1、Unit 2 The Saxon-Norman Period,(1066 - 1350),I. Background:,1. Norman Conquest:In the year 1066, at the battle of Hastings, the Normans headed by William, duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons and began the Saxon-Norman period.,2. The Consequence of Norman Conquest:The Norman Conquest brought
2、England more than a change of rulers.1) Politically,a feudalist system was established in England.,2) Religiously,the Rome-backed Catholic Church had a much stronger control over the country.,3) Culturally,A. Great change also took place in languages. After the conquest, three languages co-existed i
3、n England:,a. Old English was spoken only by the common English people;b. French became the official language;c. Latin was used in church affairs by the clergymen and by scholars in universities.,3) Culturally,B. The conquest opened up England to the whole European continent so that with the introdu
4、ction of the culture and literature of France, Italy and other European countries a fresh wave of Mediterranean civilization came into England.,4) Economically. England began to develop a steady trade relation with the European Continent.,II. The Literature:,1. The literature which Normans brought t
5、o England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon poetry.,2. English literature is a combination of French and Saxon elements because of the formation of new English language.3. Though the new literature w
6、as varied but had little worth or value.,4. There are many romances about Arthur - the king of England and chief of Knights of the Round Table in the legend, not a true king.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one among them.,King Arthur and the Round Table Knights,Romance,2. A long composition in ve
7、rse or prose, about knightsadventures or love stories,The literature for the upper class,The Features of Romance,1. It lacks general resemblance to truth or reality. 2. It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues. 3. It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ord
8、inary life. 4. It lays emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair lady. 5. The central character of the romance is the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. He is commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournaments, or fighting for his lord in battle.
9、He is devoted to the church and the king.,Subject matters: about the matter of Britain (King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table), the matter of France (Emperor Charlemegne and his peers), the matter of Rome (Alexander the great and so forth),4. King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table:
10、the most important romance of the period,III. Close reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :,The best Arthurian romance, anonymous, in alliterative verse Its characters : King Arthur, Sir Gawain, the Green Knight,Read the story in the textbook and then have a disc
11、ussion of its theme.,1. The theme of the poem:,a. the test of faithb. the human weakness for self-preservation,The romance gives the readers an engrossing well-told tale, vested in beautiful poetry and containing many artistic merits: a. careful interweaving of one episode with another.,2. The artis
12、tic merits:,b. the elements of suspense and surprise as the story unfolds itself.c. the psychological analysis of the chief character Sir Gawain as he encounters one strange event after another.,d. the elaborate descriptions of the seasons as well as the places and the things witnessed by the hero i
13、n the course of his adventurese. the simple, straightforward language employed.,a. supernatural and superstition in the poem show the limitation of the age.,3. Some shortcomings:,3. Some shortcomings:,b. the heroic adventures were carried out rather for adventures sake than any truly worthy course and falls short of a poem like “Beowulf” where the heroic deeds were performed to help his people out of distress.,
