Background on the Middle Ages:
Many of us have stereotypical images of what the Middle Ages may have been like. Most of these
images center around knights in shining armour, fighting dragons and rescuing damsels in distress. Many of us have an
idealized view of the Crusades, including knights searching for the Holy Grail and coming home to their castles with treasure
and tales of heroic adventures. What many of us are not aware of was the atmosphere of disease, poverty, social inequality,
brutal overlords, and the bondage of slavery which held the majority of men & women in servitude under the feudal system.
In this unit we will examine the world of the Middle Ages,
but more importantly, we will take a close look at the people of English society - the monarchs, the barons & knights
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Studying the Ballads as a subgenre: "Lord Randall"
and " Get Up and Bar the Door"
And the newly emerging middle class , best seen in the literary classic:
"The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer
We will also read in its entirety, one of the best literary examples of the Knightly Code of Chivalry:
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" by an anonymous author and inspired
by the legends of King Arthur and his knights of the round table.
