CHAPTER 3

Historical Context: The Decline of Feudalism in the Middle Ages

The Early Phase of The Hundred Years’ War
The Hundred Years’War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Plantagenet,
rulers of the Kingdom of England against the French House of Valois, over the right to rule the Kingdom of
France. Tensions between the English and French thrones over continental land dated to 1066 when
William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England. His descendants in England had gained further lands in
France by the reign of Henry II, who inherited the County of Anjou from his father and control of Aquitaine
through his wife. King John Lackland lost Normandy, Anjou and other lands in France in 1204.
The claim of Edward III (1327-1377) to the throne of France, through his mother Isabella, was only a pretext,
while the real object of the war was to keep Flanders and Gascony, important commercial centres, under his
control.
In 1346 Edward III obtained a considerable victory in the Battle of Crecy. In 1356 Edward’s son, the Black
Prince (Prince Edward), inflicted a heavy defeat on the French in the Battle of Poitiers.
The first stage of the war was concluded in 1360 with the Peace of Bretigny. Edward III gave up his claims to
the French throne, and received part of Southern France and the town of Calais, a wool export centre.
The Black Death

The Black Death was one of the greatest human tragedies ever experienced in Europe. This plague, known as Black
death because the body went dark-colured after death, was caused by fleas living on black rats which infested ships
trading with Europe probably from China. It started in 1348 and spread all over Europe. Rich or poor, young or old, the
plague like a tornado made no distinction when it came. Most people who caught the plague were dead within a few
days. The actual plague bacillus was discovered in the middle of the 19th century, but for almost everyone, the plague
was a sign of God’s Anger. The Black Death was responsible for the death of a third of England’s population. The
economic and social effects were enormous. Labour was scarce, so prices doubled, wages rose and the condition of
the peasants who survived improved since they were able to demand payment for work done on their lord’s land.

The Peasants’ revolt

The period after the Black Death was characterized by the lords’ attempts to recover their lost position. During the
minority of King Richard II (1377-1399) the administration of the state was carried on by his uncle John of Gaunt. The
peasants confronted with a series of oppressive measures, began to organize themselves in unions. It was the work of
these unions that gave a unified character to the Revolt of 1381. The immediate cause of the uprise was the imposition
of the poll tax, consisting of a fixed amount of money levied on each adult person. The inhabitants of Essex attacked
and killed the collectors, the revolt spread rapidly and the rebels, led by Wat Tyler, marched to London to demand the
abolition of Serfdom. Richard II, who was only fifteen, met the rebels at Mile End and promised to grant them all their
demands. The peasants, satisfied with the results, dispersed to their villages. The King’s promises were rejected and
the royal army crushed the revolt: hundreds of peasants were executed without a trial. Though the revolt failed and
the only result was the abolition of the poll tax, there was no complete return to the old conditions and serfdom
received its death blow.

A period of unrest followed the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; the decline of Feudalism and the growth of trade caused
inevitable conflicts between the rising class and the nobles. These in turn were divided by internal struggles and
rivalries, as some supported John of Gaunt against the king’s party. When Henry of Bolingbroke, the son of John of
Gaunt, who had been banished after his father’s death, landed in England to claim his estate, Richard II, who had lost
also his last supporters because of his extravagances and despotism, was deposed by the Parliament. He was the last
king of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, became the new king of England under the name of Henry IV (1399-1413).
He was succeeded by Henry V.

Literary Context: The Age of Chaucer

The social and political events of the time deeply affected literature. The war against France awoke the
English national spirit and caused a wave of disdain against all that came from that country. French ceased
to be the official language and French models were not so largely imitated any longer. The decline of
Feudalism, the rise of a new class of merchants, the peasant’s revolt and the lollard heresy (that fought
against the abuse and corruption of the Church), along with the new spirit of independence, gave a stronger
vigour to literature, which after a long period of imitation found its own expression both in form and in
substance. With the advent of Chaucer, English literature rose to the standard of other European literatures.
By the 14th century, Middle English was in general use in the schools and law-courts and spread more and
more; however it was not a uniform language. The East Midland, also called the King’s English, spoken in
London, the King’s residence and at the two universities of Oxford and Cambridge became dominant. During
the 15th century Middle English was transformed into Modern English.
GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1340-1400)
Chaucer was born in 1340 in London. He was the son of prosperous wine merchant of French-Norman origin.
The relative wealth of his family enabled him to receive an excellent education. He found employment in the
house of John of Gaunt, the wealthiest man in the land. It was his skill and inventiveness as a writer,
combined with a clever mind and practical skills, that raised his social status. He worked as a controller of
customs for the Port of London and took part in important diplomatic missions that allowed him to come in
touch with the European culture. He died in 1400 and was the first poet to be buried in Westminster Abbey
in what has to become Poets’Corner.
Chaucer was defined the Father of English Poetry as he was the first who wrote in English in a new and
original way, going beyond the influence of foreign models. He was also the creator of modern versification
and, giving a vivid picture of the society of his age, brought the English literary production on the same level
as other European literatures.
Chaucer’s literary career is usually divided into three stages of development: The French Period, the Italian
Period and the English Period.
The French Period
Chaucer disregarded the English alliterative tradition and turned to French patterns. He translated the
popular allegorical poem Roman de la Rose. His first important poem was The Book of the Duchess (1369)
an elegy on the death of his patron John of Gaunt’s wife. The poem shows the influence of the French
allegorical poetry and the poet’s acquaintance with classical poets such as Ovid and Virgil.
In The House of Fame and in The Parliament of Fowls Chaucer again followed the device of dream vision
introducing allegory and the tradition of courtly love. The former contains the description of an imaginary
journey of the poet taken by a Golden Eagle to the house of Fame, and his meditation on frailty of worldly
reknown. The latter is a wedding poem , in which the poet, in a dream, is led to the temple of Venus, where
on St.Valentine’s day, all kinds of birds gather to choose their mate.
Despite his evident debt to France, in these poems Chaucer went beyond imitation and he enlivened the
allegory with a personal touch of realism and humour.
The Italian Period
When Chaucer went to Italy he had the opportunity to come into contact with the Italian literature, then the
finest in Europe, particularly with the works of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. But it was Boccaccio who
inspired him to write his great love poem Troilus and Criseyde. It’s the story of the unhappy Troilus’love for
Criseyde, modelled on the plot of Boccaccio’s Filostrato. In this work Chaucer offered a high example of
psychological analysis. Between 1372 and 1386 he wrote The Legend of Good Women, celebrating nine
women famous for their faithfulness in love, such as Dido, Cleopatra and Lucrece, but the poem was left
unfinished.
The English Period
The above mentioned works are sufficient to rank Chaucer among the greatest poets of the Middle Ages,
but the poet was to reveal the maturity of his genius in The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer’s masterpiece, like Boccaccio’s Decameron, is a collection of stories set up in the framework of a
prologue. A company of 30 pilgrims, included the narrator of the prologue, on their way to the shrine of
St.Thomas Becket in Canterbury, meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark. The host joins the group and in order
to enliven their journey, he proposes that each of them should tell two stories on the outbound journey and
another two stories on the way back; the teller of the best story should receive a free supper as a reward on
their return to the inn. The prologue contains the portraits of the pilgrims and their personal features are
strongly related to the characteristics of their trade and professions. All social classes are represented: a
Carpenter, a Weaver, a Merchant, a Cleric of Oxford, a man of Law, a Knight, a Miller and the wife of Bath, a
friar, a monk and a prioress, etc.. Also the choice of the tales is generally in harmony with the character of
the narrator. The knight relates a story on chivalry, love and war; the Miller recalls a fabliaux; the Parson
tells a serious and edifying story. The tales are very different: some of them are full of grace and tenderness,
some are grave and dramatic, others are humorous and amusing.
Sadly Chaucer did not live to finish the ambitious scheme he started about 1386: this called for som 120 tales
but only 24 were told, three of which unfinished.