Medieval Period (1100-1500)

The Medieval period sometimes called the Middle Ages, the term is used to indicate its position
between the classical and modern world.

Literary works were dominated by works using French in the Middle Ages. In those days,
indigenous people who wanted to enjoy literary works only relied on Scops who still kept their
heroic or epic stories in their minds and then told them back. At that time, literary works became
an oral form and indigenous people who wanted to enjoy them would gather in one big room
together.

The famous writer of the time was Geoffrey Chaucer with the masterpiece "The Canterbury
Tales". Chaucer was a great writer in the middle ages who got a good education and had
closeness with people in power in his era. His great work "The Canterbury Tale" in Samekto,
History of English Literature, tells the story of various types of societies that existed at that time
which were told humorously but realistically. Some well-known poets of this time still tell
heroism in his work, such as Sir Thomas Mallory in "King Arthur and His Knights" and also the
first story printed in book form in England by William Caxton.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LITERATURE, AUTHORS, AND ENGLISH LITERATURE

WORKS OF MEDIEVAL PERIOD

The French culture greatly influences the development of literature and English. Early medieval
English literature was also called Anglo-Norman literature, and began when William the
Conqueror conquered England in 1066.

French has become the language of the upper classes and also the official language in the
government. The famous type of literature is "romance". The characteristics of French and
Anglo-Norman literature include a variety of poems, bright and simple language expressions,
always bright nuances. The characteristics of France above can be seen in medieval English
works, especially the works of Geofrey Chaucer. Late medieval literature can be said to belong
to Chaucer or called the Age of Chaucer. Medieval English Literature works can be divided into
3 types, namely poetry, prose, and drama.

 Poetry
Medieval-period poetry works consist mainly of metrical romances, or romantic stories
written in the form of poems about French heroes (Roland), Kelt Heroes (Arthur), and
British Heroes (Bevis o Hampton). Metrical Romance is a long narrative poem about love
and adventure. The main character (hero) is usually a knight who saves women who have
difficulty. In his adventures, the knight fought a giant, a dragon, a sorcerer, and others.
The enemies that must be conquered can also be rulers of the Church or State.
Metrical Romance is divided into three types based on the material or the subject matter:
 o French material includes stories about Charlemagne and his knights (Paladins),
such as "the Chanson de Roland".
o English material includes stories of the legends of "King Arthur", and "the
Knights of the Round Table", and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
o Roman material includes stories about the East, such as Alexander the Great, the
siege of Troy, and Floris and the Blanche Fleur.

Metrical Romance which tells the story of the adventures of kings, knights, and beautiful
women only served for the upper class (nobility). But there are also storytellers of stories
of travel (minstrel), which make ballads for the lower classes. Ballads are a simple type
of narrative poem in the form of short stanzas consisting of two or four lines. There are
two types of ballads: first, popular of folk ballads, whose authors and origins are
unknown, and are spread orally from generation to generation; second, literary ballads
written by famous writers such as Keats, Tennyson (19th century). The most famous
English ballad is Robin Hood. Ballads illustrate the feelings and thoughts, life, and
suffering of small people. The common characteristics of ballads are speed and
compaction, the movement of fast-moving scenes, and visual details are very prominent.

 Prose
One example of mid-term English prose is John Wycliffe. He was a professor at the
University of Oxford and a prominent figure in the church. In the field of literature,
Wycliff was known as a translator of scripture. His translated works were distributed
throughout the United Kingdom and were instrumental in forming standard English to
replace various dialects. Another prose is the Historia Regum Britanniae by Geofrey
Monmouth (1100 - 1154) a book that contains the history of the kings of England. He
was the one who created King Arthur as a romantic hero. Norman-French writers
consider Geofrey's work an authentic historical document, and use it as a basis for stories
about King Arthur and his knights.

 Drama
The original drama grew within the church as a medium for the clergy to explain their
sermons. Because sermons in the form of performances are given in Latin that are not
understood by most people, the sermons are gradually replaced with English. Drama has
taken from the scriptures. For example, on Christmas Day, the play of Christ is shown,
while on Easter Day the story of the crucifixion and revival of Christ is presented. In the
Middle Ages (13th century) there were two kinds of drama, namely Miracles which
performed the lives of people - saints, and Mysteries who took themes from the
Scriptures.