Anglo Saxon Period

As we have previously studied in the past lesson, English literature began with the oral tradition of stories and epic poems passed on from generation to generation beginning with the Germanic tribes that occupied England around 450A.D. in what is known as the Anglo-Saxon Period. But, just as English was rising to it’s creation’s peak, England was taken over by Norman the Conqueror, whose original purpose was to govern England, thus commencing a new era in English history known was The Middle Ages. In this new era, important events such as the Crusades, the rise of the knights, the feudal system, the role of women in society, the rise of romance, among many others which will be shortly mentioned and analyzed throughout this work.

The Middle Ages begin in the year 1066, as Norman the Conqueror takes over England after finding out the previous king had died, and claims that he had promised him the throne. His desire to keep the Anglo-Saxon society alive is the result for which England is not a French speaking nation, but yet a mixed culture. Under the Norman rule, England had it’s first taxes based on what people owned through an inventory list that was made. He also implanted a new style of social system known as feudalism which serves as a caste system, a property system and military system. From here, is that the idea that a king receives his power through “divine right” begins to exist.

It is impossible to look over this important era in England’s history and not speak about the knights; as we know, many men, from the lower class of serfs, were forced to military service to their lords. Training begun at a very young age, and once completed, he would be honored with the title of “sir.” Knights would eventually become one of the most important symbols for this era. Quite contrary to men, women had no political rights and was expected to serve her husband, brother or father. However, their power remained little, as many were simply in charge of child care and house bearings, while upper class women often managed estates while their husbands were gone.

One of the most important characteristics that belongs to this era and which plays an important part in literature from this time, is the surge of what is known was chivalry and courtly love. The idea was based on the behavior of knights and the women; including such values like loyalty, the adoration of a lady who was not necessarily the knights’ wife, and it was seen as something admirable when a knight would wear his lady’s color to battle. This ideal became one of the important vehicles that allowed poets of this era to flourish. An ideal that is ironic, however, is how this new view on love created an idealized attitude towards women, however, their treatment remained the same as it had been previously. As poets became inspired by the era’s new ideals, a new genre of literature rose, the romance.

Socially, there were very important events and modifications going on. The first of them, being the creation of city classes into lower, middle and upper, as the population grew and couldn’t be entirely put under the feudal system. Many people became interested in art when they could afford it, and art somewhat lost the exclusivity that it had to upper classes; also, free people of the lower classes expressed themselves through ballads in which they expressed the liberty that they had, not having to remain tied to the land nor chivalry. A very important event that occurs in this era is the Crusades around 1095-1270. The Crusades were a series of holy wars on behalf of European Christians against Muslims, who were believed to be occupying holy Christian lands. Although this had a great impact in the murder of many Muslims, considering that the Christians were not victorious in their war, it also permitted the two societies to blend and mix, even more than had already happened between

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