1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?
Between the Norman invasion of 1066 & about 1470.
2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?
When the chancery standard began to become widespread thanks to the printing press.
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.
Nouns: Losing the rather more complex system of inflected endings in Old English, Middle English retains only two separate noun-ending patterns.
Pronouns: Post-Conquest English inherits its pronouns from Old English, with the exception of the third person plural.
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 accusative 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.
Verbs: As a general rule, the first person singular of verbs in the present tense ends in -e, the second person in -(e)st, and the third person in -eþ. 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-.
5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
Generally, all letters in Middle English words were pronounced. Therefore 'knight' was pronounced /knɪçt/, not /naɪt/ as in Modern English.
In earlier Middle English all written vowels were pronounced. By Chaucer's time, however, the final
An additional rule in speech, and often in poetry as well, was that a non-final unstressed
6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?
It was a written form of English used by the government for official purposes.
7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
It was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century
8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
We can found different kinds of pilgrims such as a knight, a priest, a yeoman, a carpenter, a miller among others.
9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
They did this journey to pay their respects to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at the Canterbury Cathedral.
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 name of the book was “Decameron” written 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?
It was the first book of poetry that was written in the English language. This made it available to many readers--not just for rich people. It opened the doors for others to be written in English. It is a record of the roots of English language and how it has evolved.
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 & behavior for all knights in Medieval Europe.
d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.
e. None of the above.
f. All of the above.
c. A detailed explanation of the proper etiquette & behavior for all knights in Medieval Europe.
13. Who is Sir Gawain?
He was a knight of King Arthur’s round table.
14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?
To strike him once with his axe with the condition that he 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 legendary Irish figure Cuchulainn faced a trial similar to Gawain's
16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
The pentagram represents Gawain’s eternal incorruptibility. It receives a lot of attention in the poem. It is describes as a symbol of faithfulness and an endless knob.
17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
Numbers add symmetry and meaning to the poem.
18. What is the significance of Sir Gawain's neck wound?
The neck’s wound means an internal wound; it shows the Gawain’s weakness.
19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
The actor is Sean Connery.
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.
In both cases we have romance, bad guys, and a hero. A thing that is very easy to find in any soap opera of several countries. So as I consider the “Canterbury Tales” as one of the roots of the English language, I consider “Sir Gawain and the green knight” a kind of soap opera of the 14th century because of course the good guys win.
