Medieval Literature: Middle English Quiz

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1343 and died in 1400. He was a member of King Edward III's personal household by 1367 and travelled in several diplomatic missions to Spain, France, and Italy. He was a controller of customs on wool, sheepskin, and leather for London from 1374 to 1385, when he became justice of the peace and knight of the shire for the County Kent until 1386. From 1389 to 1391, he was clerk of the king's works, which meant he was responsible for the maintenance of several of Richard II's residences, parks, and other royal holdings. Chaucer's famous masterwork "The Canterbury Tales", referred to in the question, was influenced by the Italian writer Boccaccio's "Decameron", in which ten different narrators each tell a tale for ten days. Chaucer contributed more than anyone else of his time to the re-emergence of English as an important language for writing (most had written in French after the Norman conquest).

He also contributed to the popularity of rhyme and meter (particularly iambic pentameter) for poetry. Thus, he is often referred to as the "Father of English Poetry".

Other important works of his are "The Parliament of Fowls" and "Troilus and Criseyde".

Answer: Piers the Ploughman

William Langland who lived from ca. 1330 to 1387 is assumed to be the author of "Piers the Ploughman" (or "Piers Plowman"); however, almost nothing is known about this man. From evidence within the poem itself, scholars assume that he was a minor clerk whose career in the church was cut short because of his marriage.

The poem is a highly complex mixture of social and political commentary, Christian guidance for life, and multi-layered allegory. Moreover, the writer frequently makes rapid and unexplained transitions from one scene or topic to another.

Despite its difficulty, it became a highly important piece to the English. Many felt that the poem was attempting to incite rebellion against England's social order. However, Langland's intention does not appear to be a seditious one.

He seemed to believe that England's three estates--the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners--were failing to fulfill their Christian roles here on Earth, but he still supported the social structure wholeheartedly.

The poem satirizes people from all three estates, but it never suggests an alternative social system; instead, it admonishes human beings to live according to Christian teachings.

Answer: Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was early in his life associated with Osney Abbey or the Abbey of Monmouth in Wales. He may have also later been a teacher in an Oxford school. In 1152, he was consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph. While Geoffrey attempts to validate his "History of the Kings of Britain" with documented written records, archaeological evidence, and authoritative witnesses, it is apparent to scholars that much of Geoffrey's history is more of a fiction. Geoffrey's purpose in writing his "History of the Kings" seems to have been to offer an alternative to Bede's earlier "Ecclesiastical History of the English People", a history that presents Britain's origin as an Anglo-Saxon one with Christian conversion occurring during that time. Geoffrey's "History" presents a much earlier origin, one that lies among the Celts with an even earlier Christian conversion occurring around the time of the Roman occupation of the British isles. Through Geoffrey's praise of such individuals as Merlin and Arthur, Geoffrey gives the English a reason to take pride in the greatness of their country that extends to a time prior to the Anglo-Saxon invaders, a time when the British proved to the Romans they were a powerful people.

Answer: Dafydd ap Gwilym

Dafydd ap Gwilym lived from ca. 1325 to ca. 1380. He was born at Bro Gynin in Cardiganshire into a family of the Norman-Welsh aristocracy of Wales, a family whose ancestors had served an English king. Dafydd wrote for a sophisticated audience of poets and patrons, those who appreciated Welsh culture and literature.

His love poetry represents a possible influence of Welsh troubadours; however, much of his poetry also represents the Celtic love of nature. His poem "May and January" includes the following lines: "Green are the paths where April trod / Now May is here, and the woods are loud; / . . . / And evening skies are blue and clear, / And the trees ashimmer with gossamer, / And birds busy the woodland through, / And the boughs put on their leaves anew".

Answer: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

We do not know the name of the individual who wrote "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"; however, we do know that he must have been as talented a poet as Geoffrey Chaucer. "The Green Knight" is part of a larger manuscript that includes three other poems written by this individual: "Pearl", "Purity", and "Patience". All four are written in the same fashion and possess Christian themes and references.

The date of this manuscript is from around 1400. Sir Gawain is the knight referred to in the question, and the giant interloper is the Green Knight.

The Green Knight is usually interpreted as a Christ figure as he is "killed", he is "resurrected", he eventually teaches Gawain of his flaws, and then he bestows forgiveness upon Gawain. Sir Gawain has been guilty of deception, cowardice, faithlessness, and covetousness (of his own life); however, the Green Knight says in the end (according to J. R. R. Tolkien's translation), ". . . I hold thee purged of that debt, made as pure and as clean / as hadst thou done no ill deed since the day thou wert born". Ultimately, the Green Knight has entered Arthur's kingdom to expose Arthur and his knights to their pridefulness and self-love.

Answer: The Cuckoo Song

"The Cuckoo Song" or "Summer Is a Coming-in" is by far the most famous Middle English lyrical poem and song. It may have been written by a monk of Reading Abbey around 1240; however, some students of musical history have attempted to date the song much later, around 1310.

In several lines of the song or poem, the reader encounters the words "Sing, cuckoo!"; thus, we have the title "The Cuckoo Song". One of the more comical lines in the song is "bucke ferteth", or "the buck farts". For some reason, the approach of warm weather not only causes the lamb to bleat and the calf to low, but it apparently also gives male deer intestinal gas.

Answer: The Owl and the Nightingale

"The Owl and the Nightingale" is an early Middle English poem written long before Chaucer's time. Amazingly, it possesses a poetic artistry that would not be seen really until Chaucer and the author of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". Both the owl and the nightngale are representations of two different dominant views of the Christian life. Of course, the conflict is well represented by the facts that the nightingale is known for its beautiful song, eats by day, and nests on the ground and the owl does not have a song, hunts by night, and nests above the ground. One bird represents the Christian view that life should be enjoyed for the afterlife is an existence of utmost joy whereas the other bird represents the Christian view human beings should mourn because of their sinfulness to get ready for what may be in the life to come.

Interestingly, the debate goes on and on but is never resolved; neither bird achieves victory. The poem ends with the two of them agreeing, at the wren's suggestion, to seek out a man named Master Nicholas de Guildford, who is supposed to be a wise individual skilled at resolving such complex philosophical conundrums.

The poem becomes somewhat political at this point, for the birds express that they are puzzled that this Nicholas has not been recognized by the local bishops.

Answer: Everyman

"Everyman", or more properly "The Sumonyng of Everyman", presents the idea of God's keeping a written record of every individual's right and wrong deeds. Everyman, who represents all people who have lived and ever will live, has been summoned to appear before God and give an account of his life. Everyman puts together a "defense team", so to speak, whose members are allegorical representations of moral qualities (Knowledge, Confession, Beauty, Strength, Good Deeds, etc.). I won't spoil the ending; you may read it to see whether Everyman is rewarded or condemned by God.

The playwright is unknown, and no production records exist; however, the play was performed often for nearly one hundred years after its composition. That's a decent run.

Answer: Thomas Malory

The exact identity of of Sir Thomas Malory remains hidden to us. Thomas Malory of Papworth was known to have connections with a rich collection of books on Arthurian legend. However, Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell had criminal and prison records; this is significant because the author of "Le Morte D'Arthur" wrote in his original text that he was "a knyght presoner, sir Thomas Malleorre". During the War of the Roses, fought off-and-on between 1455 and 1485, the two Plantagenet Houses--the Yorks and the Lancasters--battled for the throne of England.

Not only had this war led to great divisiveness within the country, but it brought to the forefront the loss of chivalric and noble behavior among the English aristocracy; both catastrophes were lamented by Malory.

In the ending pages of "Le Morte D'Arthur", Arthur lies dying from a mortal wound received from his traitorous son Mordred. As he considers the loss of his own life, coupled with the destruction of his kingdom Camelot and all that it had stood for, he remarks to his lone surviving knight, Sir Bedivere: "Comfort thyself . . . and do as well as thou mayest, for in me is no trust for to trust in". Malory seems to have lost hope in mankind's ability to establish law and goodness upon this earth, for no trust can be placed in mankind or anything that they attempt to accomplish. Malory of Newbold Revell most likely was a political prisoner, someone thrown into prison on trumped-up charges because he supported the "wrong" side during the war.

Answer: The Miller's Tale

The Miller, who is an obnoxious, crude, and unethical individual, has gotten drunk on the way to Canterbury and interrupts the story-telling order to insist that he be allowed to tell his tale out of turn after everyone has raved about the Knight's excellent tale.

The Knight has told of a love triangle, and the Miller believes he can tell a better story than the Knight. After some resistance from his fellow travellers, he is allowed to narrate his story, and he commences to tell a fabliau, a short bawdy and comical tale usually involving common characters (as opposed to noble ones).

Interestingly, Geoffrey Chaucer seemed to have been troubled by his decision to include such tales as the Miller's. Both the "General Prologue" and the "Prologue to the Miller's Tale" include the narrator's plea that readers forgive such tales as the narrator is only trying to be honest and tell exactly what each traveller told.

Then, Chaucer included his famous "Retraction" toward the end of his life to ask readers to forgive him once again, even claiming that he never intentionally meant to write anything un-Christian.