1. The Medieval Era 500-1500 AD

2. What are the Middle Ages?  Era began in 500 and ended in 1400 with the sack of Rome.  The Church held absolute power.  AKA the “Dark Ages” where literature and the arts was shining at its brightest.  The church scared the people into submission by striking fear of god in the hearts of the people.

3. Feudalism

4. Tenet #1: Religion The people knew about religion and so it reflect in all the pieces during the era. “God took no joy in that feud, but banished him, for his deed, far from mankind” (Beowulf 4)

5. Tenet #2: Code of Chivalry  Rules for Knights that extended beyond the battlefield (does not really apply to those below the feudalistic rank of Lords).  Rules  Bravery  Courtesy  Honor  Gallantry towards women

6. Code of Chivalry  “Then the bold one in battle showed them the home of brave men where it shone, that they might go to it straightaway; he, one from among its warsmen, turned his horse and word spake after… (Beowulf 8)

7. [King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.]

8. List of the Code of Chivalry  To fear God and maintain His Church  To serve the liege lord in valour and faith  To protect the weak and defenceless  To give succour to widows and orphans  To refrain from the wanton giving of offence  To live by honour and for glory  To despise pecuniary reward  To fight for the welfare of all  To obey those placed in authority  To guard the honour of fellow knights  To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit  To keep faith  At all times to speak the truth  To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun  To respect the honour of women  Never to refuse a challenge from an equal  Never to turn the back upon a foe [Knights Code of Chivalry]

9. Tenet #3: Courtly Love “The poor woman wept on his shoulder, sorrowed for him in rung. The warrior went up on the pile… roared before the barrow; the heads melted, the slashed broke apart when the blood sprang, out from the body’s deadly wounds”(Beowulf 23) The knight must do something (kill a beast), to be worthy of the lady’s love. Did not exist until feudalism and the concept of loyalty began, after the sack of Rome, which is when the era began.

10. Tenet #4: Counter Culture & Carnival Spirit  The lower classes deviate from the norms to make themselves feel better.  The middle ages was a time where the lower class was against all the “fluff” feudalism brought.

11. Tenet #5: Allegories  Every book that has no author is an allegory because it is a story that has been passed down from generation to generation. (Beowulf)  Allegories are used to show the authors morals.  Good V.S Evil (somewhat Christian)  Beowulf represents good, while Grendel, his mother, and the dragon represent evil.

12. Tenet # 6: Fortune & Fate  “Wheel of Fortune”  “Fate is capricious”  Has both Christian and Pagan aspects.  Everyone realized that everything happens by chance and god controls whether you succeed or fail.  Goes back to the dependence on religion.

13. Fortune and Fate  Beowulf attributes his victories to fate throughout the poem and if the wheel of fortune was not spinning in his favor he would have died a long time ago.  “Grendel’s mother kept thought of her sorrow, a she- one, a monster wife, that was fated to dwell midst the water’s terrors, in the cold streams…”

14. Works Cited Beowulf. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Web. "FEUDALISM by Amy Stuart." FEUDALISM. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. "Knights Code of Chivalry." Knights Code of Chivalry. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.