1.Approximately when was Middle English spoken?
Between the late 11th century and about 1470
2.What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?By that time the variant of the Northumbrian dialect (prevalent in Northern England) spoken in southeast Scotland was developing into the Scots language. The language of England as used after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.
3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:
A. Pig = Pork
B. Cow = Beef
C. Wood = Forest
D. Sheep = Mutton
E. House = Mansion
F. Worthy = Honourable
G. Bold = Courageous
4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.
The grammar of Middle English is probably most similar to modern Dutch.
- In terms of Nouns, the strong -(e)s plural form has survived into Modern English. The weak -(e)n form is now rare in the standard language, used only in oxen, children and brethren; and it is slightly less rare in some dialects, used in eyen for eyes, shoon for shoes, hosen for hose(s) and kine for cows.
- In terms of Verbs, as a general rule, the first person singular of verbs in the present tense ends in -e ("ich here" - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st ("þou spekest" - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ ("he comeþ" - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think"). In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by adding an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from Old English: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs, by contrast, form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.
- In terms of Pronouns, the first and second person pronouns in Old English survived into Middle English largely unchanged, with only minor spelling variations. In the third person, the masculine singular became 'him'. The feminine form was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into 'she', but unsteadily—'ho' remained in some areas for a long time. The lack of a strong standard written form between the eleventh and the fifteenth century makes these changes hard to map. The overall trend was the gradual reduction in the number of different case endings: the dative case disappeared, but the three other cases were partly retained in personal pronouns, as in he, him, his.
5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
In earlier Middle English all written vowels were pronounced. For example:
'knight' was pronounced [kniçt], not [naɪt] as in Modern English.
6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?
Chancery Standard was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy from the late 15th century, and because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government needed a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need.
7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer
8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
The pilgrimage was a very prominent feature of medieval society. Pilgrims would frequently journey to cathedrals that preserved relics of saints. They believed that such relics had miraculous powers. Pilgrimages also represented the mortal journey to heaven through the struggles of mortal life.
9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
Canterbury was a popular destination within England. Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, had been killed in the Canterbury cathedral by knights who had misunderstood Henry II's order during a disagreement between him and Becket. Miracle stories connected to his remains began to spring up soon after his death, and the area became a popular pilgrimage destination. For that reason they wanted to find the holy blessed martyr.
10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.
11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?
12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:
a. A collection of German folk tales, similar to Grimm's Fairy Tales.
b. A collection of Japanese ghost stories, similar to Kwaidan.
c. A detailed explanation of the proper etiquette & behaviour for all knights in Medieval Europe.
d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.
e. None of the above.
f. All of the above.
13. Who is Sir Gawain?
Sir Gawain, the youngest of Arthur's knights and nephew to the king, accepts the Green knight’s challenge.
14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?
Green night asks for someone in the court to strike him once with his axe, on condition that the Green Knight will return the blow one year and one day later.
15. What is the similarity between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?
The earliest known story to feature a beheading game is the 8th-century Middle Irish tale Bricriu's Feast This story parallels Gawain in that, like the Green Knight, Cú Chulainn's antagonist feints three blows with the axe before letting his target depart without injury.
16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
The pentangle on Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection and power over evil.
17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem. For example, three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe.
18. What is the significance of Sir Gawain's neck wound?
During the medieval period, the body and the soul were believed to be so intimately connected that wounds were considered an outward sign of inward sin. The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart).
19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
The actor who played in the film was Sean Connery as the Green Knight.
20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.
Between the late 11th century and about 1470
2.What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?By that time the variant of the Northumbrian dialect (prevalent in Northern England) spoken in southeast Scotland was developing into the Scots language. The language of England as used after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.
3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:
A. Pig = Pork
B. Cow = Beef
C. Wood = Forest
D. Sheep = Mutton
E. House = Mansion
F. Worthy = Honourable
G. Bold = Courageous
4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.
The grammar of Middle English is probably most similar to modern Dutch.
- In terms of Nouns, the strong -(e)s plural form has survived into Modern English. The weak -(e)n form is now rare in the standard language, used only in oxen, children and brethren; and it is slightly less rare in some dialects, used in eyen for eyes, shoon for shoes, hosen for hose(s) and kine for cows.
- In terms of Verbs, as a general rule, the first person singular of verbs in the present tense ends in -e ("ich here" - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st ("þou spekest" - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ ("he comeþ" - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think"). In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by adding an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from Old English: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs, by contrast, form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.
- In terms of Pronouns, the first and second person pronouns in Old English survived into Middle English largely unchanged, with only minor spelling variations. In the third person, the masculine singular became 'him'. The feminine form was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into 'she', but unsteadily—'ho' remained in some areas for a long time. The lack of a strong standard written form between the eleventh and the fifteenth century makes these changes hard to map. The overall trend was the gradual reduction in the number of different case endings: the dative case disappeared, but the three other cases were partly retained in personal pronouns, as in he, him, his.
5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
In earlier Middle English all written vowels were pronounced. For example:
'knight' was pronounced [kniçt], not [naɪt] as in Modern English.
6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?
Chancery Standard was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy from the late 15th century, and because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government needed a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need.
7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer
8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
The pilgrimage was a very prominent feature of medieval society. Pilgrims would frequently journey to cathedrals that preserved relics of saints. They believed that such relics had miraculous powers. Pilgrimages also represented the mortal journey to heaven through the struggles of mortal life.
9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
Canterbury was a popular destination within England. Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, had been killed in the Canterbury cathedral by knights who had misunderstood Henry II's order during a disagreement between him and Becket. Miracle stories connected to his remains began to spring up soon after his death, and the area became a popular pilgrimage destination. For that reason they wanted to find the holy blessed martyr.
10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.
11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?
12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:
a. A collection of German folk tales, similar to Grimm's Fairy Tales.
b. A collection of Japanese ghost stories, similar to Kwaidan.
c. A detailed explanation of the proper etiquette & behaviour for all knights in Medieval Europe.
d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.
e. None of the above.
f. All of the above.
13. Who is Sir Gawain?
Sir Gawain, the youngest of Arthur's knights and nephew to the king, accepts the Green knight’s challenge.
14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?
Green night asks for someone in the court to strike him once with his axe, on condition that the Green Knight will return the blow one year and one day later.
15. What is the similarity between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?
The earliest known story to feature a beheading game is the 8th-century Middle Irish tale Bricriu's Feast This story parallels Gawain in that, like the Green Knight, Cú Chulainn's antagonist feints three blows with the axe before letting his target depart without injury.
16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
The pentangle on Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection and power over evil.
17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem. For example, three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe.
18. What is the significance of Sir Gawain's neck wound?
During the medieval period, the body and the soul were believed to be so intimately connected that wounds were considered an outward sign of inward sin. The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart).
19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
The actor who played in the film was Sean Connery as the Green Knight.
20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.
I think both are really similars, because they have everything; romances, fights, etc.
