Introduction toIntroduction toEuro-American LiteratureEuro-American Literature

Lecture 2

European Literature of Middle Ages

Tian Xiangbin

Medieval European LiteratureMedieval European LiteratureI. Historical BackgroundI. Historical Background

Middle Ages (5th – 15th Century), AD 500 to the beginning of the Florentine Renaissance in the late 15th century.

● “Dark Ages” by early Renaissance historians ●The Catholic Church as the major unifying

cultural influence with a centralized administration through its network of bishops.

●Urbanization of northern and western Europe ●The rise of monasticism ●Courtly love

II. Outline of European Literature of the II. Outline of European Literature of the Middle AgesMiddle Ages

1. Religious literature Bible --The Hebrew Bible

--The Christian Bible: Christian Bibles include the books of the Hebrew Bible, but arranged in a different order: Old Testament, New Testament

The Old Testament: 39 books of Hebrew Scripture. The New Testament: 27 books

2. Romance ( 传奇文学，骑士文学 ) Romance was a long composition, sometimes in

verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances was the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. He was commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures, or fighting for his lord in battle. He was devoted to the church and the king. The famous romance is " Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the fest.

3. Heroic Epic Beowulf (750 A.D.) (England)The Song of Roland (1095 A.D France )The Song of the Cid (1140 A.D. Spain)Nibelungenlied (1200 A.D. German)The Tale of Igor's Campaign (Russia)

The Song of Roland (1095 A.D.)It is said that French literaturebegins with the Song of Roland. The story was developed from a historical incident in the career of Charles the Great ( 查理大帝 ).

The Song of the Cid (1140 A.D.)It is also known in English as The Poem of

the Cid is the oldest preserved Castilian( 卡斯提尔人；位于西班牙的古代王国 ) epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the Castilian hero El Cid, and takes place during the reconquest of Spain from the Moors.

(The Cid's daughters after being beaten and tied up)

Nibelungenlied (1200) The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, 勃艮第人 how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge.

←Departure

Siegfried's Death→

The Tale of Igor's Campaign is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The poem gives an account of a failed raid of Igor Svyatoslavich (d. 1202) against the Polovtsians of the Don River region.

4. Popular Ballads The Gest of Robin HoodGet Up and Bar the Door

5. Great Poets and Novelist of Middle AgesDante Alighieri: The Divine ComedyGiovanni Boccaccio: The DecameronGeoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales

III.III. Masterpieces in the Middle Ages Masterpieces in the Middle Ages

Dante Alighieri: The Divine ComedyGiovanni Boccaccio: The DecameronGeoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury TalesEnglish Ballads: Get up and Bar the Door

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EUROPEAN LITERATURE

Medieval Europe

Vatican

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EUROPEAN LITERATURE

Medieval Europe

Medieval Italy

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) ['dænti]Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) ['dænti]

His fame In Italian literature he is known as “the Supreme Poet”. “Father of the Italian language”. Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio are also known as “the three fountains” or “the three crowns”. The Devine Comedy is often considered the greatest

literary work composed in the Italian language.

DanteDante

His life Born in a prominent family in Florence, Italy, probably in 1265. When Dante was 12 he was promised in marriage to Gemma, while he had already fallen in love with Beatrice (first met

when he was 8). Not much is known about Dante’s education, it is

presumed he studied at home.

DanteDanteHis life He was active in the politics and was involved in the

Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. Dante was condemned to exile for two years by his political enemies in1302; soon later his banishment was made perpetual. He died in 1321 on a diplomatic journey and was buried in Ravenna.

BackgroundBackground

Guelph-Ghibelline conflict The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions

supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy.

Dante’s family was prominent in Florence, with loyalties to the Guelphs.

After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs divided into two factions: the White Guelphs

(Dante’s party) and the Black Guelphs. The Blacks supporting the Pope and the Whites wanting more freedom from Rome.

In 1301 the Black Guelph came into power, Dante was condemned to exile for two years, and ordered to pay a large fine.

The Divine ComedyThe Divine Comedy– Originally known as “the Comedy”, later added

“Divine” by Giovanni Boccaccio.– Over 14,000 lines, three parts (canticas):

Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise).

– each part consists of 33 cantos. An initial canto serves as an introduction to the poem; the total number of cantos is 100.

– The verse scheme is terza rima (3 lines of 11 syllables as one stanza, or “terset”), with the rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ...

Dante: Dante: The Divine ComedyThe Divine Comedy

– Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita– mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,– ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Midway on our life's journey, I found myself In dark woods, the right road lost. To tell About those woods is hard—so tangled and rough

– Robert Pinksy translation

Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

– H. W. Longfellow translation

Introduction Written in the first person, it tells of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting during the Easter Triduum in the spring of 1300.

The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice guides him through Heaven.

Written in Tuscan dialect of Italian and helped establish the Tuscan dialect as the standard Italian.

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EUROPEAN LITERATURE

The Divine Comedy

Structure Introduction

• 3 beasts, unable to find the way to the mountain with the sun, Virgil and Beatrice

Inferno (Hell)• 9 circles

Purgatorio (Purgatory)

• 7 terraces Paradiso (Paradise)

• 9 spheres

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EUROPEAN LITERATURE

The Divine Comedy

Dante with 3 beasts (a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf)

Dante gazes at Mount Purgatory

Infeno

Dante and Beatrice speak to Piccarda and Constance of Sicily, in Paradis

Literary influence in the English-speaking worldLiterary influence in the English-speaking world The work was recognized as a masterpiece in the

first centuries following its publication. The work was largely ignored during the English

Enlightenment. It was “rediscovered” by William Blake and the

romantic writers of the 19th century. Later authors such as T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound,

Samuel Beckett, and James Joyce have drawn on it for inspiration.

The poet Longfellow was its first American translator.

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EUROPEAN LITERATURE

For further study

Online resources Italian with English translation and audio:

• http://www.csupomona.edu/~jelerma/dante/index.html Italian with English translation:

• http://www.worldofdante.org/inferno1.html

22.Giovanni Boccaccio.Giovanni Boccaccio（（ 1313-13751313-1375 ））乔万尼乔万尼 ··薄迦丘薄迦丘

The Decameron Form ： Novel Author: Boccaccio Type: Frame stories Time: 14th century Place: in Florence in Italy Setting: Plague Main Characters: 7 young ladies and 3 young gentlemen

His life Almost certainly an illegitimate, the son of a

Florentine merchant. Probably born in Paris, grew up in Florence. Studied law and banking. Black Death attacked Florence in 1348. Began work on the Decameron around 1349. final years troubled by illnesses

The DecameronThe Decameron The title is a combination of two Greek words meaning

“ten” (déka) and “day” (hēméra). structured in a frame narrative It begins with a description of the Black Death and

leads a group of 7 women and 3 men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the countryside for two weeks. 100 stories are told at the end of ten days.

known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic.

Many writers such as Chaucer are said to have drawn inspiration from this work.

BackgroundBackground

Black Death (Plague) thought to have begun in Central Asia or India and

spread to Europe (1348-1350). 25-50 million people were killed in Europe 30%

to 60% of Europe’s population. returned to Europe every generation with varying

virulence and mortalities until the 1700s.

Boccaccio reading from the Decameron to Queen Johanna of Naples

QuestionsQuestions

1. What is the cause of the plague?2. Hong long could a person live when

infected?3. What did people do to protect

themselves?4. Did Boccaccio witnessed the terrible

situation in Florance?5. Who did survive the plague?

For further studyFor further study

Online resourceshttp://petrarch.petersadlon.com/

petrarch.htmlwww.ProJet-cn.com/yangBinphon.blogbus.com

Match the following1) ( ) Poetry a. The Decameron2) ( ) Drama b. The Divine Comedy3) ( ) Novel c. Poetics4) ( ) Essay d. Oedipus the King