Late middle ages
The late middle ages began with the 1066 invasion of the Norman French. After they conquered the Anglo-Saxons , their language mixed with Old English over several hundred years to become Middle English. he fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were difficult ones in European history. The demographic growth and prosperity that had characterized the High Middle Ages gave way to plague, famine, social upheaval, and rampant warfare. The crises altered the structure of European society. The signal event of the era was the Black Death, which struck Europe in 1347/1348, and returned periodically for much of the next hundred years. The contagion is believed to have originated in central Asia. It moved westward along the silk route and was pushed to the Black Sea by Mongol horsemen. Genoese traders encountered the disease at their colony of Caffa in the Crimea and transported it to western Europe, to the city of Messina in Sicily, in November 1347. It subsequently appeared in Pisa and Genoa, and then spread throughout the peninsula and the rest of Europe, traveling as far north as Iceland and moving back east through Islamic lands. It did not subside until the end of the fifteenth century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages
middle english cognates
Lines from "The Merchantes Tale" found in Chaucer's Middle English work The Canterbury Tales:
In love, which nis but childish vanitee.
And trewely it sit wel to be so, That bacheleres have often peyne and wo; On brotel ground they builde, and brotelnesse They finde, whan they wene sikernesse. They live but as a brid or as a beste, In libertee, and under non areste, Ther-as a wedded man in his estaat Liveth a lyf blisful and ordinaat, Under the yok of mariage y-bounde; Wel may his herte in Ioye and blisse habounde. For who can be so buxom as a wyf? Who is so trewe, and eek so ententyf To kepe him, syk and hool, as is his make? For wele or wo, she wol him nat forsake. She nis nat wery him to love and serve, Thogh that he lye bedrede til he sterve. |
My translation in Contemporary Modern English
In love, which is but childish vanity. And truly it sit well to be so, That bachelors have often effort and regret; On brittle ground they build, and fickleness they find, When they doubt safety. They live but as a bird or as a beast, In liberty, and under non arrest, There as a married man in his state Live a life blissful and ordinate, Under the yoke of marriage Well may his heart in love and blissed bounced. For who can be so humble as a wive? Who is so true, and also so intent To keep him, safe and healthy, as is his make? For good and well, she wool him in forsake She is not weary him to love and serve, Though that he lied bedridden till he starved. |
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Here is an analysis of the quest that can be found in Sir gawain and the green knight. |