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Grief & Consolation in Chaucer's Book of the Duchess
In Geoffrey Chaucer's first major work, The Book of the Duchess (c. 1370 CE), two genres of medieval literature are combined – the French poetic convention of courtly love and the high medieval dream vision – to create a poem of enduring...
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Food in an English Medieval Castle
If one was looking to enjoy a fine meal in the medieval world then the best place to find a handsomely laid dinner table was in the local castle. There, in the magnificent Great Hall, feasts were regularly served for the local lord and his...
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Artillery in Medieval Europe
Artillery weapons in medieval Europe included the mounted crossbow (ballista) and single-arm torsion catapult (mangonel), both similar to ancient Roman machines. As armies battled further afield such as in the Byzantine Empire and against...
Definition
Edward the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock (1330-1376 CE), better known as the Black Prince after his distinctive armour or martial reputation, was the eldest son of Edward III of England (r. 1327-1377 CE). Made the Prince of Wales in 1343 CE, Edward would fight...
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Marie de France
Marie de France (wrote c. 1160-1215 CE) was a multilingual poet and translator, the first female poet of France, and a highly influential literary voice of 12th-century CE Europe. She is credited with establishing the literary genre of chivalric...
Definition
Lancelot
Lancelot, also known as Sir Lancelot and Lancelot du Lac (“Lancelot of the Lake”) is the greatest knight of King Arthur's court and lover of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, best known from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE...
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Grail Legend
The Grail Legend (also known as the Grail Quest, Quest for the Holy Grail) developed in Europe c. 1050-1485 CE. It most likely originated in Ireland as folklore before appearing in written form sometime before 1056 CE in The Prophetic Ecstasy...
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Life in a Medieval Castle
Protecting strategically important coastlines, passes, and roadways, castles were an essential part of medieval warfare. With such key features as a tower keep, fortified gatehouses, curtain walls with crenellations and a surrounding moat...
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Chretien de Troyes
Chretien de Troyes (l. c. 1130-1190 CE) was the greatest romantic poet of his era, regarded today as the Father of Arthurian Romance (along with Geoffrey of Monmouth) and also Father of the Novel owing to his narrative form. He was most likely...
Definition
The Medieval Church
Religious practice in medieval Europe (c. 476-1500) was dominated and informed by the Catholic Church. The majority of the population was Christian, and "Christian" at this time meant "Catholic" as there was initially no other form of that...