schmidt, which you should read before starting to study the set extract.
Introduction
This chapter will discuss Langlands Piers Plowman, focusing on the Prologue and passus 14. It will look at the form of the poem, considering such aspects as estates satire, moral allegory and the dream-vision genre. There are four different versions of the poem Piers Plowman. The poet appears to have worked intermittently on the work, expanding and revising it over a considerable period of time. The different versions are as follows:
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the A version: comprising the Prologue and 12 passus (passus Latin, step; used here to identify different sections of the poem, much like chapter titles in a novel) the B version: comprising the Prologue and 20 passus the C version: comprising the Prologue and 23 passus, but in a considerably revised form, with a great deal of expansion the Z version: fragmentary and believed to be an early draft.
The B version is the best known and has therefore been selected as the set text for the examination. It is essential that you have the correct text, as they vary so significantly. The B version consists of a series of dreams, eight in all, plus two inner dreams. The examination will require only a knowledge of the Prologue and passus 14. It is not known for certain who wrote Piers Plowman, but the poem is generally attributed to William Langland (?1330?1386), who seems to have been a clerk in minor holy orders. Critics have identified what they believe to be the authors cryptic inclusion of his name, in a coded form, in passus XV, l.152:
I have lyved in londeMy name is Longe Wille.
Knowing virtually nothing of the authors life, we are forced to concentrate on the poem itself. The poem seems to have been enormously popular in the Middle Ages, as it survives in 52 different manuscripts, almost as many as Chaucers Canterbury Tales (which is extant in 82 MSS). Modern readers tend to find Piers Plowman difficult, both in its language and subject-matter. This may be due partly to its West Midlands dialect and, also, its highly idiosyncratic style. The sheer length and complexity of the poem can be daunting, and critics have argued for a bewildering variety of interpretations. However, this richness should be seen as a positive feature. The poem certainly provides a wealth of challenging ideas and startling transformations and is of enormous value for the student of the Middle Ages.
The Prologue
Begin by reading just the Prologue. The poem opens with Will describing his first dream vision, of the famous fair field full of folk between two castles. Activity
What do you think of this I figure? Does the voice of the narrator seem to you clear in its viewpoint? Is it a consistent voice?
It is only much later in the poem we learn the speaker is called Will. This name hints at various levels of meaning (is Will the poet, the faculty, the dreamer, or all of these at once?). Activity
How do you interpret the clearly symbolic landscape?
Satire Much of the description of the fair field full of folk in the Prologue can be considered satirical, focusing on societys flaws and shortcomings. Activity
What particular faults would you identify as being targeted for criticism?
Notice how the people described come from different social strata. Traditionally, society in the medieval period was seen as comprising three estates or classes:
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those who worked the peasants those who prayed for salvation the clergy those who fought to defend society the knights.
Activity
You can probably think of ways in which this simplified model was inadequate to fully contain the actual social order. For instance, how do women fit into the model? What of the newly wealthy middle classes, the town-dwellers who sold their services or traded?
Professional classes were developing, such as lawyers and merchants, who did not fit into the traditional model. Activity
Try to identify tensions in the presentation of society in the Prologue.
This kind of satire is known as estates satire. A very useful book to read on this subject is Jill Manns Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire. The historical context is discussed more fully below, in Chapter 4. Activity
Find out about the late fourteenth-century unrest in every area of life, considering among other important events: the impact of the Hundred Years War; the weaknesses and folly of the monarchs (both Edward III and Richard II alienated many of the nobility by their favouritism and extravagance, and aroused opposition in parliament); the Papal Schism in 1378; the Wycliffites followers of John Wycliffe, expelled from Oxford in 1382 and the growing mistrust of Lollard dissenters.
The episode of Belling the Cat, which is placed carefully in the narrative at ll.146208, is another kind of satire, using the beast fable form. Activity
How effective do you find such veiled political commentary?
Remember that Richard II came to the throne in 1377 aged only 11. The dangers of a royal minority were very pertinent issues at the time. Activity
What do you think is the effect of ll.20910?
The same fable was used by others in issuing advice and warning to over-powerful kings, for instance, Deschamps used it, and it was part of a sermon delivered to the king in 1377. Unease about the royal power was manifested in 1386, when Richard was threatened with deposition (later, of course, after Langland had died, the threat was fulfilled). Style As well as the political aspects of the narrative, you will need to consider what is so far revealed of Langlands style. Activity
The use of plentiful Latin quotations, mainly from the Vulgate version of the Bible, is something to think about. Look at the variety of usage and effects.
Sometimes the Latin merely rephrases something already expressed, sometimes it works to qualify or emphasise an idea; it can be briefly incorporated into a line, or it can take over for many lines!
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Activity
Find out about the different languages in use in England at the time and the status of Latin.
Latin was less unfamiliar then than it generally is today. Notice how little of the sense is lost if you do not understand the Latin. Do not be concerned if you do not know Latin, as the Latin is always fully explained in editions of the text, and in the examination any Latin will always be translated for you. From your reading so far, you should be forming an impression of Langlands characteristic style. The energy and shifting qualities of Langlands poetry engage different readers in different ways. Activity
What do you like about Langlands style? What do you dislike? Ask yourself why you respond in this way.
Passus 1
Now read passus 1. There is a distinct shift in this first passus, after the introductory, scene-setting Prologue. Activity
Are you surprised by the change in tone and style? Identify in detail what the changes are.
Holy Church comes down from the castle and answers Wills questions. We now move into the exploratory section of the poem, where the question of how one ought to live is brought to the fore and carries the rest of the poem into a series of potential answers, none of which, however, seems to provide an entirely satisfactory response. Holy Church delivers a kind of sermon, instructing Will how to live. In the manner of contemporary sermons, she states her main theme, Whan alle tresors arn triedTreuthe is the beste (l.85) and repeats it at intervals (ll.135, 207). This notion of truth is extremely important in the Middle Ages, in its different senses of faithfulness (towards ones fellow Christians, towards God), loyalty, honesty, justice. Activity
Consider the importance of Truth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, for example. What do you think Holy Church is using the word to mean?
The difficulty in assigning meaning to words, the slippery inadequacy of language, is one of the poems wider themes, which it is worth exploring. (See the suggestions for further study at the end of this chapter.) Note how the narrative is now formal, replacing description with explanation. The whole episode is didactic, designed to teach; Holy Church provides a lengthy lesson, based on a series of six questions and answers. Activity
Identify some of these. Do you find this section more or less interesting than the Prologue? Whatever your personal view, it is important to note how Langland is manipulating tone and style for different ends.
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Passus 24
Now read passus 24. A new extended episode develops in these passus, focused on Lady Mede and the trial of Wrong. Carefully follow the development of the plot, whereby Mede travels to Westminster to defend herself against charges of bribery and corruption. At the kings court, it is proposed that Mede be married to Conscience, but Conscience objects. Trace his arguments against the marriage, which, on the surface, appears to be a reasonable proposal. At this point in the narrative, there is a new development, when Peace comes to accuse Wrong of criminal offences. Throughout these passus, Langlands major technique of using personification allegory becomes dominant. We will discuss this in more detail below. Activity
For the moment, try to identify the main protagonists and what they represent.
There are different levels to be analysed here: the literal level: what happens in the plotline the satirical level: there are satirical aspects to consider, such as the representation of Medes retinue, her followers who serve her for payment. The breakdown of feudal notions of loyalty and obligation was a contemporary cause for concern, as old relationships of service were being replaced by new, money-based ones, including so-called bastard feudalism. At court, too, it is Medes financial influence that gains her support. Social and political satire is operating here in a host of subtle ways.
Activity
Try to identify where and how Langland is insinuating criticism.
Much of the effect of this section could be described as humorous, despite the seriousness of the moral message. This is an aspect of Langlands art that can be studied further. In addition to the pervasive use of irony, there are moments of pithy, colloquial jocularity (e.g. passus 2, l.98), as well as sometimes subtle, sometimes startling effects of incongruity and juxtaposition to look out for. Langland particularly likes slipping in a last-minute detail that alters the whole tone of a passage for example, passus 3, ll.9091, where the last two words of Medes appealing entreaty undercut all our sympathy. Activity
If you would like to see how Langlands comedy can be vividly employed in a low style for serious moral purposes, do try to read the Seven Deadly Sins episode in passus 5, especially ll.297385, detailing how Glutton tries to repent and fails miserably.
Some critics see passus 24 as continuing Holy Churchs discussion of Truth, in that two of the prime meanings of Truth, loyalty and justice, are being explored. The following passus (passus 520) will go on to explore religious Truth, and the figure of Piers the Plowman, who does not even appear in our set extract, comes to assume a complex role as moral authority and model Christian. For the purposes of the examination you do not need to read any more, but if you are interested in following through the rest of the poem, then reading it in translation will help to set this first part of the poem in its full context.
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The Alliterative Revival

Piers Plowman is generally considered to be an important example of poetry written as part of the so-called Alliterative Revival of the latter half of the fourteenth century. This title is given to describe various works that come mainly from the north and west of England, and that share a poetic form based on alliterating letters rather than on rhyme. Alliterating means sharing the same letter, usually at the beginning of the word (note that all vowels alliterate with one another). For example, the opening line of Piers Plowman, In a somer seson, whan softe was the sonne, shows four words alliterating. Activity
Pick some other lines from the poem at random, and consider how the alliteration is working.
It might be light or emphatic; it may draw attention to key words or it may work to suggest interconnections or contrasts. Try to be sensitive to poetic effects as you read, for this kind of poetry can achieve very dense suggestiveness. This style of verse contrasts sharply with that used by Chaucer and his contemporaries in the southern half of the country. As a court poet, Chaucer was exploring newly fashionable forms originating in France, such as rhyming couplets, and various stanzaic forms, such as the Chaucerian stanza (also known as rhyme royal). Chaucer uses alliterative effects very rarely and, in the Parsons Prologue (X, l.43), speaks slightingly of telling tales rum, ram, ruf by lettre. The alliterative verse form was closer to native English traditions than Chaucer. Before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Old English poetry was alliterative, with a regular pattern of three alliterating stresses per line. As the example above from Piers shows, this three-stress pattern was not strictly followed by the poets of the late fourteenth century. The verse of Piers has been analysed as employing a long line of varying length, containing between two and five stressed syllables, with a varying number of alliterating syllables. It is very loose and flexible. Activity
Find some examples of very short and very long lines to illustrate this range.
Sometimes the verse alliterates on more than one letter, which is not at all traditional. In many ways Piers is not typical of the alliterative style. It does not use the specialised poetic diction associated with other alliterative poetry, other than for occasional, special effect (e.g. the courtly diction used to describe Mede at various times). Nor is it usual in its subject-matter, dealing as it does with serious issues of politics, philosophy and theology. It is not known, since we do not have enough texts from the period surviving, whether the alliterative style continued in use after the Conquest, or whether it ceased to be used. The word Revival in the term Alliterative Revival implies that the style had fallen into disuse and that poets like Langland were part of a rediscovery of the old tradition. But this is far from certain. All we know for sure is that a considerable amount of verse written in the alliterative style survives from the late fourteenth century. Other examples are: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Winner and Waster The Parliament of the Three Ages.
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Dream vision
Piers Plowman is cast as a series of dream visions. Thanne gan I metten a merveillous swevene (Prologue, l.10) introduces the first in the series of dreams. The dream vision was an extremely popular genre in the Middle Ages. Chaucer wrote several dream vision poems (The Book of the Duchess; The Parliament of Fowls; The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women). The question of the nature of dreams comes up in the Nuns Priests Tale, among others. The prime source for models of dream visions was the Bible. Numerous figures experience divine guidance or prophetic insight through dreams, including Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Job and Moses (important examples can be found in the books of Ezekiel, Zachariah and Revelation). Among the most influential literary texts spreading the popularity of the dream vision were: Ciceros Dream of Scipio Boethiuss Consolation of Philosophy (which Chaucer translated into English) Macrobiuss fifth-century commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Macrobius classified dreams as being of five types, subdivided into the true (the somnium allegorical; the visio a plain vision; the oraculum with an authoritative figure) and false (the insomnium having a physical cause such as indigestion; the visium half-conscious). Piers contains different words to describe the dreams it depicts. Activity
Which category do you think the first dream falls into?
Conventions of the dream vision The main elements of the dream vision can be itemised as follows: a dreamer (often somewhat dim-witted) an authoritative figure or guide within the dream (God, an angel, Lady Philosophy, Holy Church) the dreamers access to privileged information, even though its meaning may not be clear fluid, supernatural events (for example, in the House of Fame, the Dreamer is carried up into the sky by a giant eagle!).
Activity
Consider which aspects of Piers Plowman conform to this model. In particular, think about the figure of Will.
Small touches can suggest certain traits for instance, when the Dreamer comments cryptically upon the action (Prologue, l.111) or, when he scrupulously admits to lacking a basic knowledge about what he is seeing (passus 3, l.3). The Dreamer acts as the readers representative within the poem, asking questions, seeking to understand, commenting upon the action. In this way, the reader is brought into the poem, as if a present witness to the unfolding events. It is part of the technique of dream visions to offer the reader a privileged point of view, often allowing the reader to feel superior to the Dreamer, to come to independent conclusions about the meaning of events. In short, the persona of the Dreamer facilitates a kind of personal involvement in the poem on the part of the reader.
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Activity
The dream vision genre obviously had enormous appeal to writers in the medieval period and beyond. Can you think of recent examples?
The genre allowed writers to be highly imaginative and to consider matters from a different perspective, even to broach serious subjects in such a way that they could not be held responsible for their ideas and images: they were only dreams! In an age when it was dangerous to write critically of those in power, the opportunity to explore ideas with the excuse of fictionality was very useful. For example, when Will states in the Prologue ll.20910 that he dare not speculate as to the meaning of the vision of the rats and mice, it draws attention to the fact that direct criticism is dangerous, while at the same time taking advantage of the dream premise as a protective veil behind which to propose suggestive interpretations. There is also the freedom to create a shifting narrative, which Langland takes full advantage of, playing with time and space in a way that is extremely dream-like. Activity
Try to assess how Langland makes the fluid dream-world work in Piers Plowman. Notice the speed of events in the Prologue. Does the same time scheme operate uniformly throughout, or does time collapse, speed up and slow down?
Personification allegory
Personification allegory is a major device in medieval literature in general, and particularly in Piers Plowman, and an understanding of it will considerably enhance your reading of the poem. Allegory (from the Greek, meaning, speaking otherwise) originates as a literary device in the classical period (you will find a detailed discussion of allegory in Chapter 3 below). Personification allegory is a sub-type, whereby abstract concepts and inanimate objects are described as if they were people. They are represented as persons, given voices (prosopopoeia) and a degree of characterisation. Their names are written with capital letters to distinguish them from the simple nouns (e.g. False, Conscience, Reason). In Piers Plowman, there is a range of such figures, from those representing individual moral values (Wrong) to others embodying institutions (Holy Church), or aspects of life (Hunger). Activity
Note down what other kinds of personification you can find.
A particularly influential text in popularising this kind of literary expression was Prudentiuss Psychomachia (c.AD 400). In this Latin work, an internal struggle between good and bad impulses is depicted as a battle between personified virtues and vices. Much of medieval drama uses similar notions of representing inner conflict as external combat (for example, the morality play Everyman). Langland has a similar siege of virtues by vices later on in the poem (passus 20). Just as there were held to be seven deadly sins, so there developed the concept of seven virtues, the theological virtues taken from St Paul Faith, Hope and Charity and the cardinal virtues, originating with Plato Prudence, Temperance, Courage and Justice. Perhaps because these nouns were gendered female in Greek and Latin, these virtues were usually personified as female figures. Notice how the names of many of these virtues still exist in modern English as girls names (Faith, Charity, Prudence; also, similar virtuous concepts, such as Constance).
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Activity
What results do you think this representation of vices and virtues as female might have, both in the literary effects and in the moral implications? Imagine, for instance, how different the effect might be if Holy Church and Mede were shown as male instead of female.
The figure of Lady Mede is especially useful to consider. She seems to be the embodiment of a host of misogynistic clichs, about female sexuality, moral depravity and fundamentally dangerous allurement. It is instructive at this point to read an influential part of the Bible, which in many ways underlies this portrait of Mede. Activity
Read Revelation, Chapters 17 and 18, and compare them to the first 19 lines of passus 2.
By describing Mede in terms reminiscent of the Great Whore of Babylon, Langland is drawing a clear contrast with the figure of Holy Church, setting up a dichotomy between good and bad female figures. But is it really that straightforward? There are moments when Holy Church sounds quite peevish and irritable (for example, passus 1, l.140; passus 2, ll.2028) and Mede has some attractive features (such as her vitality, and sympathy for the accused Wrong). Activity
This is one aspect of personifying notions that could be explored further: when the figures are given vivid personalities like Mede, are the moral lessons made more or less ambiguous? Or, to put it another way, is it the case that the fuller the portrait, the less contained the message?
It is useful to consider how far concepts embodied in personified figures can be used to convey clear messages. Activity
What does Mede mean? From your reading of the poem, note what your impression of the meaning of the word mede is.
The word itself had many meanings in medieval English. They may be summarised as follows: gift reward wages fee bribe spiritual reward grace. If you try to assign one particular meaning to mede that will explain the figure in Piers Plowman, it will soon become clear that it is impossible to do so. She means different things at different times to different people. She takes pains to confuse these potential meanings, by conflating several positive and negative aspects at once (see passus 3, ll.175227), and succeeds in convincing the king of her value. It is Conscience who finally unravels the potential meanings to distinguish between two main ones: namely, one given by God (passus 3, ll.230245) and one acting as a corrupting influence on earth (l.246 ff.).
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Ambiguities of meaning
The difficulty in assigning specific, unambiguous meaning to words, which modern literary theory is currently concerned with, was a live issue in the Middle Ages. Although Langland may be seen to be trying to fix firm meanings, in practice, it proves impossible. The kind of allegorical approach he uses only enhances the ambiguities and, as the poem progresses, the confusion and lack of clarity as to who people are and what they mean, increase, so it must be part of Langlands purpose to highlight such problems. This shifting, changeable world created by Langland is complex and confusing by design. It forces the reader to question the very notion of stable meaning. Perhaps such stability can only be found with God. Certainly, the effect of Langlands allegorical personifications is to multiply meanings, to dissolve any illusion of fixity. You might wish to explore this proposition further.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and the relevant reading, you should be able to: discuss Langlands language and style describe the poems literary, social, religious and political contexts explain the nature and function of the dream vision and personification allegory.
Sample examination questions

1. How far would you agree that Piers Plowman is beyond the reach of traditional generic categories? 2. The dream gives poets a detachment from everyday reality which fuels incisive satirical analysis. Discuss. 3. Piers Plowman has the peculiar force of something only half-understood. Discuss. 4. With particular reference to Lady Holy Church and Lady Mede, consider some of the ways in which Langland brings his allegory to life and renders it meaningful.

After reading Chapter 4 below on the historical context of Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, you might like to compare Chaucers General Prologue with Langlands Prologue. A useful article to read is:
Helen Cooper, Langlands and Chaucers Prologues, Yearbook of Langland Studies (1987) 1.
Consider how Langlands satire, like Chaucers, exploits the tension between the ideal and the actual. For a very full treatment of words and wordplay in Piers Plowman, you might try to get hold of a copy of:
Mary Clemente Davlins A Game of Heuene: Word Play and the Meaning of Piers Plowman. (Brewer, 1989) although it is now out-of-print.
Another aspect to consider is Langlands use of the beast fable. After reading Chapter 3 below, you may wish to compare this fable of the rats and mice with Henrysons Fables.
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Chapter 3: Section B: single author/text study: Robert Henrysons Moral Fables
Chapter 3
Section B: single author/text study: Robert Henrysons Moral Fables

Essential reading
The recommended text is:
Fox, Denton (ed.) The Poems of Robert Henryson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981) [ISBN 0-19-812703-0].
Note that, for this chapter, you will be expected to have read the whole work that is, the Prologue and all 13 tales. You may find you want to study some in more depth than others, however.
Recommended secondary reading

See the general reading list at the beginning of this subject guide for suggestions. On the subject of allegory, the following are recommended reference books:
Preminger, A., T. Brogan et al. (eds) The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993) [ISBN 0-691-02123-6].
Or consult any dictionary where the various entries are compiled by different experts in each field. As far as medieval allegory is concerned, you will find an interesting theory of its development in:
Vinaver, E. The Rise of Romance. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1969) [ISBN 0-19-812005-2].
Also useful to consult are:

Bloomfield, M.W. Allegory as Interpretation, New Literary History (1972) 3(2): 301318. MacQueen, John Allegory. (London: Methuen, 1970) [ISBN 0-416-080405].
On the defence of literature, you might like to read:

Osgood, C.G. (trans.) Boccaccio on Poetry. (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1978) second edition [ISBN 0-672-60265-2].
Introduction
This chapter will discuss the Moral Fables, placing the work in its wider literary and historical context. As well as considering the beast fable form, there will be some discussion of medieval allegory.
The historical and cultural background

Fifteenth-century Scotland was a period of political anarchy and violence. You may wish to read a history of the period, such as:
Croft Dickinson, W. Scotland from the Earliest Times to 1603. Re-edited by A.A.M Duncan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977) [ISBN 0-19-822465-6].
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On the other hand, it was also a time of great prosperity for the mercantile classes (look at the Fable of the Two Mice), and culture and education were flourishing. James I had been a prisoner at the court of Henry V of England, where he came into contact with English literature and particularly the work of Chaucer. Here he wrote the Kingis Quair, a dream vision in rhyme royal, under Chaucers influence. This marks the beginning of the so-called Scottish Chaucerians James I, Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas and the flowering of Scots vernacular literature. The Scottish Chaucerians marked a break with the native tradition they were writing, not in Gaelic, but in a dialect of English, the language of Scotlands traditional enemy. They looked back to Chaucer particularly because he was himself the creator of a literary vernacular. The Scottish vernacular was felt to be (like English a century before) inferior and inadequate as a literary language. Activity
You may be interested to read Gavin Douglass comments on the linguistic problems of Scottish poets in the prologue to his translation of Vergils Aeneid, in: David Coldwell (ed.) Selections from Gavin Douglas. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1964) [ISBN 0-815512-7-63].
See especially ll.1923, 109118. Compare with these Henrysons sense of his hamelie language andtermis rude (Prologue, l.36). Read the whole of Henrysons prologue in the light of these issues and the concerns of Gavin Douglas.
In part, like Chaucer before them, the Scottish Chaucerians were seeking to elevate their native language, in a society dominated by the language and culture of another country. In part, they were also seeking to create the high style, as in Chaucers Knights Tale or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This high style was not the only, or even the major, note struck by the Scottish Chaucerians. There is a strong sense of stylistic alternatives, in which the elevated aureate style cultivated in English in the fifteenth century is balanced by the native tradition of the comic, the indecent, the blasphemous. (The aureate style is a highly elevated style of the fifteenth century, characterised by a marked preference for Latinate diction. See, for example, Henrysons Ane Prayer for the Pest.) A good example of the interweaving of styles is to be found in the exchange between Chantecleers three hens after his disappearance from the barnyard (ll.495543). Activity
Analyse the styles used respectively by Pertok, Sprutok, Pertok again and then Toppok, paying particular attention to the complex shifts in tone and levels of style. At what points are you aware the speakers are hens? At what points do you forget this? What effect does this have?
We have no certain biographical information on Henryson himself, but there is a certain amount of speculative tradition about his involvement with the law and his later career as a schoolmaster. Activity
Find out what you can of this speculative biography and consider the influence it has on your readings of the Fables. In particular you might like to think about the shift from the law to education and the influence of these aspects of his life upon his work. You might also like to think about the elements of judgement, punishment and learning in the Fables and the relationship between them.
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The beast fable

You will need to find out as much as you can about the formal characteristics of the beast fable and its development. John MacQueens Robert Henryson: A Study of the Major Narrative Poems contains appendices on the Aesopic tradition and the beast epic. Marianne Powells Fabula Docet also contains a useful survey of the beast fable and beast epic traditions in the Middle Ages and their interactions. The Aesopic tradition developed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries into two relatively distinct genres: the Christianised, moralising beast fable and the Reynardian beast epic. The two did cross-pollinate and later examples often draw on both traditions. Sometimes, perhaps confusingly, the term beast fable is used to cover all these different cases. The Fables of Marie de France, who wrote in twelfth-century England in Anglo-Norman French, are a good example of the didactic, moralising beast fable. This kind of fable is primarily concerned with illustrating simple moral values. Animals are used to reflect the existence of moral types in human beings, in a relatively simple way. There is little attempt to represent moral ambiguity or psychological complexity in the characters, yet there is a faith in the ability of human beings to learn from moral examples, an affirmation of human free will and moral choice. Some of them also display an element of social satire, with the fable of the wolf and the lamb, for example, representing the oppression of the poor by the predatory ruling class. The beast epic (the Roman de Renart) developed out of the new, ascetic, clerical culture of the thirteenth century, with its scepticism about human nature and the possibility of living up to ideals. There is a difference of form as well as spirit: the separate fables became elaborated into a coherent fictional world. Individual tales were woven together to create much longer poems, developing the notion of an animal kingdom, separate from but parallel to human society, with a monarchy, a court and a whole feudal hierarchy. The style is mock-heroic. The plot centres on the enmity of the fox and the wolf, focusing on tales of vindictiveness and one-upmanship so characteristic of both beast epic and the fabliau. The beast epic is comic and highly satiric: it satirises all the most revered institutions of medieval society with a monkish cynicism, a contemptus mundi (Latin for contempt of the world) that views all human motives as selfish at best, at worst sadistic and predatory. The fable in the later Middle Ages Both these traditions were inherited by Chaucer and Henryson. You may wish to begin your study of Henryson by reading Chaucers Nuns Priests Tale. This is Chaucers version of the story of Chantecleer and the Fox (Henrysons third fable) and is clearly one of Henrysons sources for that tale. Activity
Compare Chaucers version carefully with Henrysons. What differences do you note? What information does this give you about Henrysons attitude towards his sources? You might like to extend your reflections to include other authors whose sources you can compare with the originals.
There is a great deal of information available about Chaucers and Malorys use of sources, and careful research will reveal material also on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Sir Orfeo. In most cases, you can actually read the sources, many of which are available in translation where necessary. One important question to
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consider in looking at medieval literature is that of the relationship of the writer to the tradition in which he or she is writing. This does not at all exclude the notion of originality although, in medieval studies, it is necessary to define originality in terms quite different from those applicable to the modern novel, for example. Where modern notions of originality might require the invention of a new plot, medieval writers normally made use of pre-existing plots. Activity
In what ways, then, does it make sense to talk about the originality of a medieval author? A whole book has been devoted to a study of Malorys originality: R.M. Lumiansky, Malorys Originality, which is detailed in the general reading list at the beginning of this guide. You might like to take a look at that. Try to build up a sense of the ways in which Henrysons fables are either traditional or original or both.
Different critics claim the descent of the Nuns Priests Tale from the moralising beast fables of Marie on the one hand, or from the Roman de Renart on the other the story is treated in both traditions. Of Henrysons Fables, some derive from the moralising beast fables, some from the beast epic. Activity
Read the introduction to the edition by Gopen for information about sources. See if you can get a sense of the presence of the two traditions: the beast fable, with its moral seriousness, its spiritual and Christian teachings, its allegorisation (and thus spiritualisation) of the narrative meanings, and the beast epic, with its greater psychological subtlety, humour, social and political satire, and naturalism.
Allegory and the value of literature

Allegory is a significant mode in the Fables. Put very simply, we might say that allegory is narrative as extended metaphor that is, a form of narrative with two levels, the literal and the figurative. In medieval times, these two levels were understood as the literal and the spiritual. (Modern terms sometimes found are tenor and vehicle.) Allegory is a difficult and complex topic. It is important for you to understand the meaning of this term. Activity
Look up its meaning in a good dictionary of literary terms, such as those suggested at the beginning of this chapter.
Allegory was an important mode in the Middle Ages. In particular, it played an important part in the defence of literature by Boccaccio, one of the earliest explicit defences of literature in the Middle Ages. This defence forms part of Boccaccios De Genealogia Deorum (The Genealogy of the Gods), which we know Henryson to have borrowed from elsewhere. (Notice this example of the early influence of Italian humanism on Scottish literature.) You might like to read this defence of poetry. It is available, published separately and in translation, as Boccaccio on Poetry, translated by C.G. Osgood, as also noted at the beginning of the chapter. The most serious charge against literature was that, as fiction, it was a form of lies. Dante had called it la bella menzogna (the beautiful lie), but he also argued for its serious use as a vehicle for higher truth. Boccaccio develops Dantes views, arguing for the fictional (or literal) level as a veil of higher truth (the spiritual meaning). Dante seems to be ambivalent about the value of poetry does value reside in the beauty, or solely in the higher truth for which it is a vehicle? Does Boccaccio resolve Dantes ambivalence?
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Activity
Read his arguments, and then reread Henrysons prologue and the defence of literature contained there. Focus in particular on the three conceits the corn in the earth, the nut and shell, the bent bow and what they say about the two levels of allegory. What are Henrysons views on the value and significance of literature? How do they compare with Boccaccios?
It is possible to detect a tension between the valuing of poetry for the sake of its higher allegorical morality and the humanist love of poetry for its own sake. This tension is carried through into the fables themselves, which are, like allegory, dualist in form, split into narrative proper and moralitas (the morality at the end of each narrative). The relationship between these two is one of the most crucial issues in the reading of the Fables.
The relationship between narrative and Moralitates

You will find that what follows will be most useful to you if you read through at least the first fable, the Cock and the Jasp, and note your reactions to the characters and then to the moralitas, before reading this section. Perhaps you found yourself in sympathy with the Cock. His carefully articulated logical arguments perhaps seemed sensible, prudent, even wise; his beautiful rhetoric plausible, convincing, even impressive? Perhaps the moralitas came as something of a shock. How can this learned cock, so well-versed in the trivium of medieval education (the three basic subjects taught at school: logic, rhetoric and grammar hence the term grammar schools) be the emblem or type of ignorance, who has failed to recognise the jewel as the type of wisdom? Activity
Now re-read the fable, paying attention the second time round to ways in which you are prepared for the moralitas, even when this appears unexpected to the first-time reader. You will find it valuable to be able to detect biblical allusions in the narrative: Henryson seems particularly fond of the parables from the Gospels, and the Book of Proverbs.
For example, note the conceit of the young girls sweeping out the house carelessly and losing jewels (ll.7177). This can be seen as a covert reference to the parable of the lost piece of silver, which symbolises the Kingdom of Heaven (see Luke 15: 810). This theme of lost treasure is taken up in the moralitas, with references to the parable of hidden treasure (see Matthew 13:44) and the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45). In the narrative Henryson further suggests that the jasp, discarded by the cock, will itself become hidden treasure again:
Bot quhen or how or quhome be it wes found, As now I set to hald na argument Ga seik the jasp quha will, for thair it lay. ll.115116; 161
The theme of hidden treasure is itself covert and hidden in the narrative, but becomes overt in the moralitas, where the jewel is identified as prudence (ll.1278). This is based on Proverbs 2:36, which identifies the hidden treasure as knowledge and understanding. Compare Proverbs 8:11 and 3:15. The moralitas makes overt reference to the theme of hidden treasure as spiritual, not material, quoting Matthew 6:1920. Notice also the reference to pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).
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It might be argued that here Henryson capitalises on the double form of the allegory, with its narrative and moralitas, to dramatise to the reader his own spiritual blindness, his inability to discriminate, like the cock, between the outer appearance and the inward sentence and intent (l.117; my emphasis). The moralitas reveals that, in overlooking the spiritual dimension of the tale, we are like the cock. Henryson thus seems to direct us from the beginning to discriminate between human sympathies, emotions and sensuality on the one hand, and truth and wisdom on the other. From the very first fable, then, you will notice there are often serious discrepancies between your understanding of the meaning of the narrative and the explanation of it given to us by the narrator in the moralitas. Activity
This is one of the major issues you will need to think through for yourself in your reading of Henryson. Is this an artistic flaw, or a deliberate device? And if the latter, what is its purpose and function?
Henrysons use of the Moralitates

Henrysons form of the beast fable gives us narrative pleasure and moral profit in apparently separate doses. He often heightens the tension or contradictions between the narrative and the moralitas in various ways, thus raising uncomfortable questions about the simple assumption that one might serve the other. Does literature really provide the sugar coating that makes palatable the pill of morality, or does it subvert moral lessons for its own purposes? Is Beauty really Truth, Truth Beauty? Henryson polarises the narrative and the moralitas in various ways. In some cases, the fables appear to belong to the beast epic tradition, whereas the moralitates appear to belong to the moralising beast fable tradition. The narratives often seem to create a world of immorality, cynicism, injustice, corruption, oppression, violence and greed, but also of animal sensuality and joie de vivre. They often invite us to laugh and enjoy this world. The moralitates preach Christian and social values; they point to another world, different values. Activity
How can we resolve, or at least make sense of this discrepancy? You will need to give serious consideration to this issue and read the work of critics in this area with care.
You may also want to think about the political significance of the Fables not only the possibility of specific topical allusions to James III, for example, or his favourites, but more importantly the question of the ideal state, a social order regulated by social justice and equity. Read fable 7, the Lion and the Mouse, with special attention, bearing in mind its position as the middle tale and its distinctive form, that of the dream vision. If you want more information on this genre, see Chapter 2 above, and/or read:
Spearing, A.C. Medieval Dream-Poetry. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976) [ISBN 0-521-29069-4].
Activity
Does Henryson believe that the ideal state can be achieved on earth, or is he pessimistic about human life and society? Is this utopia only achievable in heaven? What is his view of human nature? Are we, as in the beast epic, determined by our animal nature born to be either predator or prey, wolves or sheep, at the mercy of our drives and instincts? Is the only recourse legal restraint? Or are we, as in the moralising beast fable, capable of education and reform?
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What are the implications of this vision for society as a whole? And, assuming that we make the choice not to become the wolves, the predators in society, how do we view the corruption and oppression in society? Are we being asked to resign ourselves to it, in the hope of a better hereafter, or are we being asked to commit ourselves to making a stand against that evil? What, ultimately, is the nature of earthly wisdom and prudence?
Literature and fiction

You might become interested in Henrysons attitude towards literature itself and the problem raised by fiction for a Christian writer. You could contrast the obvious fictionality of the beast fable with the very different strategies adopted by Malory to deal with the issue of truth and lies. And, more difficult to pin down, what can you deduce about the attitudes of Chaucer and the Gawain-Poet to the issue of literature and truth? These are some of the major issues raised by the Fables. You might also want to look at technical matters (e.g. the use of narrators particularly the introduction of Aesop into #8), the significance of metrical form (usually, but not invariably, rhyme royal), imagery, characterisation, plot construction, structure, developments through the tales, etc.).
Humour
Last but by no means least, a striking aspect of Henryson is his humour. You might like to compare it with Chaucers. Activity
Would it be fair to call Henrysons black humour? What different means does he use to make us laugh? And how does the humour operate in relation to the serious issues? Does it, as some critics argue, reinforce the pessimism of vision, or does it soften the grimness? Does it alleviate, or exacerbate, the sense of tragedy in the life of man?
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and the relevant reading, you should now be able to: discuss Henrysons language and style describe the Moral Fables literary and historical contexts explain the nature and function of the beast fable and of medieval allegory.

1. The use of animals in fables prevents the reader from pitying the protagonists and thus leaves his moral judgement unimpaired by emotional distractions. How accurate do you find this view as a description of Henrysons strategy in his Moral Fables? 2. Much mirth but little joy do you agree with this evaluation of the Moral Fables? 3. Quhat is it worth to tell ane fenyeit taill Quhen haly preiching may nathing availl? What strategies does Henryson adopt to compensate for this difficulty?
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4. The fundamental problem for the Christian writer is the attractiveness of evil, the unattractiveness of good. Do you agree? Consider any work of the period in the light of this comment.

Further aspects to consider could include analysing Henrysons attitude towards our very human sympathies and natural affinity with the animal characters whose emotions, sensuality and instinctive drive for survival is the basis of our own human nature. All our worldly values, our individualism, our pursuit of pleasure, the sheer dynamism of our own desires, driving us on to seek fulfilment of them at the expense of truth and charity all these reinforce the natural tendency to be bored by goodness, to glamorise outlaws and criminals, to sympathise with the wily fox who usually gets what he wants and gets away with it. Activity
Does Henryson seem to you to disapprove of, or to sympathise with, this animal level of our nature and with the various animals in the fables? Consider at some length the significance of choosing animals as characters and the ways in which they are used. How much are we aware of them as animals? How often do we forget they are animals and simply read them as human beings? What are the effects of these different moments and the relationship between them?
At this point you might want to develop your study of Henryson in other directions, by comparing him with other writers of the period. You might, for example, be interested in comparing his vision of society and social degeneration with that of Malory, who was writing perhaps only a decade or so earlier. You might want to compare the social and political vision of these writers with that of Chaucer; perhaps your understanding of the historical contexts might inform your thinking about the ways in which the literature of the period has developed. You might want to place Henryson more directly in the context of the Chaucerian tradition, developing your sense of his relation to his source perhaps by focusing on the Chaucerian fabliau, so similar in some ways to the spirit and vision of the beast epic, perhaps by comparing the treatment of society in the fable with that in the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, or perhaps by looking at technical matters such as their use of narrators. You might wish to look at other authors in relation to specific topoi comparing the use of confession in the Fables with that in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, for example, or the pageant of the seasons in the Preaching of the Swallow with that at the beginning of Fitt II in Sir Gawain. Or you might want to read further works by Henryson. His Testament of Cresseid is a kind of sequel to Chaucers Troilus and Criseyde and also is unusual in medieval literature in its focus on a female protagonist; his Orpheus and Erudices is a version of the Orpheus myth; if you have read Sir Orfeo, you might like to compare these two versions.
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Chapter 4: Section C topic study: the historical context
Chapter 4
Section C topic study: the historical context

Essential reading
Fossier, R. (ed.) The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Middle Ages. Volume III: 12501520. (Cambridge University Press, 1997) [ISBN 0-5212-6645-9]. Keen, M.H. England in the Late Middle Ages: A Political History. (London: Methuen, 1973) [ISBN 0-416-83570-8]. Valuable account of the political history of the period. Tuchman, Barbara W. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century. (London: Macmillan, 1979) [ISBN 0-333-297526]. An immense work of scholarship that covers the big events of history in a very readable narrative.
Suggested further reading

Brereton, G. Froissart: Chronicles. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968) [ISBN 0-140-44200-6]. Froissart interviewed eyewitnesses for this contemporary account of the lives and times of the Hundred Years War. Coleman, Janet English Literature in History 13501400. (London: Hutchinson, 1981) [ISBN 0-09-144100-5]. Valuable material on literacy and education, and on social unrest reflected in literature.
Additional reading suggestions are given in the reading list at the beginning of this guide.
Introduction
It is important for you to note that there are no guaranteed set topics for study in this area, in the same way as there are set texts. The areas covered by the questions in this section will vary from year to year. These questions are largely comparative and general in nature, and they range over a variety of levels. Some of the questions involve comparing the use of the traditional topoi in two or more texts; some require you to consider the literary effects of historical, social and cultural movements over two or more texts; other questions might ask for an analysis of an area or subject shared by two or more texts. Perhaps the most useful way to prepare for this section is to get into the habit of thinking across texts that is, comparing the treatment of common themes, subjects and motifs, comparing different examples of the same genre, comparing literary techniques and modes. And it goes without saying that the more widely you can read within the set texts for this subject and beyond, the easier it will be for you to move to this level of generalised thinking about later medieval literature. Here we will be studying the interaction between texts and the wider historical context. This area is connected to several of the topics outlined in the Introduction to this subject guide. The material in this section will be extremely wide-ranging.
The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales paints a picture of medieval society that outwardly presents an image of social harmony and unity within diversity. But closer reading also shows the underlying tensions. The fourteenth century has been
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characterised by medieval historians as an age of crisis and, certainly in the fifteenth century, the crisis was no less acute. A whole civilisation was in a state of transition. The period is characterised by the breakdown and fragmentation of an old order. As the Middle Ages drew to a close, there was little sense of the rebirth of a new order we see with hindsight. Activity
In what ways does the General Prologue to the Tales reflect the period in which it was written?
The piece reflects in the first place the influence of the Gothic vision. One of the strongest principles of Gothic aesthetic is the principle of plenitudo (Latin for fullness) the belief that God had created the cosmos according to the principle of fullness, that he had created the largest number of possible varieties of creatures because of his delight in diversity for its own sake. The universe was beautiful precisely because it contained the largest diversity possible. The Gothic concept of beauty embraces wholeness as diversity, encyclopedic breadth of range, difference, juxtaposition of the sublime and the ridiculous in contrast to the Romanesque and classical or neo-classical styles, which tend to emphasise harmony as conformity, symmetry, wholeness as perfection. Here you may want to investigate the meanings of the word Gothic.
A sense of nostalgia
The period of High Gothic culture is usually placed in the thirteenth century. At this time, Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae (a Summation of Theology) presented a synthesis of the classical philosophy of antiquity with Christian spirituality, a blend of reason with faith. Medieval idealism was always nostalgic and retrospective people of this period looked back to a Golden Age, in contrast to the tendency in the twentieth century to place utopia in the future, as in futurism, Marxism, etc. Activity
This sense of nostalgia and the accompanying sense of the inevitability of decline, is found perhaps most powerfully in Malorys Morte Darthur, but can you also detect it in the shift from the Knights Tale to the Millers Tale, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, or any of the other works you have studied?
This forms a great contrast to the more modern belief in evolution and the inevitability of progress. There was some historical reality to the sense of decline in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The great synthesis of medieval culture was already a thing of the past.
A sense of time and place

The General Prologue and many other works of the period contain a subtle sense of change and loss, but are also very much celebrations of their time and place. Activity
Notice the concreteness of time and place in works as diverse as the General Prologue to the Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The General Prologue begins at a specific inn in Southwark (the Tabard this was an actual inn in Southwark in the time of Chaucer, though sadly it has not survived, and we know that it had at least one Harry Baily running it). The pilgrims journey via Greenwich, Deptford, and along the Pilgrims Way to Canterbury. You can still trace their journey on a map of England.
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Activity
Can you trace any other journeys in works of the period?
Intellectually, the contrast with earlier medieval art is powerful. Dante, for example, begins his great poem of the High Gothic period, the Divine Comedy, in an unspecified dark wood presumably on earth but shifts almost immediately to Hell, then Purgatory and finally Heaven. Life on earth and human characters are seen sub specie aeternitatis (literally: under the gaze of eternity, that is, from the heavenly point of view). This contrasts with the increasing concern with earthly experience and the relatively realistic and concrete depiction of earthly life in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The here-and-now quality of the General Prologue is part of an intellectual revolution that manifested itself from the twelfth century onwards, a movement towards a freer secular mentality, sharpened by the new interest in Aristotelian philosophy (note that Chaucers Clerk is an Aristotelian). Peter Abelard and Thierry of Chartres argued for faith in human reason as a tool and the understanding of the universe as its object. Aristotelian influence helped to develop an empirical interest in natural phenomena and created a climate in which the earliest sciences were to be born. These neo-Aristotelians were known as the moderni (Latin for moderns), who looked at the present and were interested in this world; they were opposed to those who studied the antiqui, the ancients. Compare the view of Chaucers Monk:
this ilke Monk leet olde thynges pace And held after the newe world the space General Prologue 17576
There is, here, briefly, a sense of a new world coming into being. But to contemporaries, the transition to it was often experienced as chaotic. The late medieval period has been characterised as an age of crisis. It was a time of exhausting wars for England, both foreign and domestic, with economic recession and internal disasters on an unprecedented scale. It was also a time of scandal and corruption in the Church.
The social grouping of the pilgrims

The pilgrimage of the General Prologue offers a sociological survey of fourteenth-century English society. Activity
Its broad range does not, however, stretch to the highest echelons of the aristocracy why might that be?
The Prologue makes it clear that the structure of values contained within the concepts of feudalism and Christendom, which had held Europe together politically, intellectually and spiritually for nearly a thousand years, was already beginning to fragment and dissolve. Chaucers first grouping of pilgrims Knight, Squire and Yeoman evokes the old feudal order, based on the hierarchy of monarch, land owning aristocracy and serfs bound to the land. But if the Knight is a land owner, he has not been the manager of that land, as he has been away for many years on the Crusades.
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Activity
You may wish to do some reading on knighthood and chivalry, both in social reality and in literature, during the period. See suggestions for further study at the end of this chapter. In your reading, both of the General Prologue and of the historical studies, try to get a sense of who was actually managing the land owned by the knights and how well they were doing it. What was the level of agricultural prosperity at the time? What was the economic situation? How did this affect the lives of ordinary people, particularly the peasants who formed the base of the social pyramid, and the foundations of English economic life?
The Squire reinforces the fact that war was the expected life activity of the aristocracy. The Squires campaigns, unlike those of his father, are taken from the Hundred Years War (13371453). War is one of the great areas where we see medieval realities part company from the ideals of the period in most dramatic fashion. Froissarts glamourising of the brutal business of medieval warfare was borrowed from medieval romance. But the chronicles brought a new realism to its depiction, which in turn influenced the romances. Activity
As you read the accounts of warfare and chivalry in various texts of the period, try to determine how realistic or idealised are their presentations of medieval knights. If you wish to read a text that borrows much realistic detail about the looting, pillaging and mass destruction of the campaigns of Edward III in France, take a look at: the Alliterative Morte Arthure, in Larry Benson (ed.) King Arthurs Death (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1986) [ISBN 0-85989-267-0]: especially ll.30323043 and 31503161.
You might also want to think about the notion of the just war and the involvement of the Church, especially in relation to the religious wars of which Chaucers Knight is a veteran and the wars at the beginning and the end of the Morte Darthur. You could look too at the financial costs of the wars and the effects of these on the economic and political situation. How was the war in France financed, and how was the money collected? What effects did this have on the relationship between the king and his subjects? In particular, you may be interested in looking at the changing role of parliament as a result of this.
From 1348 on, the situation of the people was exacerbated by the terrors of the Black Death, a plague from which Chaucers Physician, at least, had greatly profited. Activity
Read accounts of the plague in your textbooks; you might also want to look at Boccaccios account in the Decameron, from the Introduction to the First Day; in Boccaccio: The Decameron. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972) [ISBN 0-14-044-269-3]. In what ways might this epidemic have influenced peoples view of life and death in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries? Do you find evidence for the so-called cult of death in late medieval art? Think about the depictions of death in texts of the period Arcites death in the Knights Tale, the lyrics, or the great death scenes at the end of the Morte Darthur, for example. How is death presented in the period?
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One pragmatic result of the plague was the scarcity of labour, which at first brought about a sharp rise in wages. This led to the first concerted attempt of an English government to freeze wages and prices the Ordinance of Labourers of 1349; this was followed by various statutes attempting to keep wages of labourers artificially low. Activity
What were the effects of the plague and these statutes of labourers on the working classes, serfdom and the structures of feudalism? In particular, these events are an important part of the lead-up to the Peasants Revolt of 1381. What were the causes of the Peasants Revolt? Is it possible to see the Revolt as a political movement, or is it just a series of riots, a violent reaction against oppressive circumstances? Trace the course of the Revolt and its final outcome. Did it achieve anything, in the short- or long-term?
As you read texts on this period, you will become increasingly aware of the class divisions, not only within medieval society, but also within the literature itself. Activity
Take time to survey the texts you have read in terms of these social divisions. Which social classes and groups does the writer represent in the text? What attitudes does he convey, and how does he treat each of these classes or groups? Does the genre of the text include the perspective of a particular class? Does this affect the ways in which it presents that class or others?
Other social groupings

There are other social groupings apart from class. In particular, you may be interested in gender and the position of women in medieval society. Chapter 5 of this subject guide focuses on women in the later Middle Ages in more detail. As the General Prologue makes clear, the Church provides another large social grouping in medieval society, as well as being one of its most powerful institutions. You may wish to investigate the state of the Church in the later Middle Ages, both within Europe as a whole and in England in particular. Activity
Read accounts of: the involvement of the Church in the political power struggles of the time the Great Schism the religious fragmentation of Europe that came about.
What were the effects of papal power politics on the authority of the Church? Does this affect the way the Church and religion are presented in the texts you have studied? Compare the presentation of religion and the Church in the works you have read by Chaucer, the Gawain-Poet, Malory and Henryson. Do you find evidence for a breakdown in the authority of the Church in the period? What are the attitudes towards authority in general during the period?
Divisions in national allegiance brought about by the Schism where the traditional enemies of France (England, Germany, Flanders) sided together against France, Spain and Scotland foreshadowed the geography of the Reformation and the religious fragmentation of Europe. A new order is already discernible, emerging from the ruins of the old feudal Christendom. In England, the break with Rome was preceded by the
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break with France. Whereas at the beginning of the period, French language and culture dominated England, by the end of the period, the law courts and even the court of the king, had become predominantly English-speaking, and we witness the first flowering of English vernacular literature. Activity
You may like to trace the growth in the sense of national identity from the gentle Englishness of the opening lines of the General Prologue to the passionate nationalism of Malory; you might also be interested in tracing the corresponding development of nationalism in Scotland. You could compare the Scottishness of Henryson with the Englishness of the other writers. Henryson belongs to a group of writers usually called the Scottish Chaucerians. In what ways did Henryson construct a Scottish identity for his works and how does it differ from the ambience of those works written in England? Does his use of language (he is after all writing in English, albeit in a Scottish dialect) help or hinder this process?
The breakdown of the old order, with its great religious and political synthesis, was accompanied by a slow and gradual shift of focus from the universal and archetypal to the particular, the individual and the local. The universalities of allegory were slowly being replaced by the concrete naturalism and psychological insight of the great writers of the period. Chaucers work institutes a period of Christian humanism in English literature, arguably extending through Malory, Shakespeare and the Elizabethans to Milton, where Christian values provide a spiritual background against which is explored the experience of human beings in their journey through life on this earth.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and the relevant reading, you should be able to: describe the historical context of the literature of the later Middle Ages discuss the social and political changes occurring in this period describe the widespread conflict and crisis characterising the period, and explain the literary ramifications of this talk about the social tensions underlying works such as Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.

1. Have you found any evidence that the literature of the later Middle Ages reflects the historians view of this period as an age of crisis? You should illustrate your answer with reference to at least two works you have studied from the period. 2. The history of medieval philosophy can be seen as a gradual promotion of the individual, accompanied by a steady depreciation of the universal, until the point is reached in the fourteenth century when the real world offers its teeming diversity to our gaze. Do you see any evidence for this process in the literature you have studied from the period? 3. There are no heroes in the literature of the later medieval period: it is a profoundly unheroic age. Discuss, with reference to two or more works you have studied from the period. 4. Is there any room for originality within the medieval convention of re-telling traditional tales? You should refer to two or more works in your answer. 52

On Gothic culture, see:
Camille, Michael Gothic Art: Visions and Revelations of the Medieval World. (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996) [ISBN 0-2978-3372-3]. Mle, Emile Religious Art from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977) [ISBN 0-691-04000-1]. Martindale, Andrew Gothic Art. (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979) [ISBN 0-50020058-0].
For a more detailed account of the development of late medieval philosophy, read:
Leff, Gordon Medieval Thought. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1958) [IBSN B60-07012]. Marenbon, John Later Medieval Philosophy (11501350): An Introduction. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987) [ISBN 041506807X (pbk); 0710202865].
On the subjects of knighthood and chivalry, see the following:

Jackson, W.H. (ed.) Knighthood in Medieval Literature. (Woodbridge: Brewer, 1981) [ISBN 0-85991-094-6]. Keen, M. Chivalry. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984) [ISBN 0-300-03150-5]. Moorman, C. A Knyght Ther Was. (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1967) [ISBN LC68-014474]. Vale, M. War and Chivalry. (London: Duckworth, 1981) [ISBN 0-1156-1042-2].
On the subject of the Hundred Years War, see the following texts (whose details are provided at the beginning of the chapter):
Brereton, G. Froissart: Chronicles. Keen, M.H. England in the Late Middle Ages. Tuchman, B.W. A Distant Mirror.
For an interesting account of the Black Death, see:

Introduction to the First Day in Boccaccios Decameron. (Harmondworth: Penguin, 1972) [ISBN 0-14-044-269-3].
On the subject of women in the Middle Ages, you might like to read the following:
Bennett, Judith Medieval Women, Modern Women: Across the Great Divide in Aers, David Culture and History 13501600. (London, etc.: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1992) [ISBN 0-7450-0789-9]. Sheehan, Michael The Wife of Bath and her Four Sisters in Andrew, Malcolm Critical Essays on Chaucers Canterbury Tales. (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991) [ISBN 0-335-09601-8].
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Notes
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Chapter 5: Section C topic study: women in the later Middle Ages
Chapter 5
Section C topic study: women in the later Middle Ages

Essential reading
Especially useful will be the following:
Leyser, Henrietta Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 4501500. (London: Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 1995) [ISBN 0-297-81604-7]. Shahar, Shulamith The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages. t Translated by Chaya Galai (London: Routledge, 1990) [ISBN 0-415-04605-x]. Warner, Marina Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary. (London: Picador, 1976, reprinted 1990) [ISBN x-19-338303-8].
Suggested further reading

Evans, Ruth and Lesley Johnson Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bath and All Her Sect. (London: Routledge, 1994) [ISBN 0-415-05818-x]. Martin, Priscilla Chaucers Women: Nuns, Wives and Amazons. (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996) [ISBN 0-333-64141-8].
Introduction
In this chapter, we will consider the position of women in the Middle Ages, both in a literary and extra-literary context. We will look at various manifestations of misogyny, considering several images of women that were constructed and propagated as ideals or travesties. Finally, we will look at some representations of women in later medieval literature, with special attention given to Chaucers women and to the figure of Criseyde/Cresseid. The material covered in this chapter will include several of the set texts, but you should select whichever texts you consider appropriate for your own consideration of this topic.
Ideals and travesties: the anti-feminist tradition

An important tradition to understand in relation to medieval literature is the strain of misogyny in European history. The word comes from the Greek, meaning hatred of women, and it manifested itself throughout our period and beyond in many ways. The anti-feminist tradition is a central premise and component of the Wife of Baths Tale, to cite just one example. During your reading of medieval texts, try to be alert to this important strand of thought. Activity
What, for instance, is Chaucers apparent attitude to the anti-feminist tradition in the Wife of Baths Tale? You might like to look into the history of misogyny, from its inception in early warrior cultures, where the non-fighting woman came to be denigrated and regarded as inferior in status to the male. (See the bibliographies in the works cited as essential reading above, for suggested reading on this topic.)
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This warrior culture bequeathed to the Christian era a set of prejudices and gender inequalities. In theory at least, Christianity modified some misogynistic attitudes and preserved others, particularly in the area of female sexuality with sexual intercourse, menstruation and childbirth being widely regarded as contaminating and polluting. There was an enormous liberating potential in the increasingly dominant religion that had women at its centre. In the Gospels, Christ evinces positive attitudes towards women; for example, after the Resurrection, He chose to appear first to a woman, Mary Magdalene. Early Christianity propagated the notion of the equality of all believers. As St Paul asserted:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Acts 9:3642)
However, over time, this was severely modified to exclude women from many aspects of worship, such as preaching and administering the sacraments. Some time spent familiarising yourself in general terms with the early history of Christianity, the writings of the Church Fathers, the doctrine of original sin and so on, will provide a very useful context for your reading of medieval texts. Much of medieval misogyny comes from this background. A particularly important aspect of medieval culture is its tendency to construct dichotomies, such as male and female, body and soul, Eve and Mary, whore and goddess. Activity
Be alert for instances of such thought in your reading, for example, in Chaucers Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman.
Writers such as Chaucer and Langland are sophisticated, and you will find their representations of such polarities are rich and challenging. They seek to explore tensions and ambiguities rather than reinforce simplified dichotomies.
Ideals and travesties: Marian worship

From the twelfth century onwards, a new movement seemed to generate a more positive image of the female, with the idealisation and veneration of the Virgin Mary. Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the first to exhort Christians to meditate upon Mary and to worship the Virgin, particularly in her role as intercessor, appealing to Christ on behalf of human beings. There is debate about the effect of Marian worship on the lives of actual women. Some consider that this intercessory role still presents Mary as a subservient model. By praising the mother of God, churchmen were not offering an ideal earthly women could easily emulate. Much as courtly love was a double-edged conception, so too the Marian cult could be seen to endorse rather than to challenge contemporary misogyny. One medieval woman, Christine de Pisan, certainly saw Mary as a positive female role model, benefiting women in general:
My Lady, what man is so brazen to dare think or say that the female sex is vile in beholding your dignity? (Book of the City of Ladies, c.1405)
If you are interested in reading this work, there is a recent English translation by E.J. Richards (New York: Persea Books, 1998) [ISBN 0-892-55230-1].
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Activity
When reading the lyrics and other literary works in which Mary appears, consider how she is being represented. Is she an ideal to which all women can aspire, or a supreme being, which no human woman could ever emulate? Where does the balance lie between these two extremes? Look at some of the lyrics, Nou skrnketh rose and lylie flour (number 27 in Silverstein), In a tabernacle of a toure (number 50) and Sodeynly afraide (number 82). How far is there a conflation of the earthly and the divine? What effects are achieved by this? You should consider such aspects as diction, form, themes, imagery, situations and stylisation.
Ideals and travesties: courtly love

Further idealisation of women can be seen in the phenomenon known as courtly love. This term was coined in 1883 by Gaston Paris and is not a term used in the medieval period. This invention of so-called courtly love coincided with a period of widespread restrictions on female activities. From the thirteenth century onwards perceptible social changes increasingly barred women from exercising power, restricting their movement and independence, while education came to be almost exclusively a male privilege, with the development of universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, open only to clerical scholars. It is noteworthy that the first known troubadour and exponent of the courtly love philosophy, William IX of Aquitaine, was a debauched cynic. The discrepancy between what his poetry preaches (the reverence of woman as a divine being to be served selflessly by an adoring lover) and what he himself practised, throws into question the whole basis of courtly love as a mere literary posture, with little or no reference to reality. Andreas Capellanuss De Arte Honeste Amandi written c.1185 (also known as De Amore), sometimes taken to be the primary text advocating courtly love, is now regarded by many critics as, at best, ambiguous, at worst, an ironic spoof. In our period, covering the later Middle Ages, this fundamental problem of interpretation intensifies. The notion of courtly love covers a whole complex of ideas and literary topoi. Military metaphors are common, with the lover besieging his lady, or, conversely, being assailed by her beauty, destroyed by the force of passion. The veneration of the lady develops into a stereotypical representation of the ideal woman, as a stylised object of male appraisal and desire, usually pale, slender, blond and fragile. The knight serves this icon, by wooing her, performing heroic deeds, championing her. Noteworthy here is Malorys famous Oath of Knighthood, where King Arthurs knights swear annually:
allwayes to do ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen and wydowes [socour]: strengthe hem in hir ryghtes, and never to enforce them, uppon payne of dethe. (Vinaver, Works, p.75)
Activity
Consider whether this high ideal is borne out in the romances you read.
The concept of chivalry

This development of the concept of chivalry, with a codified set of conventions for the warrior elite, is a difficult one to interpret. It may have been an elaborate artifice, a purely literary phenomenon. It may have served as a way of diverting restless energies among landless younger sons of the nobility, which was a pressing social problem at the time, according to historians. As for the moral status of this kind of
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adoration, there is again major disagreement among critics. The romantic approach of C.S. Lewis (The Allegory of Love, 1936), which navely equates literary expressions of respect for the female with an improvement in the status of women in real life, has recently been strongly challenged. The question of adultery is a notorious point at issue. Very few English texts treat adultery as a normal part of courtly love. This is worth considering when you read Malory. There is also a negative aspect to the portrayal of passionate love. If love is often shown as ennobling, it can also be an enervating force. Activity
Note how Malory presents his lovers, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Gwenevere, Lancelot and Elaine, and so on. How negative are the portrayals of love and female sexuality in texts like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Troilus and Criseyde, the Testament of Cresseid?
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the idealisation of the courtly lady of romance there is the lusty bourgeoise of the fabliau. Activity
Consider Chaucers fabliaux (particularly the Millers Tale and the Reeves Tale) from the point of view of how they may be commenting upon, or offering a critique of romance.
In their down-to-earth, physical robustness, the women in these tales contrast greatly with the typical heroine of romance, but adhere to another set of conventions.
Ideals and travesties: literary stereotypes of women

Anti-feminist ideas permeate the literature of the Middle Ages, giving rise to a range of conventional roles assigned to women, such as talkative scold, lustful sexual temptress, weak, feeble victim. Much of the literature surviving from the period was either written by or under the influence of clerical modes of thought that were hostile to women. It is important to remember as you read that this written tradition of anti-feminism is largely the view of a minority elite, the clerics, who constituted only 0.5 per cent of the population. The views of this literate minority can be seen, for example, in Jankyns famous Book of Wicked Wives, an anthology of anti-feminist sentiment with which he delights in tormenting the Wife of Bath. Even as courtly a hero as Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is not immune to this negative view of women, as when he gives vent to his anger in an outburst citing many of the usual examples of female treachery (Fitt 4, ll.24142426). Activity
Try to identify stereotypes as you read, and be alert to lurking binary oppositions such as that of saint and sinner. Think especially about Chaucers exemplary virtuous heroines, Cecilia (Second Nuns Tale), Griselda (Clerks Tale), Constance (Man of Laws Tale). What stereotypes are they embodying? What complicates any reading of them as simple types to be emulated? Think, for instance, of the variety of interpretations presented at the end of the Clerks Tale.
The Clerks Tale is a particularly difficult one to interpret and exemplifies Chaucers technique of questioning easy solutions and problematising meaning. Many, including the Clerk, find Griseldas example far from exemplary and have difficulty in accepting the proffered solution: to accept the tale as a straightforward moral allegory.
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You will find, if you study the notes in the Riverside edition carefully, that Chaucer has deliberately heightened exactly those aspects of the tale that confuse an easy allegorical reading. Activity
For example, notice how many details he adds that enhance the effect of pathos, evoking human sympathy for Griselda and disapproval of Walter.
Chaucers romance heroines are also interesting to investigate. In many ways they conform to the stereotypes: Emily in the Knights Tale, for example, hardly speaks and plays very little part in the events of the tale. She is a most colourless, dull heroine, a mere cypher, except for one moment in the Temple of Diana, when her feelings are conveyed in direct speech. Yet, Chaucers representation of Emily is far from merely in the traditional vein. In Chaucers source, Boccaccios Teseida, Emily is far more wilful, aware and vocal. By intensifying her status as passive object, Chaucer emphasises just those characteristics of the romance heroine that trouble some modern readers: the ideal of female passivity is objectionable and unsatisfying, when taken to such extremes. Her very silence causes her to be remarkable. Chaucers presentation of Emily is a good case of Chaucer drawing attention to a deficiency in order to open up questions and deeper consideration of issues such as gender roles and conventions. Another stereotype to consider is the shrew, obviously present as an aspect of the Wife of Bath. In the Noah plays, the figure of Noahs wife is another good example of this stereotype. Noahs wife is hardly mentioned in the biblical account of the Flood, and there is no hint of her being anything other than compliant. Yet in the drama she has a prominent role as an argumentative, aggressive female hampering the efforts of Noah to obey Gods commands. Notice how the Towneley play in particular develops the figure of Noahs wife as a loud, railing woman refusing to heed her husbands wishes, resorting to physical violence and being thoroughly unruly. This kind of knockabout farce would seem to have little place in a didactic drama, but this mingling of different registers is in fact utterly characteristic of the age. According to the standard interpretation of the significance of Noahs wife in the Flood plays, she represents a type of the reluctant soul, struggling against Gods will. In other versions, closer to the biblical account, she does not resist at all (for example, see the Ludus Coventri play). Activity
Compare the Towneley and Chester Noah plays in their treatment of Noahs wife, and decide which you think is the most successful: a. in terms of entertainment value b. in terms of effectiveness as moral drama.
The female voice

The power of discourse, both written and spoken, was well understood by Chaucer. Indeed, the use and abuse of language, particularly strategies of rhetoric, can be seen as a fundamentally informing theme of Chaucers work. Activity
Think about the role of language, skilfully manipulated, in the Nuns Priests Tale, the Pardoners Tale and the Wife of Baths Prologue. Consider how language is shown to be subject to contingent needs, a tool for those desiring to manipulate or twist the facts and open to abuse, with rhetorical skill being employed to excess, etc.
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Traditionally, access to the written word was limited to males. Very few women could read or write beyond a bare minimum. There is a large body of work written in the medieval period that cannot be attributed to a particular writer, and a proportion of this could conceivably be by women. But the number of definite female authors from this period is minute. Activity
Find out more about female writers of the period.
For our present purposes, it is important to note that the female voice is rarely expressed in medieval literature other than by a male writer. Female mystics One area in which real-life women could express their thoughts and feelings in their own words was in the field of mystical writings. The appearance of numbers of female mystics is a remarkable development in our period, with women like Juliana of Norwich (1342c.1416/1426) committing their experiences to writing. The female mystics, with their claim to authority, springing from their experiences of direct, personal access to God, frequently communicated and circulated their ideas in written form, but always under the guidance and approval of male clerics. In order to avoid coming into conflict with the established church, they had to phrase their words carefully to avoid charges of heterodoxy, or heresy. Typically, they adopt a humble, self-deprecating tone, as exemplified by Juliana of Norwich:
Botte God forbede that ye schulde saye or take it so that I am a techere, for I meene nought so, no, I mente nevere so. For that I am a woman; leued [uneducated], febille and freyll.
Even so, female mystics were vulnerable to criticism as they presumed to voice their thoughts on religious matters. Margery Kempe (c.1373after 1439) was repeatedly examined by various secular and ecclesiastical officials alarmed by her behaviour. Notice the terms Margery uses to justify her purpose in her Prologue and her characteristic habit of referring to herself in the third person, as this creature. Margery Kempe has left us an invaluable document, purporting to be a spiritual autobiography. Margery was, in fact, illiterate and had to dictate her memoirs to priests, whom she had to persuade to help her. In many ways, the Book of Margery Kempe models itself on mystical texts and consciously seeks to adhere to a tradition of spiritual writings. Yet the forcefulness of her individual personality shines through, and inadvertently Margery provides us with what is the first autobiography of a woman in English. Her Book is filled with details of her everyday life and experiences, related in a very direct way. Throughout, the tone and expression convey a vivid impression of one particular medieval womans voice. Margery continually has to speak to others, justifying her actions, arguing her position against a host of opponents and detractors. Many people are impressed by her words, as when she meets the Bishop of Lincoln in Chapter 15, and he listens to her account of her visions:
He was rygth glad to heryn hem, and suffryd hire benyngly to sey what hire listed.
Another memorable moment occurs in Chapter 48, when Margery refuses to explain her motivations for wearing white clothing until the Mayor of Leicester leaves. This is an image of a woman confidently withholding her speech, truly being in command of her own words. In chapter 51, she boldly argues with the clergy, debating their methods of biblical exegesis. Such outspoken behaviour presents challenges to those around her, as well as to modern readers.
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Activity
Consider a range of conversations related in the Book. How does Margery appear in these exchanges? Does she conform to any of the stereotypes discussed above? What kind of voice is Margerys? Also pay attention to her inner voice, of self-questioning and resolution. How does it compare to her more public voice?
Chaucers women The vitality of the Wife of Bath is one of the reasons many critics regard Chaucer as being interested in the female voice. Clearly the potential for self-revelation through direct speech was one that Chaucer played with in many ways. However, the particular quality and prominence accorded to female speakers, like the Wife of Bath, marks Chaucer as unusual among medieval writers. Further, he explicitly raises the notion of male bias and the partiality of the male literary tradition that stereotypes women, in the Wife of Baths Prologue, ll.687696. Activity
Consider how far Chaucers Wife challenges established misogynistic notions of women and how far she reinforces them.
Chaucers heroine in Troilus and Criseyde is a particularly interesting case to consider. Probably an earlier creation than the women in the Canterbury Tales, Criseyde is given a fullness of characterisation that is quite unprecedented. In crude terms, such as the number of lines she is given to speak, Criseydes voice is magnified by Chaucer. In the main source for the poem, Boccaccios Il Filostrato, she speaks 747 lines; in Chaucers version, she has 1154 lines. The speaking roles of Pandarus and Diomede are also expanded by Chaucer, but Troiluss speech is reduced considerably. This raises Criseydes prominence and enhances the effect of intimacy with her. There are two sides to this verbal presence. Firstly, there are the dialogues, the conversations she takes part in and, secondly, there are the instances of internal monologue, whereby we are made aware of her inner thoughts and reflections. We hear nothing from her in Book 1, which focuses on her external appearance and public perception. Her first speech comes significantly in Book 2, in the private, domestic space of her home. Look carefully at this long scene with Pandarus. In her conversation with her uncle, there is a clear sense of her being at bay, concealing her thoughts, with a distinct difference between what she thinks and what she says, for example, at ll.14044. Activity
Try reading aloud her reaction to Pandaruss efforts at persuading her to have an affair with Troilus, ll.40927. Experiment with different tones, shocked, playful, haughty, jocular, sad. Which seems to you most appropriate? Do you detect something contrived and excessive in her expressions of outrage? Is there a certain over-reaction in her repetitive exclamation, Allas! and the carefully balanced rhetorical questions?
There seems to be an element of characterisation here beyond the straightforward demands of the narrative. Chaucer is controlling his style deliberately for particular effect. It could be read as suggestive of Criseydes self-dramatisation, as an expression of her tendency to adopt roles, with a keen sense of how she is being seen by others. Pandaruss reply here is clearly histrionic, a pose he is adopting for effect. Could Criseyde be seen as comparable to him in her adoption of different voices for different purposes?
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In her internal monologues, Criseyde is equally complex. Consider, for example, her inner conflict, from l.694 onwards. It is interesting to analyse the process of her reasoning and to trace the fluctuations in her feelings, as shown here. Activity
What does this lengthy expression of her inner turmoil contribute to our understanding of Criseyde? What is revealed about her self-image? What do we learn, directly and indirectly, of her attitudes towards others, such as Troilus, and society generally?
You might compare Chaucers presentation of Troiluss thoughts and feelings in direct speech and interior monologues. They are very different in tone and effect. Troilus and Criseyde has been called the first English novel, partly because of this unusual amount of introspection and self-analysis accorded to the characters within the poem. Criseyde is a heroine endowed with an exceptional degree of self-consciousness. This presentation of her shows her not just as object, but as speaking subject; this was revolutionary in English literature. Activity
Compare the presentation of other female figures in medieval literature, to assess exactly how Chaucers techniques differ.
Criseyde and Cresseid compared One obvious point of comparison is between Chaucers Troilus and Criseyde and Henrysons Testament of Cresseid. Henrysons fifteenth-century continuation of Chaucers poem was generally attributed to Chaucer right up to the early nineteenth century. Strictly speaking, Henrysons poem fits into the last Book of Troilus and Criseyde, before Troilus dies. Henryson, as a Scottish Chaucerian, was keen to emulate Chaucers achievements and is in many ways a conscious imitator. However, the poem exists in its own right and offers an alternative perspective on Chaucers poem. It is a fascinating exercise to compare the two poems, in their style, narrative techniques and subject-matter. For the moment, our focus is on the presentation of the heroine. It is clear that Henrysons poem focuses primarily upon Cresseid, with Troilus and the other characters, apart from the pagan gods, being merely incidental. This emphasis on the heroine is itself an important device to be considered. It places her in the prime position as the most important character and insists on her perspective as the dominant frame of reference. A major part of the presentation of Cresseid lies in the use of extensive passages conveying her thoughts and feelings. Activity
What kind of voice is Henrysons Cresseid given, in comparison with Chaucers?
Cresseid is given brief conversations with her father, the servant and her fellow lepers, but primarily Henryson chooses to present Cresseids voice in monologues. She is given two long, formal lyrics in which to express her feelings of bitterness and reproach. Her first lyric is a formal lament (ll.40769), based upon the meditative tradition of the ubi sunt? (Where are they?). This kind of reflective consideration of past riches or pleasures was popular throughout the medieval period. This conveys a moving impression of the transience of earthly pleasures and Cresseids sense of desolation. Her second lyric is a complaint (ll.54774), which offers a poignant insight into her final anguish, with its repeated refrain acknowledging her own guilt, O fals Cresseid and trew knicht Troilus!
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Activity
What is your response to these passages? Are they adequate in conveying Cresseids emotional progress? Bear in mind the much more modest scale of Henrysons poem, as you try to assess the relative weight of the two portraits of Cresseid/Criseyde; in particular, considering the role played by direct speech in the creation of the heroine.
The narrative voice

Here you might consider the role of the narrator in these narratives, how this mediating persona shapes and engages our responses to his material. Activity
First, consider the sophisticated use of the narrator in Troilus and Criseyde. Trace the narrators sensitive responses to Criseydes predicament throughout the work and note how it shifts and changes.
His attitude towards his heroine is peculiarly ambivalent. At one point he seeks to counter the potential cynicism of som envious (Book 2, l.666). At the height of the lovers happiness, in Book 3, ll.131723, the narrator appears to be seduced himself by the lovers ecstasy. Throughout, he insinuates a degree of reluctance to tell of Criseydes unfaithfulness and takes pains to excuse her on various occasions, at one point explicitly distancing himself from the generality of detractors of Criseyde: Men seyn, I not, that she yaf hym hire herte (Book V, c.1050). Yet, at the end of the poem, he has shown her to be unfaithful, unworthy of Troiluss sublime love, an emblem of female treachery. In an extraordinary volte-face, he finally denounces her along with the other corsed pagans. Activity
Now consider Henrysons narrator. What kind of persona is constructed by Henryson in the Proem (ll.142)? Does he seem harsh or sympathetic towards his heroine?
The first epithet applied to Cresseid is fair. This word continues to be attached to her name throughout the poem. Activity
What are the implications of this? Is a moral quality implied?
Notice the very Chaucerian technique of obliquity in ll.7677, where the narrator disassociates himself from rumours and traditions denigrating Cresseid, postulating her descent into prostitution as speculative. Activity
Why mention it at all?
There are also telling moments that imply a fundamentally sympathetic narrator, such as ll.8788. Yet the story of Cresseid being cast out by Diomede and being afflicted with leprosy, is terrible and grim. Activity
Is there a mixture of pity and horror here that provides a cleansing experience in the manner of Classical tragedy?
There are many varied interpretations of Henrysons poem. Some see it as typically Scottish in its dour, harsh attitude towards Cresseid and her dreadful fate. Others read it as impersonal moral allegory, equally applicable to men as to women in general (as in the Clerks allegorical exposition of his tale of a suffering woman, Patient Griselda).
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Activity
Do you see Henrysons Cresseid as an emblematic figure, showing uplifting moral regeneration? Do you think she functions as an everywoman figure, or is there a more personal, individual dimension to her?
Much will depend upon how you interpret the final lines of the poem, especially l.616, Sen sho is deid, I speik of hir no moir. Activity
Try reading the final stanza several times, using different tones of voice.
It can be read as a sternly moralistic conclusion, callously dismissive of an arch sinner. Alternatively, the brevity may be interpreted as a pained, discreet withdrawal. The fact that there is no overt denunciation allows for a variety of responses. Activity
How do you interpret these lines? Do you read them differently after reading the Moral Fables?
There the reader was cautioned to avoid simplistic judgements and learned to be alert to ambiguities and finer shades of meaning. Activity
Is the apparently curt conclusion another example of Henrysons technique of resisting closure, refusing to supply neat, simplistic moral judgement?
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and the relevant reading, you should now be able to: discuss medieval misogyny and its influence on medieval literature give examples of the negative and positive aspects of various female role models, such as those present in Marian worship and in courtly love explore gender issues and consider representations of women in medieval literature from a number of perspectives show how various female voices are constructed in a range of medieval texts.

1. Compare and contrast the representation of the heroine in any two works of the period. 2. In what ways, and with what success, are gender stereotypes challenged in medieval literature? 3. The ideals of courtly love and of chivalry are frequently in collision. Discuss with reference to at least two texts. 4. I am a womman, nedes moot I speke (Merchants Tale, 2305). Consider some of the ways in which women are permitted to speak in medieval literature. 5. How far does an understanding of medieval anti-feminism enhance your reading of medieval texts?

Given the wide-ranging nature of this topic, you are advised to select your own preferred areas for study, based on the approaches here. You can apply similar methods of analysis to any of the set texts you read. The bibliographies in the books recommended in this chapter will be useful for extending your reading further.
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Appendix: Sample examination paper
Appendix
Sample examination paper

Time allowed: three hours. Answer three questions, one from each section. Candidates may not discuss the same text in more than one answer, in this examination or in any other advanced level unit examination. You are free to consider the General Prologue or any one individual tale within the Canterbury Tales as a single work. You may also consider individual books within the Morte Darthur as single works, if you wish.
Section A
1. Choose two of the following passages, and answer as directed. a. Comment on the style of the following passage and its effectiveness in its context: This clerk was cleped hende Nicholas. Of deerne love he koude and of solas; And therto he was sleigh and ful privee, And lyk a mayden meke for to see. A chambre hadde he in that hostelrye Allone, withouten any compaignye, Ful fetisly ydight with herbes swoote; And he hymself as sweete as is the roote Of lycorys or any cetewale. His Almageste, and bookes grete and smale, His astrelabie, longynge for his art, His augrym stones layen faire apart, On shelves couched at his beddes heed; His presse ycovered with a faldyng reed; And al above ther lay a gay sautrie, On which he made a-nyghtes melodie So swetely that all the chambre rong; And Angelus ad virginem he song; And after that he song the Kynges Noote. Ful often blessed was his myrie throte. And thus this sweete clerk his tyme spente After his freendes fyndyng and his rente. (CHAUCER, the Millers Tale) 20 15 10 5
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b. Comment on the style and content of the following passage and its effectiveness in its narrative context: Orfeo was a king In Inglond, an highe lording, A stalworth man and hardi bo, Large and curteys he was also. His fader was comen of King Pluto, And his moder of Quene Iuno, That sum time were as godes i-hold, For aventours that thai dede and told. Orpheo most of ony thing Lovede the gle of harpyng; Syker was every gode harpoure Of hym to have moche honoure. Hymself loved for to harpe, And layde theron his wittes scharpe. He lernid so, ther nothing was A better harper in no plas. In the world was never man born That ever Orpheo sat byforn And he myght of his harpyng here He schulde thinke that he were In one of the joys of Paradys, Suche joy and melody in his harpyng is. (ANON, Sir Orfeo) c. Comment on the style of the following anonymous lyric, considering how representative it is of its genre: I syng of a myden that is makeles. Kyng of alle kyngis to her sone che ches. He cam also stylle ther his moder was As dew in Aprylle that fallyt on the gras. He cam also stylle to his moderis bowr As dew in Aprille that fallyt on the flour. He cam also stylle ther his moder lay As dew in Aprille that fallyt on the spray. Moder and maydyn was neuer non but che. Wel may swych a lady Godis moder be. 10 5 20 15 10 5
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d. Comment on the following passage in respect of its subject, style and effect in its narrative context: Gawayn, quoth that grene gome, God the mot loke! Iwysse thou art welcom, wyye, to my place, And thou has tymed thi travayl as truee mon schulde. And thou knowes the covenauntes kest uus bytwene: At this tyme twelmonyth thou toke that the falled, And I schulde at this Nwe Yere yeply the quyte. And we ar in this valay verayly oure one; Here ar no renkes us to rydde, rele as uus likes. Haf thy helme of thy hede, and haf here thy pay. Busk no more debate then I the bede thenne When thou wypped of my hede at a wap one. Nay, bi God, quoth Gawayn, that me gost lante, I schal gruch the no grwe for grem that falles. Bot styghtel the upon on strok, and I schal stonde stylle And warp the no wernyng to worch as the lykes, nowhare. He lened with the nek, and lutte, And schewed that schyre al bare, And lette as he noght dutte; For drede he wolde not dare. 20 (ANON, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) e. Comment on the following passage in respect of its subject, style, and effect in the narrative context: As for to do thys batayle, seyde sir Palomydes, I dare ryght well ende hyt. But I have no grete luste to fyght no more, and for thys cause, seyde sir Palomydes: myne offence ys to you nat so grete but that we may be fryendys, for all that I have offended ys and was for the love of La Bealle Isode. And as for her, I dare say she ys pyerles of all othir ladyes, and also I profyrd her never no maner of dyshonoure, and by her I have getyn the moste parte of my worshyp. And sytthyn I <ha>d [o]ffended never as to her owne persone, and as for the offence that I have done, hyt was ayenste youre owne persone, and for that [o]ffence ye have gyven me thys day many sad strokys (and som I have gyffyn you agayne, and now I dare sey I felte never man of youre myght nothir so well-brethed but yf hit were sir Launcelot du Laake), wherefore I requyre you, my lorde, forgyff me all that I have offended unto you! And thys same day have me to the nexte 15 10 5 15 10 5
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churche, and fyrste lat me be clene conffessed, and aftir that se youreselff that I be truly baptysed. And than woll we all ryde togydyrs unto the courte of kynge Arthure, that we may be there at the nexte hyghe feste folowynge. (MALORY, Le Morte Darthur) f. Comment on the argument and style of the following passage: In hamelie language and in termis rude Me neidis wryte, forquhy of eloquence Nor rethorike I never understude. Thairfoir meiklie I pray your reverence, Gif that ye find it throw my negligence Be deminute, or yit superfluous, Correct it at your willis gratious. My author in his fabillis tellis how That brutal beistis spak, and understude Into gude pupois dispute and argow, Ane sillogisme propone, and eik conclude; Put in exempill and similitude How mony men in operatioun Ar like to beistis in conditioun. Na mervell is ane man be lyke ane beist, Quhilk lufis ay carnall and foull delyte; That schame can not him renye nor arreist, Bot takis all the lust and appetyte, And that throw custum and daylie ryte; Syne in thair myndis sa fast is radicate That thay in brutal beistis ar transformate. (HENRYSON, Moral Fables) 20 15 10 5
Section B
2. A striking characteristic of Chaucers poetry is its manipulation, and occasional subversion, of traditional genres. Discuss with reference to at least two of Chaucers works. 3. Either a. Discuss the treatment of the theme of fortune in Sir Orfeo. or b. How effective is Sir Orfeo as short verse narrative?
4. Either a. The function of the language is to restrain rather than to incite religious emotion. Discuss in relation to at least two lyrics. or b. In what ways are women presented in the secular and sacred lyrics of the later Middle Ages?
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5. Either or
a. Reputations and realities are continually juxtaposed in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Discuss. b. In what ways are patterns and symmetries made to generate meaning in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?
6. Discuss the use of dialogue in either Piers Plowman or The Book of Margery Kempe. 7. Either or a. To what extent does any individual tale within it reflect the major themes and concerns of Malorys Morte Darthur? b. Discuss Malorys use of dream visions, portents and their interpreters in Le Morte Darthur.
(You may, if you wish, confine yourself to discussing Books VII and VIII.) 8. How far is medieval drama constrained by its didactic premise? You should refer to at least two plays. 9. Either a. How far may Henrysons Moral Fables or The Testament of Cresseid be said to be hard and teuch? or b. Discuss Henrysons use of humour and wit.
Section C
10. The literature of the period derives much of its vitality from the use of types rather than the creation of individual characters. Do you agree? (Reference should be made to at least two texts.) 11. Thende is every tales strength: discuss the techniques and effects of closure in at least two works. 12. Discuss the treatment of one of the following in at least two works of the period: a. the ruler b. nature and the seasons c. disguise and identity. 13. Discuss the role of the narrator in at least two works of the later Middle Ages. 14. Compare and contrast the use of architecture and the visual arts in at least two works of the period. 15. A knowledge of contemporary events is essential for the appreciation of medieval literature. How far do you agree? (Reference should be made to at least two texts.)
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Notes
Notes
Comment form
We welcome any comments you may have on the materials which are sent to you as part of your study pack. Such feedback from students helps us in our effort to improve the materials produced for the External System. If you have any comments about this guide, either general or specific (including corrections, nonavailability of essential texts, etc.), please take the time to complete and return this form. Title of this subject guide: .............................................................................................................................. Name ...................................................................................................................................................................... Address .................................................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................................................................ Email ...................................................................................................................................................................... Student number ...................................................................................................................................................... For which qualification are you studying? .............................................................................................................. Comments ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................ Please continue on additional sheets if necessary. Date: ...................................................................................................................................................................... Please send your comments on this form (or a photocopy of it) to: Publishing Manager, External System, University of London, Stewart House, 32 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DN, UK.

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Literature of the later Middle Ages

C.A. Maddern 2001 0033E025

BA and Diploma in English

033E025 Literature of the Later Middle Ages

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Suggested study syllabus

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Weeks 1617: Weeks 1819:

Recommended secondary reading for suggested study syllabus

Weeks 1113: Weeks 1415:

Weeks 1617: Weeks 1819:

Study questions for all set texts

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Using this subject guide

General reading list

Otherwise, any of the following are fine:

Lyrics By far the best edition is:

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Langlands Piers Plowman

Malorys Morte Darthur

Towneley and Chester Noah plays

The Towneley Noah play is in:

The Chester Noah play is in:

Henrysons Moral Fables The best edition is:

Also good, if you can get them, are:

Historical, cultural and intellectual background

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Studies of texts and authors Chaucer

The Knights Tale Sources

Literature of the later Middle Ages

The Millers Tale and Reeves Tale

Troilus and Criseyde

Piers Plowman (B Text)

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Towneley and Chester Noah Plays

Henrysons Moral Fables

Henrysons Testament of Cresseid

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary

Section A: extracts for commentary

For critical discussion of the Knights Tale, see:

Section A of the examination

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary

Compare and contrast the styles of the following passages:

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Chapter 1: Section A: extracts for commentary

Sample examination question

A note on reading Chaucer

Suggestions for further study

Literature of the later Middle Ages

Chapter 2: Section B: study of texts: William Langlands Piers Plowman

Section B: study of texts: William Langlands Piers Plowman

Recommended secondary reading

Other useful texts are:

On dream poetry, see:

For estates satire, see: