Important Events in Chaucers Age : Hundred Years war, Black Death,

easants !evolt, Collards "ovement, and !evolutioni#ed $anguage

Chaucers Age
The period from 1340-1400 is called the age of Chaucer. It was an age of
transition. This transition implies a shift from medieval to the modern times. The
most important events, of the time are: Hundred Years war, Black Death,
Peasants Revolt, collards Movement, and Revolutionized anguage.
Hundred Years war! The period etween 133! and 14"3 is mar#ed $
%undred &ears' (ar, a long succession of s#irmishes and armed conflict etween
)rance and *ngland. The (ar was a series of short conflicts, ro#en
intermittentl$ $ a numer of truces and peace treaties. It resulted from disputes
etween the ruling families of the two countries, the )rench Capetians and the
*nglish +lantagenets, over territories in )rance and the succession to the )rench
throne. These attles were largel$ won $ *nglish &eomen. These wars generated
the feeling of patriotism and nationalism.
Black Death! In the middle ages, people did not other much aout sanitation
and cleanliness, so lepros$ and other diseases which reed in dirt were ver$
common. *ngland was often visited $ epidemics, especiall$ plague . -lac#
.eath, outrea# of uonic plague that struc# *urope and the /editerranean
area during later half of the 14th centur$.The severest attac# of this dreadful
epidemic came in 1300. It was called the -lac# .eath. The epidemic swept awa$
of the total population of the *ngland at that time and left the countr$ totall$
disorgani1ed price, rose and the value of mone$ declined.
Peasants Revolt! The suffering peasants of *ngland ecame ver$ restless and
discontented. The$ revolts in 13!1 ecause , the poll ta2es imposed in 1300, 1303
and 13!0 were oppressive , (att Ta$lor, 4ac# 5traw and 4ohn -ull led the
peasants revolt .The mo stormed 6andon, ut 7ichard II handled the situation
ver$ cunningl$ and got the leaders arrested and then eheaded.
Collards Movement! The medieval cleric was in 6atin, ver$ few people could
understand what the priest was sa$ing. /oreover, the clerg$man had ecome
corrupt undisciplined. 4ohn ($cliffe 81390-13!4: was, the first *nglishman to
challenge the Catholic Church. %e started what is called the collard's
movement .%e translated the ile from 6atin in to native tongue and sent his
poor priest to all parts, of the countr$ for spreading his message of simplicit$
causticit$ ; purit$ .%is movement was the eginning of reformation.
Revolutionized anguage! 6atin and )rench were the dominant languages in
the 14th centur$ in *ngland. %owever, in lateral half of 14th centur$ *nglish
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came to its own ecause of the great wor#s done $ Chaucer, 6angland and
($cliffe, who wrote in *nglish. *2tending from 10<< to 14!", this period is noted
for the e2tensive influence of )rench literature on native *nglish forms and
themes. )rom the =orman-)rench con>uest of *ngland in 10<< until the 14th
centur$, )rench largel$ replaced *nglish in ordinar$ literar$ composition, and
6atin maintained its role as the language of learned wor#s. -$ the 14th centur$,
when *nglish again ecame the chosen language of the ruling classes, it had lost
much of the ?ld *nglish inflectional s$stem, had undergone certain sound
changes, and had ac>uired the characteristic it still possesses of freel$ ta#ing into
the native stoc# numers of foreign words, in this case )rench and 6atin ones.
Thus, the various dialects of /iddle *nglish spo#en in the 14th centur$ were
similar to /odern *nglish and can e read without great difficult$ toda$.
The /iddle *nglish literature of the 14th and 1"th centuries is much more
diversified than the previous ?ld *nglish literature. @ variet$ of )rench and even
Italian elements influenced /iddle *nglish literature, especiall$ in southern
*ngland. In addition, different regional st$les were maintained, in literature and
learning had not $et een centrali1ed. )or these reasons, as well as ecause of the
vigorous and uneven growth of national life, the /iddle *nglish period contains a
wealth of literar$ monuments not easil$ classified.The Aogue of romance was
passing and the realistic poetr$ was ta#ing roots. In a wa$, the age of Chaucer
stands, etween the medieval and the modern life. Compton 7ac#et ?servers,
BChaucer's world is medieval, ut eneath the medievalism, the heaven of the
7enaissance is alread$ at wor#.
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