The wife of Bath tale from the middle ages

KNIGHT
The knight was considered as a loyal and honorable man. His duty was to protect his king.
To ride about the world, loved chivalry, truth, honor, freedom and all courtesy.

THE SQUIRE
The squire was a very handsome, feminine, and a ladies man. He was active, agile, and great on strength. He writes songs, dance, and bring flowers to win his lady’s grace.
Courteous was he, and humble, willing and able.

YEOMAN
The yeoman was a servant. No other servants had to go with him to help him with any task. He carried a sword, arrows, and a buckler. With his Christopher medal on his breast of silver sheen.
He bore a horn, the baldric all of green;
A forester he truly was, I guess.

PRIORESS
The prioress was a very well mannered and clean woman with a big heart. She was very sensitive and wasn’t afraid to cry.
Of courtliness, and stately manners here, and would be held worthy of reverence

MONK
The monk was very manly. He rode on horses and was a very good hunter.
And when he rode men might his bridle hear.

THE FRIAR
The friar was also a ladies man just like the squire.
Equal his gossip and well spoken speech he had arranged many a marriage, giving each of young women, and this at his own cost.

FRANKLIN
Franklin was a very well off man. He was always full of joy.
A pleasing live was the custom held won, for he was Epicurus’ very son, that held opinion that plain and pure delight.

THE COOK
The cook had very bad hygiene problems.
That on his shin an open sore had he.

THE WIFE OF BATH
The wife of bath was a well-dressed nice woman who loved men. She had five husbands but she was still very respectable.
She’s been respectable throughout her life, married in church, husband she had five.

MILLER
Miller was a very strong and big man.
He lifted each door from it’s hinges, that easy.

THE SUMMONER
The summoner was a very ugly man he had bad acne all over his face.
He had a face that little children feared.

THE PARDONER
The pardoner was a church going man. He was well dressed and clean.
He was in church, a fine ecclesiast.

THE PLOWMAN
The plowman was a very hard worker who loves God.
Had transported; a true worker was he.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE MIDDLE AGES:
THE CRUSADES
The crusades were a series of what they called holy wars in 1095. The crusades was a war between mainly Christians and Moslems fighting over holy ground. All together there were a total of eight crusades in which the first four they called principle crusades and the others minor crusades. They also had children’s crusade as well. These crusades began because of a sermon preached by a pope by the name of Claremont.

THE MURDER OF THOMAS BECKET
Thomas A. Becket was an English man who held a position in the middle ages as a Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170. He was murdered on December 29,1170. He was murdered due to his constant confrontations with King Henry II. He would not follow orders from the king instead he followed the pope so he was murdered by knights because they had labeled him as a "traitor".

THE MAGNA CARTA
The Magna Carta was a letter that King John was forced to sign in 1215. The letter contained to ideas. These ideas were that the king had to obey the laws and second if he broke them the lords would remove him from the throne. All this came about because when King John became king everyone hated him because he was a rude unjust man and he had also taxed the people so much to pay for the third crusade. So in other words King John abused his power to rule.

THE BLACK DEATH
The Black Death was a disease carried by fleas, rats, and other small rodents in Europe in 1328 to 1351. This disease was called Black Death because one of its main symptoms was the blackening of the skin and blood. You would usually die from this disease in about two to four days. Black Death was known to have originated from the Gobi Dessert. It caused almost one third of the populations death.

THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE
This tale tells of how a knight took a young woman’s virginity by force. The queen punished him by sending him from the city on a journey for a year and a day. The reason why she sent him is that she wanted him to find out and learn of what a women’s desire is. It took the knight a whole year to find his answer. On the last day of his journey he spotted a group of women dancing so he went to them for an answer as he approached them they just disappeared into thin air. So he searched on. He ran into an old women crouched on the ground. He eventually started to tell the woman his story and in response to him the woman made him agree to take her hand and do what she said. She asked him to marry her. So he did and the old woman gave him the answer.
The knight went back to the queen with his answer and told her of the old woman and what she had asked him to do. The old woman and the knight became married although the knight was upset with the idea of marrying an old woman. Since the knight did as she said after they became married the old woman turned into a beautiful young lady.

3 EXAMPLES OF HOW THE TALE READ REFLECTS THE MIDDLE AGES:
The literature that I’ve read reflected the middle ages because the knights had a code of chivalry they had to follow such as the adoration of a particular lady which may not have been there wife. It was meant for self-improvement.
In this tale though it tells of the knight breaking the code (For which violation was there such clamour, And such appealing unto King Arthur, That soon condemned was this knight to be dead By course of law, and should have lost his head,)
and his punishment because of it. The knight in this tale took advantage of a young lady (He saw a maiden walking through the corn, From whom, in spite of all her screams of pity, Straightway by force he took her virginity;) instead of praising her so therefore he was sent from the city. Then will I give you license to be gone. A twelvemonth and a day, to search and learn.

The Angelo-Saxon Beowulf poem

Beowulf the Anglo-Saxon Poem

Beowulf is the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. The setting of the poem is in the sixth century in what is now known as Denmark and southwestern Sweden. I feel like this poem is long and drawn out but then again it's kind of interesting. The Angelo-Saxons believe in bravery and heroism. A few ways that you can see bravery is listed in my summary of Beowulf. This poem can be summarized in the beginning when King of the Danes, Lord Healfdene reigned and handed his crown over to his son Hrothgar to rule.

Healfdene's son Hrothgar was eventually granted to rule because of his loyalty to the armies, and glory in battle. Hrothgar decided to build a great mead-hall, which he called Heorot. Hrothgar threw many parties there and gave out lots of treasures. Until one day the Heorot was overtook by a horrible evil creature by the name of Grendel. Grendel would come in the night and kill off and consume soldiers and others at the Heorot, while they slept. At dawn, when the Danes learned of Grendel's strength, there was great weeping. The old king sat sadly, crying for his men. Bloody footprints were found. King Hrothgar called on many around the world to come and destroy Grendel but all failed. They were no match for the evil creature. At least all but one. This celebration illustrates the Angelo-Saxson culture because they liked to party and celebrate when there's been an great accomplishment. After it was built,Hrothgar did what he said he would: handed out gold and treasure at huge feasts.

Beowulf finally heard King Hrothgar’s call, and he came to his aide with fourteen of his finest men ( Which is one example of bravery). Beowulf was a good man who came from among the Geats, where a man by the name of Hygelac was king. When he discovered what was happening to the people, he addressed Hrothgar as master. Hrothgar gladly thanked them for coming, and welcomed them. Beowulf discussed to Hrothgar a plan to kill Grendel. He wanted to go unarmed with the help of his troops. Unferth, (the son of Ecglaf, who sat at the feet of lord Scyldings' lord) had seen what the creature could do, since Grendel and Hrothgar have been at war with each other and opposed Beowulf's plan, and realized it was not even possible to accomplish. But Beowulf responded to Unferth's opinion stating that he has killed many monsters before all by himself. Realizing that Beowulf had great strength Hrothgar agreed with Beowulf, and wished him luck.

While the Danes (people under Hrothgar) retire to safer sleeping quarters, Beowulf and his men slept at the Heorot, fully aware that Grendel will visit them( Another sign of bravery). Which he did. When Grendal arrived he was angered by the joy of the men in the mead-hall, the creature furiously bursts in on the men, killing one and then going for Beowulf. With great strength, Beowulf grabs the creature’s claw and does not let go. The on-going battle nearly destroys the great hall,but Beowulf emerges victorious as he rips Grendel’s claw from his shoulder socket, sending the mortally wounded beast fleeing to his pool( One sign of heroism). In the morning when the daylight shone, the mead hall was stained in gore, the hall wet with the blood of battle. They hung the claw as a trophy under the roof of Heorot.
The fact was plain when Beowulf laid that arm and shoulder down, there altogether, Grendel's claw,under the vaulted roof.

The Danes celebrate the next day with a huge feast featuring entertainment by Hrothgar’s scop (pronounced "shop"), which is a professional bard (singer or poet) who accompanies himself on a harp and sings or chants traditional lays such as an account of the Danes’ victory at Finnsburh. This bard also improvises a song about Beowulf’s victory. Hrothgar’s wife, Queen Wealhtheow offers Beowulf a gold collar and her gratitude. The people (Danes) filled with wine and food the entire party retires for what they expect to be the first peaceful night in many years.
Little did they know that Grendel’s mother was highly upset. So his mother, greedy and gloomy as the gallows, went on a sorrowful journey to avenge her son's death. His mother was not quite as powerful but she was definitely motivated. She had climbed to Heorot that night to retrieve her son’s claw, and kills one of the Danes by the name of Aeschere. At the time Beowulf was sleeping elsewhere. The next morning, Hrothgar, Beowulf, and the town follows the mother’s tracks into a dark swamp. The now dead Dane (Aeschere) that was killed the night before, head sits on a cliff by the lake, which hides the creatures’ underground cave(sign of bravery). Carrying a sword called Hrunting (a gift from Unferth) Beowulf goes into the lake to find Grendel’s mother. Near the bottom of the lake, Grendel’s mother attacks Beowulf and drags him into her dark cave. Beowulf tries to fight back once he was inside the cave but the sword, he carried was not strong enough to even penetrate the skin of the creature. The mother moves to kill Beowulf with her knife, but his armor, made by the legendary blacksmith Weland, protects him. Suddenly Beowulf spots a magical, sword and uses it to cut through the mother’s spine at the neck, killing her(He conquered sign of heroism). The wise ruler of the skies decided justice easily when Beowulf stood up again:there among the weapons he saw a victory-blessed sword,an old sword made by giants with strong edges, the glory of warriors. It was the choicest of weapons, good and majestical, the work of giants, but larger than any other man could carry to battle sport. A light unexplainably seeps into the cave, showing Grendel’s corpse and a great deal of treasure. Beowulf cuts the head off the corpse. The magic sword melts into its hilt. Beowulf returns to the lake’s surface carrying the head and hilt but leaving the treasure.

After another celebration and gifts and a sermon by Hrothgar, Beowulf and his men return to Geatland, where he was from. There he serves his king until Hygelac is killed in battle and his son dies in a feud. Beowulf is then named king and rules for fifty years. Even during his time reign, Beowulf must battle one more demon and show one more sign of his bravery and heroism. A dragon has begun terrorizing the countryside at night, burning several homes, including Beowulf’s because the dragon has discovered that a fugitive has found his treasure and stolen a valuable cup. Beowulf and eleven of his men, being led by the fugitive seek out the dragon. Beowulf wanted to take on the dragon alone, but he was no match for the dragon. Wiglaf (who Beowulf names his successor) goes to Beowulf’s assistance while the others fled into the woods. Wiglaf and Beowulf finally kill the dragon, but Beowulf is badly wounded. Dying, Beowulf leaves his kingdom to Wiglaf and requests that his body is cremated in a funeral pyre and buried high on a seaside cliff where passing sailors might see. The dragon’s treasure is buried with him.

Beowulf is a very complicated hero story compared to ours. I feel that Beowulf died with great honor In our heroic tales it is usually laid out simple enough for a child to understand like fr example spiderman, unlike Beowulf where you have to read between the lines to figure out what they are talking about. I've had my dictonary opened the whole time I've been reading the poem.