‘ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD’ OR ‘MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD’

HI FOLKS! Welcome to the section ‘HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE’ and the topic for today is ‘Middle English period’ or ‘Anglo-Norman period’.

MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD STARTS WITH THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND IN 1066 A.D.  NORMANS WERE  A CIVILIZATION OF FRANCE.

France was the literary and educational centre of all Europe. A French literary ideal was brought into England by Normans which started subsiding the native language spoken by down trodden and common people. Soon, there was merging of Saxon language and French language

There was a Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. under the leadership of
William,  Duke of Normandy ( a part of Northern France).

With this battle,  Anglo- Normans became the medieval ruling class in
England consisting of combination of ethnic Anglo Saxons, Normans and French.

Consequently,  Anglo- French  became language of educated
people/  upper class.

Common people used to speak Anglo-Saxon or old English language.

Latin and French were popular languages.

French was the language of nobility, the court and the seats of learning
while in the Monastery and the Church, Latin ruled the roost.

ROMANCE IN ANGLO-NORMAN LITERATURE ——-

Anglo-Norman period also showed glimpses of romance in its literature. In the 12th century, Thomas wrote a courtly version of the Tristan story. It was later on found in scattered fragments and was used by Gottfried Von Strassburg in Tristan and Isolde. It was the source of many language version of story like the Old Norse, Italian and Middle English.

BILINGUAL LITERATURE— Literature of this period was a mixture of Old English and Norman French , resulting in a bilingual literary tradition. The Norman aristocracy used French for administration and literature . It was highly influenced by the Germanic language of the Normans. The language was used basically by the ruling class, the nobility and the clergy, while the common people continued to speak Old English. This led to the fusion of Norman and Old English literary traditions.

CHIVALRIC ROMANCE– Many Anglo- Norman texts were tales of romance, courtly love and stories of chivalry, knights and adventures .In the 12th century, Thomas wrote a courtly version of the TRISTAN story, which  was used by Gottfried Von Strassburg in Tristan und Isolde. It was the source of the Old Norse, Italian, and Middle English versions of the story.  “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is another example of Chivalric Romance of this age. Some of the examples of Chivalric Romance  include “King Horn”, “Havelok the Dane”, “Lay le Freine”,  “The History of William Marshal” etc.

RELIGIOUS WORKS– There were religious as wells as historical works created in Anglo-Norman age for example- Lives of saints, chronicles, theological treatises.

CULTURAL INFLUENCES — On the whole, Anglo-Norman literature played a significant role in shaping the culture and literature of England . It also influenced the development of Middle English literature.

TRANSITION TO MIDDLE ENGLISH —    Anglo -Norman literature in the due course of time led to the development of many novels in the Middle English period like  Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”.

DIDACTIC LITERATURE– It is one of the most important branch of Anglo- Norman literature. Many literary works created in this period aimed at sermonising, preaching and giving religious thoughts to the men and women of this era so that they follow a good, pious and noble life. Philip De Thaun was an important and first Anglo-Norman poet. He has written Poem on the calendar in 1119 c.

LYRIC POETRY — One of the finest poetries written in Anglo-Norman period written in the end of the 13th century is “Plainte d’amour”. There are various other lyric poetries basically written in two languages- French and English or may be three languages– French, Latin and English. In Early English Lyrics there is a poem in which lover sends a poem to his mistress composed in three languages. 

SATIRE — ‘Roman de Renart’ and ‘Riote de Monde’ are two very popular Anglo-Norman satire of its times. The clergy and women were the two most common targets for satire. Some pieces of political satire has also been found.

HISTORICAL WORKS – There are other works of major importance that constitute the Anglo-Norman historiography. The first Anglo-Norman historiographer, Geoffrey Gaimer wrote his ‘Estoire des Engleis’ (A chronicle of English History). It is one of the oldest known History written in French language. ‘The History of the Duke of Normandy’ by Benoit de Sainte-More was another example of History. It was composed at the request of Henry II. ‘The History of William the Marshal’ , Count of Striguil and Pembroke is a historical work of great value. It was composed in 1225 or 1226 at the request of William, son of the Marshal.