Middle English

FROM NORMAN CONQUEST TILL RENAISSANCE

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES DURING THE PERIOD
1066 Normans called Northmen crossed the channel from France and won the Battle of Hastings and Took over
England
Bilingualism spread due to Norman French language and English as a common spoken language
1204 After the loss of French lands by King John, the Noble men were forced to choose one language which was
English
Lay literacy developed at this moment
London established its own dialect and stood as the capital of England with the contribution of University
cities –Oxford ,Cambridge and Midlands (from North)
1415 French was rejected in 1415 due to King Henry v ‘s order of English domination and recognition as their
country’s language
Courtly love and romanticism slowly integrated by French influence into England until then war poetry pics
and biblical referenced literature was only known
Troubadours who are singers came from South East France brought with them courtly love theme mostly on
a religious note
Courtly love and romanticism in literature got its own demand along with war and religious literature
The whole romance tradition that got combined to the native English literature encouraged songs and
ballads based on respective traditions locally
The songs themed of seasons, bible became famous
1250 Summer is i-cumin-in is one such first songs
13th century Oxford and Cambridge became not only learning centres but also linguistic authority centres
Revival of Alliteration in verse dated back to Anglo Saxon again came into lime lite but with improved tone
and form called Alliterative revival ,hence the period can also be termed as Alliterative revival period
Latin (The language of church), French ( The language of conquerors) dominated English (The language of
Native)
Many words were imported from Latin but major contribution was by French
 Old English was common and core to the language, Latin was more of books and formal, French was more
of Literary used .
After Norman conquest, The language was Northern French, after a century it was Parisian French

LITERATURE DURING MIDDLE PERIOD

Old English poems The wife’s lament and wulf and Eadwacer (Exeter book) (Love poems)
(9th century)
Early 10th century Hrostvitha-Ancrene Rewle
Early middle period La Roman de La rose ( the imported text from French Romance)
Middle English period Some poems on spring and summer
Middle English period Ballads like Lord Randal or Wife of Usher’s well
12th century Love poems on religious note like Virgin Mary, The owl and The nightingale, King Horn
Late 12th century Marie De France----twelve Lais

Eearly 13th century Layamon wrote Brut, the first national epic in English
Early 13th century Robert Mannyng-Handling Synne, ,Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, patience, pearl and Cleanness
13th century Christian Di pisan- Book of City of Ladies ,Lamentations of Mathelous , Margery Kempe –The book of
Margery Kempe
late 13th century Winner and waster ,Sir orfeo, John Mandeville –Travel guide
14th Century John Gower ‘s Confession Amantis (name Latin, text English), William Langland ‘s Peirs Plovwan
1478 Anthony Woodville a lady translated Christian pisan ‘s book - MORAL PROVERBS OF CHRISTINE

WIFE’S LAMENT-AN ELEGY

Written in the first person, the titular wife begins by saying that her words come from a "deep sadness", which is a result of her exile.
She has never experienced hardship like this before. She is tortured by her isolation. She explains that her misery began when her lord
left their family and sailed away, leaving her behind. She was consumed with anxiety about his whereabouts. Taking action, she decided
to undertake a quest to find him, setting out as a lonely and "friendless wanderer." However, her lord's kinsmen did not want the couple
to be reunited and devised plans to keep them on opposite sides of the "wide world." The continued separation left the wife heartbroken
and longing for her husband. She resents the fact that young women are supposed to be serious and courageous, hiding their heartaches
behind a smiling face.
She finishes her lament by invoking her husband again. She does not know if he has conquered his fate, or if he is exiled in another land,
sitting beneath cliffs before the stormy sea, cold in body and weary in mind. The Wife knows that her husband is also filled with anguish
and constantly reminded of the happy home he has lost. She muses that grief is always present for those who are separated from a loved
one.

ANCRENE REWLE
Ancrene Riwle (also known as Ancrene Wisse) is a "manual for anchoresses", explaining the different aspects of religious rule and
devotional conduct.

LE ROMAN DE LA ROSE-ALLGORIC DREAM VISION-COURTLY LOVE

In the first part of the poem, written by de Lorris, the Lover recounts his dream, ending with the winning of a kiss from the Lady. In the
dream, the Lover discovers a walled garden and gains entrance thanks to a beautiful young woman. He meets Diversion and dancers
who represent courtly values such as Beauty and Generosity. A tour of the garden brings him to a beautiful bed of roses by the Fountain
of Love. Pierced by the arrows of the god of love, he sets out to pluck the rosebud that has overwhelmed his senses. Love explains to the
Lover how he ought to conduct himself, and the conflicting emotions he will feel. With help from Warm Welcome, the Lover makes his
way through the thicket of thorns and confronts Danger and his allies, Slander, Fear and others. Aided by Friend, Honesty, Pity and
Venus, he succeeds in overcoming Chastity and obtaining his desire.
His bliss is short-lived, as the forces of resistance oppose him in the second part of the poem, written by de Meun. The Lover sets out on
a renewed quest to conquer the heart of his love, whom Jealousy has imprisoned along with Warm Welcome. The long and arduous
battle is interspersed with didactic lectures by such figures as Reason. False Appearance and Forced Abstinence trick and strangle
Slander, thus entering the wall and freeing Courtesy and Generosity. The four confront the old woman guarding Warm Welcome, who
advises on table manners and dress for young women and recommends that they not be faithful to only one man, as men are by nature
untrustworthy. The Lover gains admittance to see Warm Welcome, but is confronted with Danger, Shame and Fear who imprison
Welcome ever more securely. Before those forces can conquer the Lover, he calls his army to assail the castle with the help of Venus
(carnal love). Venus sets the castle on fire, causing Danger, Jealousy and her companions to flee. The battle over, the Lover is able to
complete his pilgrimage and at last pluck the rosebud.

LORD RANDALL-BALLAD
Oh where ha'e ye been, Lord Randall my son?
O where ha'e ye been, my handsome young man?"
"I ha'e been to the wild wood: mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."
Lord Randal" tells the story of a young man who has been poisoned by his sweetheart. When he comes home one evening, his mother
asks him where he has been. He tells her he has been hunting in the wood and wants to lie down. His mother continues to question
him, and he reveals that he had a dinner of boiled eels with his sweetheart. He says that his bloodhounds, who probably ate the scraps,
swelled and died, prompting his mother to guess that he has been poisoned. The poem ends with Lord Randal sick at heart and in
body.

ROBERT MANNYNG- HANDLYNG SYNNE

Mannyng deals in turn with the Ten Commandments, the seven deadly sins and the sin of sacrilege, the seven sacraments, the 12
requisites of confession, and the 12 graces of confession. There is much direct instruction, exhortation, and didactic comment; each of
the topics is illustrated by one or more tales.

WIFE OF USHER’S WELL-TRADITIONAL BALLAD

The very beginning of the poem introduces us with a woman living at Usher’s Well. She was wealthy and gifted with three strong and
robust sons. She sends them overseas, though we don’t know why. But we can guess that she does so with the intention of providing
them with education. She cannot help putting up with the emotional suffering sprouting from detachment from her sons. After a week
or several weeks, she is informed that her sons have succumbed to death. The cause of their decease is not clearly hinted at; yet it is
possible to conjecture that they get drowned in the sea. She starts lamenting over their death from the instant she learns about the
incidence. She wants them back anyhow. She accuses the sea and the wind of being the murderer of her sons. On November the eleventh,
she, by means of her magic spell, succeeded in getting her sons back. But alas! They came not in flesh and blood but as a ghost. They
came wearing hats made of birch which grow at the gate of paradise. It is supposed that hats made of birch tree protect the dead from
the living man.
She was overjoyed at their arrival and ordered her maids to arrange a feast to celebrate the return of her sons. Being dead, they cannot
eat anything. She prepared bed for them to sleep but she sat down beside the bed. The wife doesn’t want to sleep but unfortunately she
falls asleep. But they can’t because they are lifeless. At dawn, on hearing the crowing of a cock, the eldest of the sons tells the youngest
that they must leave at once. But the youngest one insisted that they stay a little while because the cock crew only once. Again the eldest
son said that they will lose the place in heaven if they are not back in time. In addition, they will be inflicted punishment. They felt
empathy for their mother at the thought that she will be subject to frenzy upon waking in the morning. But they are under an obligation
to go back. They bid farewell to their mother who is still asleep. Since they are brought up in this cottage (byre), they sense emotional
attachment to it. But it is the quirk of fate that they have to bid adieu to the house

THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE debate poem (debate is often Latin genre)
The Owl and the Nightingale is a debate poem of 1794 lines in octosyllabic couplets, probably written between 1186 and 1216 by an
unknown author. It has come down to us in two different manuscripts of the second half of the 13th century.

The narrator overhears a quarrel between a serious owl and a gay nightingale during a summer night. When the owl is about to lose her
temper and physically threatens her opponent, both birds decide on a verbal contest to be judged by a certain Nicholas of Guildford
living in Portesham, Dorset, whom some modern critics believe to be the author of the poem.

The debate follows the rules of the scholastic disputations, as they were held in the law schools and universities. Both contestants use
every device of medieval rhetoric to prove that they are of the highest use to mankind. During the debate they touch upon nearly every
topic of contemporary interest: fore-knowledge, music, confession, papal missions, ethics and morals, happy marriage and adultery, and
so on. In the end the birds set out to meet the judge whose verdict remains concealed

KING HORN-chivalric romance

King Murry of Sudene is killed by Saracens, who take over his lands and suppress Christianity. His wife Godhild escapes to live as an
anchoress, but their son, Horn, is captured. Unwilling to kill the beautiful youth but fearing his vengeance, the Saracens cast Horn and
twelve companions adrift in a rudderless boat. They row to Westernesse, where King Ailmar welcomes them into his court and his
daughter Rimenhild falls madly in love with Horn. When the youth rejects her proposal, she and the King’s steward, Athelbrus, arrange
for Horn and his companions to be knighted. She gives him a magic ring and, determined to prove his prowess before their marriage,
he defeats a ship full of Saracens.
The next day, Horn finds Rimenhild weeping over a dream in which she has captured and lost a fish: he comforts her, but predicts
unhappiness. Fickenhild, one of Horn’s companions, maliciously tells Almair that Horn has seduced his daughter and is planning to
kill him. The King banishes Horn, who entrusts Rimenhild to his favourite companion Athulf, and asks her to wait seven years before
taking another husband. He then sails to Ireland, where he serves in King Thurston’s court under a false name. When a Saracen giant
challenges Thurston, Horn undertakes the fight and slays his enemy, who reveals that he also killed King Murry. Thurston’s men defeat
the other Saracens, and when his two sons die in battle he offers Horn his kingdom and his daughter Reynild. The knight gives an
ambiguous answer but promises to remain for seven years.
He does not contact Rimenhild, whose father has promised her to King Mody of Reynes. She sends out a messenger, who gives Horn the
news but drowns before he can return to his mistress. Horn explains his situation to Thurston and sails to Westernesse with an Irish
army, arriving on Rimenhild’s wedding day. He exchanges clothes with a pilgrim and attends the feast, where he makes puns about
Rimenhild’s drinking horn, references her dream, and drops his ring into her drink. Finally, after testing her loyalty by claiming that
her lover is dead, Horn reveals his identity and his army slay the wedding guests. He marries Rimenhild, but vows not to sleep with her
until he is king of Sudene. He departs with Athulf and the Irish army and, with the help of a Christian knight, they regain his patrimony,
reinstate Christianity and rescue his mother.
Meanwhile Fickenhild builds himself a stronghold and begins to woo Rimenhild. When Horn dreams that his companion is about to
drown his wife, he returns, and arrives as they are about to be married. He attends the wedding disguised as a harper and when
Rimenhild weeps he slays Fickenhild and his men. Horn makes Athulf’s cousin king of Westernesse and gives Athelbrus Mody’s
kingdom. He marries Athulf to Reynild and makes him king of Ireland, before returning to Sudene to rule with his queen

JOHN GOWER-CONFESSIO AMANTIS

Confessio amantis, late 14th-century poem by John Gower. The Confessio (begun about 1386) runs to some 33,000 lines in octosyllabic
couplets and takes the form of a collection of exemplary tales of love placed within the framework of a lover’s confession to a priest of
Venus. The priest, Genius, instructs the poet, Amans, in the art of both courtly and Christian love. The stories are chiefly adapted from
classical and medieval sources and are told with a tenderness and the restrained narrative art that constitute Gower’s main appeal today.
Many classical myths (especially those deriving from Ovid’s Metamorphoses) make the first of their numerous appearances in English
 LAYAMON’S BRUT-Layamon is the first voice in Middle English
Layamon's Brut is one of the first major texts written in a Middle English dialect. From the scarce information that the author of the
Brut supplies we know that he was a priest at Areley by the bank of the River Severn close to Redstone, which would indicate a south-
west Midland dialect. He probably lived around 1200 and seemed to have been a learned clerk. The text survives in two British Library
manuscripts. The dating to an exact year is not possible but it is generally agreed that it was composed in the first quarter of the
thirteenth century, largely because of the mentioning of Queen Eleanor who died in 1204 and Layamon referring to her in the past tense.
The Brut is based on the Roman de Brut (1155) by the Norman Wace who relied heavily on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum
Britanniae (1138). The general contents of all three works is the same; a detailed account of the history of the Britons. This history begins
with the fall of Troy and proceeds with the story of Brutus a descendant of Aeneas who journeys with other Trojans through the
Mediterranean Sea until they finally reach the Isle of Avalon, inhabited by giants. These foes are killed and the isle renamed Britain after
the founding father Brutus. What follows is an account of all British kings including such well known rulers as King Lear, Cymbeline
and King Arthur. The Arthurian passage is the major part of the poem, with some 8.000 lines it makes up to half of the Brut. The major
topic of Arthur's reign are his campaigns in which he succeeds to conquer the greater part of North-Western Europe. The most important
campaign is against the Roman Emperor Lucius, who is defeated but the treachery of Mordred ends the British conquest and ultimately
leads to the end of the Arthurian society with King Arthur being mortally wounded and brought to Avalon to return in times of great
peril. The history ends with the last British King Cadwallader (AD 689).

MARIE DE FRANCE -LAIS

The "Lais of Marie de France" is a collection of twelve narrative poems (in a specific form called a 'lay') that were written at some point
in the 12th century. They are primarily concerned with the theme of love and courtliness, and as such the heroes are usually knights or
aristocratic ladies. While Marie makes little attempt to present a coherent message through the poems – in truth, each poem considers
a different element of love and life – certain themes do resonate throughout.
"Guigemar" tells of a knight, Equitan" tells of a king who has an affair with his seneschal's wife, Le Fresne" tells of a young twin girl
given away by a mother who fears she will be scorned for birthing twins, Bisclavret" is the story of a knight who suffers from a werewolf
curse, Lanval" tells of a good but unpopular knight in King Arthur's court who begins an affair, Les Deus Amanz" tells of a father who
keeps his daughter from marriage unless a suitor can carry her in his arms up an enormous mountain, Yonec" tells of a wife kept hidden
in a tower by an oppressive husband, and a magical knight who visits her in the form of a hawk, Laüstic" tells of a woman in a loveless
marriage, and the unconsummated affair she holds with the knight who lives next door, "Milun" tells of a knight famous for his jousting
ability, and his long relationship with a woman, Chaitivel" tells of a beautiful woman who refuses to choose a suitor because she loves the
attention, Chevrefoil" is an episode from the Tristam and Isolde legend, Eliduc" tells of a knight in a happy marriage who is banished
when the king believes some false claims about him
 SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT-chivalric romance
It’s Christmas time at King Arthur’s court, and all the knights and ladies have gathered to celebrate and feast. Arthur, however, refuses
to eat until he has witnessed something marvelous or heard a great adventure story. Luckily, just when everyone’s sitting down to eat, a
mysterious, gigantic stranger with emerald-green skin and clothing bursts into the hall. As if that weren't weird enough, he's riding a
gigantic green horse and carrying an elaborately-decorated axe.
The Green Knight announces that he’s come to test the honor of the legendary knights of the round table, and proposes a game: he will
withstand a single axe-blow from the hands of one knight, as long as that knight agrees to meet him in a year and a day to receive an
axe-blow in return. Stunned by the total weirdness of his request, no one volunteers.
The Green Knight mocks them cruelly, calling out Arthur himself to take up the challenge. But before Arthur can strike a blow, his
nephew, Sir Gawain, declares that it’s shameful for the king to have to participate in such a silly game. So Sir Gawain volunteers himself.
Gawain brings the axe down on the Green Knight, chopping his head off. Instead of dying, the Green Knight picks up his own head,
turns it to face the court, and tells Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in a year and a day. He gallops out of the hall on his horse
as the members of the court try to pick their jaws up off of the floor.
The seasons pass, and soon it’s the holiday season again. Gawain leaves King Arthur's court on All Saint’s Day in search of the Green
Chapel. He rides through enchanted lands teeming with marvels, battling monsters, and withstanding extreme cold and snow as he
travels. As Christmas approaches, Gawain is relieved to see a huge, well-protected castle in the middle of an enchanted forest. When he
arrives there he is warmly welcomed and invited to spend the holidays, enjoying the rich hospitality of the magnificent lord and his
beautiful lady.
After the Christmas feasting, Gawain gets ready to leave, but the lord persuades him to stay by saying that he can guide Gawain to the
Green Chapel. The lord proposes a game, moreover: as Gawain lounges inside by the fire all day, the lord will ride out to hunt. At the
end of the day, the two will exchange whatever they’ve won. Gawain happily agrees to the game, impressed by the lord’s love of merriment
and games.
The next morning, as the lord rides out in pursuit of deer, Gawain sleeps in late. He’s awoken by the lady of the castle. She says she's
come to enjoy the company of a knight with such a wonderful reputation. They chat for a bit, and then the lady gets up to leave. But
before she goes, she surprises Gawain by doubting that he’s really the Gawain she’s heard so much about. When Gawain asks why, she
replies that a man with a reputation for being a ladies' man would never depart from a lady without kissing her. Especially when her
flirtatious behavior has indicated she’s willing. Taking the hint, Gawain kisses the lady, who then departs.
When the lord returns to the castle that night, he presents Gawain with a multitude of well-dressed deer, for which Gawain exchanges
the kiss he’s received from the lord's wife. Gawain and the lord continue the same game for the next two days. The lord hunts a boar and
a fox while Gawain flirts with the lady of the castle. Gawain then exchanges the kisses he receives for the animals the lord has killed.
On the last day of the game, however, the lady convinces Gawain to accept something else as a "lover’s token": a green girdle, or belt,
which she claims will make the wearer invincible, unable to be killed. Gawain realizes that this is just the thing to save his life during his
impending meeting with the Green Knight. When the lord of the castles comes home at the end of the day, Gawain breaks the rules of
the game and doesn't exchange the green girdle.
The next morning, Gawain rides out of the castle with a guide, who points him to the Green Chapel. The guide begs Gawain to reconsider,
because the man who guards it is so dangerous. When Gawain reaches the clearing, all he sees is a small mound with patches of grass
on it. He assumes this must be the chapel. He hears a noise like someone sharpening a blade. He calls out to the sharpener to come meet
him.
The Green Knight emerges with his huge axe, and commends Gawain for keeping the terms of the agreement. He moves to strike the
first blow, but stops his hand when Gawain flinches. He chews Gawain out for being a sissy. After Gawain promises to flinch no more,
the knight moves to strike a second blow, but again stops his hand. This time he claims he was testing to see if Gawain was ready. Finally,
the Green Knight strikes a third blow. This time, the axe breaks the skin but doesn't decapitate Gawain. (Whew!) Gawain leaps up and
arms himself, telling the Green Knight that he has met the terms of the agreement and will now defend himself if threatened.
Laughing, the Green Knight explains to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first
two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest
man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s
failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves
Gawain with only with a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.
Sir Gawain, however, is totally mortified. He asks the man’s name and learns that he is Lord Bertilak. His powers come from Morgan le
Fay, who is Gawain's aunt and a powerful sorceress. She enchanted Bertilak and sent him to King Arthur’s court to test the honor of the
knights there and to frighten Queen Guinevere.
Refusing Bertilak’s offer of further hospitality, Gawain returns to Arthur’s court. He tells the story of his adventure, and declares that he
will wear the girdle for the rest of his life as a reminder of his failure. The court, however, laughs at Gawain and proposes to all wear a
similar girdle for his sake. This tradition is carried down through generations and becomes a symbol of honor.

PATIENCE AND CLEANNESS

Patience as a virtue teaches the audience of the poem how to live ethically by taking into account the negative example of Jonah.
Specifically, the virtue of patience teaches us to forgive our offenders. Patience can be seen as a noble condition, one that invites Christians
to accept an unpleasant situation.
Though physical cleanliness is one aspect of cleanness, the meaning of cleanness in the poem extends far beyond that. Cleanness is
purity both of the body, cleanness comes to signify a literal lack of filth, purity, appropriate fearing of God, virtue, and other physical
and moral failings. It is interesting to consider the possible audience for the poem based on the multiplicity of all these lessons. On the
one hand, the poorest were those most likely to be in tattered clothes and to go about unwashed, a condition that the poem applauds as
the perfect model of purity

CHRISITNE DE PIZAN’S BOOK OF CITY OF LADIES

One day, Christine de Pizan sits down in her library and decides that she'd like to do some light reading. So she picks up a book by a
guy named Mathéolus and is saddened to find that the entire book is just one long rant against how horrible women are. She puts the
book away and tries to get on with her life. But it's no use; she can't stop thinking about the book, and she begins to think that she's been
cursed by being born a woman.

While she's feeling bad, Christine is visited by three magical sisters whose names are Lady Reason, Lady Rectitude, and Lady Justice.
Lady Reason tells Christine that she's wrong for thinking that women are bad. In fact, Lady Reason is so convinced of this that she tells
Christine de Pizan to build a great city for all the best women in the world to live in. Feeling rejuvenated, Christine gets to work. Along
the way, she chats with all three ladies and learns some valuable lessons from history about just how great women can be.

MARGERY KEMPE-THE BOOK OF MARGERY KEMPE

Book I
Margery Kempe begins her story with her marriage to John and her first childbirth, which is painful and leaves her doubting that she'll
survive. She pitches into a wicked bad episode of post-partum depression when her confessor is a jerk to her and doesn't give her the
chance to confess a terrible sin. She later thinks demons want to devour her, she struggles to resist suicide, and she's finally rescued by
the appearance of a surprisingly hot Jesus at her bedside.
But she doesn't get the message. When she recovers, she's still vain and money-grubbing, so she starts a brewing business. It fails. She
starts up a mill. The horses won't work for her. People say she's cursed.
Kempe realizes that she's a great big sinner and needs to do penance. She fasts, prays and weeps ALL. THE. TIME. Kempe has her first
direct experience of heaven now, when she hears a pleasing song in her ears and understands that it's the angels and saints partying in
heaven. She can't stop talking about it, and the townspeople don't like it very much.
Yeah, well, Kempe is pretty pleased with herself. She's good at self-denial and thinks that her newfound awesomeness is totally due to
her personal strength. At this time, she also tries to make her husband give up sex. It doesn't work. Things otherwise go well for Kempe
for about two years, but then God gets tired of her conceited ways. He sends her three horrible years of temptations (we're talking sexual
temptations). Kempe is utterly humiliated when a local man propositions her and then tells her he was only joking after she consents.
Kempe finally gets it: she needs help from the big J. C. J. C. tells her that contemplation is way better for her spiritual life than formulaic
prayers, and he encourages her to lie still and think. She eventually has her first mystical vision. In it, she participates in the birth and
childhood of Mary, Jesus's mother. Her emotional involvement in this type of meditation increases the frequency of her weeping in public
places, which becomes more problematic as time goes on.
She seeks the opinion of as many holy and learned people as possible to determine whether her visions are truly from God. In this process,
she speaks with local clerics, as well as with the holy Richard of Caister and the great female mystic Julian of Norwich. They all assure
her that she's on the right track.

Jesus tells Kempe that he wants her to go on pilgrimage to the Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. But before she
leaves, there's an important score to settle: she has to get her husband to agree to let her go alone and to take a vow of chastity for the
rest of their lives. After some serious financial bargaining, Kempe gets her wishes. Her husband John goes with her on several local
pilgrimages and finally takes a vow of chastity in front of the Bishop of Lincoln.
To make her pilgrimage easier, Jesus forgives all of Kempe's sins before she leaves and tells her that she will make a safe journey. He also
tells her that she will have friends and good help on the way. But it doesn't start out like that. The other pilgrims on the ship do not like
Kempe's screaming during meditation, and they begin to persecute her. There is one English priest who is particularly awful to her.
By the time they get to Venice, Kempe finds herself without good companionship and without most of her money. But all of this is
redeemed when she reaches Jerusalem. It's a mystic's wonderland, and Kempe spends most of her time there "ravished" into the spiritual
realm every time she visits a place where Christ walked. And now, she not only weeps but "cries" or screams when she has visions.
On the return trip, Kempe stays in Italy for many weeks. During this time, she has a hard time with her fellow Englishmen, but she
bonds with the Italians. She visits holy places and finds an awesome German confessor named Wenslawe, who can, by miracle, only
understand English when it is spoken by Kempe. Jesus commands her to give away all her money while she's in Rome and live as a
pauper, which she does. She grows spiritually, and God the Father shows his approval by marrying her in a bizarre wedding ceremony
in her soul.
Our girl makes it back to England only with the help of God and a nice English priest. She stays in Lynn only long enough to display her
new habit of screaming during visions, and then she's off again on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Nothing much happens until
the return journey, when she is arrested multiple times on suspicion of Lollardy, a heresy and a burnable offense.
Brought before Church officials, Kempe's all like, "Lollardy? LOL. I may be doing my own thing, but let me tell you: my own thing is
totally orthodox." She answers well in all inquiries and ultimately makes it back home—but she has to go off to London to get a letter
from the Archbishop of Canterbury saying that she is not a Lollard and that everyone should step off. Back in Bishop's Lynn, Kempe
pursues her spiritual life, makes lots of enemies and a few friends, and through prayer prevents a fire from consuming the parish church.
Towards the end of his life, John Kempe—who is living alone since his wife has chosen to pursue a solitary contemplative life—falls
down the stairs in his home and splits his head open. Kempe has to come to his side to nurse him. She detests doing it, because he is
troublesome and detracts from her prayers, but she does it for God's love.
Book II
Kempe tells the story of her son and his conversion experience. After he becomes a sober husband and father, she tells her own story to
him. It's possible that he writes it down and is her first scribe. The son brings his wife to visit with Kempe and John, but he falls ill
immediately and eventually dies. John dies soon after.
Kempe's son's widow stays on with her mother-in-law for eighteen months in England, but she's eager to get back to her home in Prussia.
All the screaming will get to you after a while. Though Kempe only intends to accompany her daughter-in-law to the ship, Jesus intervenes
and tells her to go all the way to Germany with her.

She does so, and it's a horrible experience. It turns out that the daughter-in-law doesn't like Kempe very much. On top of hat, the
territories Kempe has to traverse are ravaged by war, and she can't find proper company to make the journey safely. Eventually, she gets
together with a penniless friar and makes it back to England. Her confessor is totally peeved that she left England without his permission,
but Kempe is able to patch things up and get on with her contemplative life—and, we imagine, with the writing of her book.

WINNER AND WASTER-DEBATE POEM

The poem itself isn't centered on plot, but an argument between two figures—Winner and Waster—giving the Edward-III-like king in
the poem, as well as the reader, the opportunity to decide who is better. Winner represents a kingdom founded upon frugality and hard
work, whereas Waster represents expenditure. The poet references the French motto of the Order of the Garter, founded by Edward III,
which allows the poet to address Edward without explicitly naming or representing him in the poem. At the end of the poem, the king
makes Winner a priest, sending him to France, and orders Waster to stay and spend money in London. Each character has a role,
suggesting the best kingdom is built on balance.

SIR ORFEO-ROMANCE-a tale of loyalty and devotion

At the beginning of May, King Orfeo's wife falls into a deep sleep under an imp, or grafted, tree and dreams she is abducted by the King
of the fairies, shown his fantastic kingdom, and told that, come tomorrow, she will be kept there forever. She awakes distraught, tears
her robes to shreds and claws at her face, making it bleed profusely. To thwart the realization of the dream, Orfeo has hundreds of
knights guard Heurodis, but they prove ineffective as the fairy King uses enchantment to take her away effortlessly. Orfeo is beyond
consoling and abandons his kingdom to the charge of his steward. Having lost the fairest lady who ever lived, Orfeo swears he will never
look upon another woman and takes to the woods barefoot, totally without material possessions except for his cloak and his harp. Living
off nuts, roots, and bark for more than ten years, Orfeo wanders aimlessly. His only respite from grief comes from playing his harp,
which soothes him and enchants both bird and beast. One day, he chances upon his wife among a group of ladies from the fairy kingdom.
Although Orfeo's appearance shows the effect of a decade in the wilderness, and his hair is rough and hangs to his waist, Heurodis
recognizes him instantly. Overcome with emotion, neither can speak to the other. Orfeo follows her through a rock and below ground to
the fairy kingdom. He gains permission from the porter to enter the castle made of gold and dazzling jewels, by virtue of being a minstrel.
Inside the castle Orfeo plays his harp for the fairy King, who is so impressed that he offers Orfeo whatever he cares to request. Orfeo
demands Heurodis and, although the fairy King hesitates to give her to him because the couple seem so mismatched, he honors his word
and relinquishes her. Orfeo returns to his kingdom but does not reveal his identity until he tests his steward's loyalty. The steward passes
the test, Orfeo makes his true identity known, and Orfeo and Heurodis are newly crowned. They live and rule in peace until their deaths,
upon which, the steward becomes king. Orfeo got inspired from Greek legend Orpheus

SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE-TRAVELS

The book covers geographical impressions along with the rivers such as The Ganges, The Nile, The Tigris and Euphrates. His writing
created a new technique “ORIENTALISM” .He also strongly believes that Paradise is somewhere here

IMPORTANT BYTES
 Christian di pisan’s book translated into English by Anthony Woodville-woman under the name “MORAL
PROVERBS OF CHRISTINE “is the first written book to printed in England by Caxton in 1478
 Chirstine de pisan was the first women writer of France
 Hrotsvitha was the first women writer in Europe
 Lay was a kind of French romance of 12th century to be sung based on facts