introDuCtion ixknights); the matter of england (english and Germanic
heroes); the matter of France (charlemagne); the
matter of Greece and rome (alexander the Great and
the Trojan War). each of these provided subject mat-
ter for numerous tales of adventure and delight and,
occasionally, for moral instruction.
marie de France, a late 12th-century woman liv-
ing in england who wrote in Norman French, com-
posed a series of lais (minstrels’ tales) as well as a
number of fables and a life of St. Brendan. at around
the same time, translations of chrétien de Troyes’s
French arthurian romances, Erec et Enide, Cligès, Yvain,
Lancelot, and Perceval (the first Grail quest story),
both changed the “matter of Britain” from legend into
literature, and also spread the popularity of the arthur
story. early english romances, such as King Horn (ca.
1225), Floris and Blancheflour (early 13th century),
Havelok the Dane (ca. 1300), were not as complex as
the French ones, although some, such as Sir Orfeo (ca.
1330), showed development and depth. These early
middle english works, however, served to reestablish
the vernacular as a language worthy of reading and
writing. as romances grew more popular, the conven-
tions of courtly love, outlined in the 12th century by
the French writer andreas capellanus, permeated the
culture alongside the ideals of chivalry.
english writing revived fully in english after 1360
and flowered during the reign of richard ii (1372–99).
ricardian poetry often focused on confession and
redemption, a theme aided, no doubt, by the ravages
of the Black Death (1348–50), during which more
than one-third of europe’s population died. lyrics and
religious verse dominated, although a few arthurian
verse romances surfaced, including the stanzaic Morte
d’Arthur and the alliterative Morte d’Arthur.
The newly emergent middle english language
was not as adaptable to alliterative verse, although
the 14th century witnessed a revival thereof in an
adapted form. aside from the alliterative Morte d’
Arthur, the so-called 14th-century alliterative revival
encompassed such poems as Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, an arthurian romance that combines spiri-
tual and chivalric values into a complex poem about
redemption. The Gawain-poet also wrote several other
poems—Pearl, Purity (Cleanness), and Patience—in
this alliterative style. another well-known work from
this era is William langland’s Piers Plowman, a long,
alliterative dream vision about the dangers of the
world and concern with salvation.
The best-known poet of the late 14th century is by
far Geoffrey chaucer, often called the “father of english
poetry.” chaucer wrote in numerous genres, including
the ballade, lyric, dream vision, fable, fabliau, hagi-
ography, romance, and others. his career culminated
with the composition of the unfinished Canterbury
Tales, perhaps the greatest collection of stories ever
produced in english. This frame narrative examines
the social and religious milieu of the 14th century in a
lively poetic manner and served to firmly (re)establish
the vernacular as a language worthy of great poetic
achievement. chaucer’s friend and contemporary John
Gower wrote in all three major languages of the
day—latin, French, and middle english, and while
his achievement was perhaps not as great as chaucer’s,
he, too, amply demonstrated the flexibility of english
verse and the ability of the english imagination.
Debate poems, such as The Owl and the Nightingale
(early 13th century) gained some popularity but were
soon eclipsed by the rise of the lyric. lyrics grew from
ballads, servant songs, hymns, christmas carols, and
the like. They can be divided into two categories—
secular and sacred. Secular ones tended to be bawdy,
rowdy, and lively. religious lyrics focused on the
mysteries of religion, especially the Virgin mary and
christ’s life. The vast majority of these lyrics are anony-
mous. Spiritual verse, aside from lyrics, include mystic
poems by hermits such as richard rolle (ca. 1300–49)
and various anonymous hagiographies, especially of
virgin martyr-saints. most shared the common goals
of educating the unlearned to become closer to God,
though a few are more explicitly didactic.
Satiric poems, such as the Land of Cokaygne (late
13th century) were rare but usually well written.
however, a form of social satire, the fabliau (bawdy
tale), grew quite popular in the 14th century and later.
another form of satire is found in the beast fable,
found in adaptations of aesop’s fables but also in other
forms, such as chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.”
The 15th century witnessed a distinct falling off
in english verse and was dominated by the so-called