Assignment: Middle English

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?

It was spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and about 1470

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?
The major factors for the development and spred of middle English were the chancery standard , a form of London based English was widspred thanks to the introduction of printing press into England.

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.

singular plural
nom/acc engel nome engles nomen
gen engles* nome engle(ne)** nomen
dat engle nome engle(s) nomen


5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
- In Middle English all the letters were pronounced.

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?

Was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy and for other official purposes from the late 14th century.

7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
It was written by Geoffrey Chaucer

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
- The group is describe in detail , with characters from all classes, upper and lower, represented. Religious characters, such as a prioress, monk and a pardoner, travel alongside a shipman, miller, carpenter, reeve, squire, yeoman and a knight, among others.


9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
To pay their respect to the tomb of saint Thomas Becket ay 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 is the decameron and the author was 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?
- This book is important because is one of the first book written in Middle English and started the creation or fixed what we know now as modern English


12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:
d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.



13. Who is Sir Gawain?
He is 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?
The "Green Knight" offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day
15. What is the similarity between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?
- The similarity between the tales is that Cuchulainn's antagonist feints three blows with the axe before letting his target depart without injury

16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
- The pentagram/pentangle is Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection and power over evil

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
- Numbers are used to add symmetry and meaning to the poem

18. What is the significance of Sir Gawain's neck wound?

-The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will connect the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart).

19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
- Sean Connery played the green knight in the film Sword of the Valiant.

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.