ACCT 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Body Politic, Vercelli Book, Sestet
9 Aug 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Medieval Literature
- Problematic connotation: doesn’t mean „all very bad“
- Literature starts in the 5th/6th century: Angles, Saxons, Jutes brought West Germanic
language → language changes → transition period
Oral performance
- Minority could read → literature performed orally in verses (easier to memorize)
- 4 manuscripts: junius manuscript, exeter book, vercelli book, nowell codex
- Nowell Codex: most important = Beowulf
→ names come from places or from the publisher
- lots of religious peoms/content (written by monks,…)
Beowulf
- Old English: alliterative verses, states (Stabreim)
- Content: Denmark, Beowulf kills a monster, 12 years of fear, Beowulf is a good king
but killed by a dragon
→ what does it mean to be a good king?
→ value system is not a christian one
Christianization
- Monks from Ireland start missionary (7th cent.), sent from the pope
- Stories written down are based on bible
→ affect literature
Chronicles
- Anglo-Saxon-Chronicle
- started unter Alfred the Great: wanted the history of people written down
Middle English Literature
- oral culture, no print culture until 14th century (invention of the printing press)
- 1066: Battle of Hastings under William the Conquerer (Norman Invasion)
→ influence of French aristocracy: cultural traditions + new language
- Common people: English, Nobility: French
Romances
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: ordinary adventure of extraordinary hero, exotic
locations, not realistic
→ unrealistic, chivalric
- Alliterative language: alliterations
- Major Topics: matter of britain, matter of rome, matter of england
Drama
- Mystery plays: dramatization of stories of the bible, come in cycles, based on
christian myths
- Miracle plays: focus on Saint’s lives (Virgin Mary), come in cycles
- Morality plays: „every ma“ virtues put out in characters, act out in relationship to
each other
- Drama: short scenes played in church, but had to move outside, still connected to
religion
Canterbury Tale (Chaucer)
- Chaucer knows stories and poetry of foreign poets
- Content: pilgrimage to Canterbury, group of people from different classes, everyone
has to tell two stories, best one gets the woman (23 tales)
→ cross-section of english society, only fiction, not possible in reality
→ realistic and satiric
Early Modern Period
- Beginning of the renaissance and humanism: thinking about humanity, central focus
on human being not on god
- Clear developments in the mindset of people: belief in social mobility (only through
education; want to be more than they are → problematic), interested in mankind,
individualism, anamtomy
World Picture: Order 1
- EST: mineral kingdom = sand, rock, gold (they simply are)
- VIVIT: vegetable kingdom = they live
- SENTIT: animal kingdom = they feel, lion is high, snake is low
- INTELLIGIT: humanity = able to reasoning
- Left: hierachry of creatures in the world; Right: virtues of mankind
→ educated human as ideal learner
- World is ordered, not chaotic, god had a plan, everyone has its defined place
World Picture: Order 2
- God’s hand touches mother nature, stands on land, man as monkey
- Correspondences: everything is connected → people think in images of
connectedness
World Picture: Body politic
- God puts king on top of society, stands for society, society as king’s body (humen)
- Physical body: can die, king is mortal, can become sick
- Representative body: can’t die, represents monarchy itself/state
Political History
- War of roses: 30 years between York vs. Lancaster → Henry 7. defeats Richard 3.,
Henry marries Elisabeth of York → Tudors come to the throne
- Henry 8. has just daughters, wants divorce, needs consent of Pope to get marriage
annulled
→ 1534 Act of supremacy: breaks with church, declaration of own church but no
reformation → basic beliefs stay, pope not the highest sacral person anymore
- Edward 6.: political change = religious change
- Bloody Mary (daughter Henry 8.), strongly catholic, murdered protestants
- Elisabeth 1. (Virgin Queen)
→ Act of uniformity: bible translations bring stability/prosperity to england
- James 1 = Stuart
→ Union of Crowns
- Charles 1: absolutist king, didn’t want to work with the parliament, after 11 years
they stood up against him (civil war), sentenced to death by the parliament
Early Modern Drama
- 1570 first playhouses: indoor theatres in the northeast (blackfriars), outdoor theatres
in southwark (the swan)
→ Major part of the city doesn’t like the idea of theatres because of the
entertainment borough with brothels, taverns, bear fighting…
- Construction outdoor: circular, open air, large, galleries, lot of spage in front/sides, no
stage, no curtain
- Construction indoor: covered area, thrust stage, galleries, quick stageovers, no
curtains
Texts
- Few plays printed, no copyrights (pirating)
- Bad Quarto: textual corruption, copies not by author
- Good Quarto: 8 pages, small, cheap, authorized by author
- Folio: 4 pages, expensive, good quality
→ First folio: first collected edition of shakespears’s plays
Dramatic Genres
1. History Plays
- Kynge John: had difficulties with pope, was excommunicated, often seen as first
history play
- Bonduca: ancient tradition, has facts and basis
Document Summary
Problematic connotation: doesn"t mean all very bad . Literature starts in the 5th/6th century: angles, saxons, jutes brought west germanic language language changes transition period. Minority could read literature performed orally in verses (easier to memorize) 4 manuscripts: junius manuscript, exeter book, vercelli book, nowell codex. Names come from places or from the publisher lots of religious peoms/content (written by monks, ) Content: denmark, beowulf kills a monster, 12 years of fear, beowulf is a good king but killed by a dragon. Value system is not a christian one. Monks from ireland start missionary (7th cent. Stories written down are based on bible. Anglo-saxon-chronicle started unter alfred the great: wanted the history of people written down. Oral culture, no print culture until 14th century (invention of the printing press) 1066: battle of hastings under william the conquerer (norman invasion) Influence of french aristocracy: cultural traditions + new language.
