Medieval Literature Worksheet for 17-Year-Olds: Mabinogion, Marie de France, Chaucer

Instructions

Read through each section carefully. The questions are designed to test your knowledge and encourage critical thinking about these key medieval texts and authors. Use your prior knowledge and the context provided to formulate your answers in the spaces provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

Part 1: The Mabinogion - Welsh Mythology

The Mabinogion is a collection of the earliest prose stories in the literature of Britain, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. These tales are a window into the mythology, folklore, and cultural values of early Wales, filled with magic, heroic deeds, and figures who blur the line between human and divine.

1. Character Identification: Fill in the blanks with the correct names from the Mabinogion.

   The First Branch of the Mabinogi introduces Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, and his marriage to the powerful, intelligent, and otherworldly woman, _______________. In the Fourth Branch, a woman named _______________ is magically created from the flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet, only to later betray her husband, Lleu Llaw Gyffes.

2. Critical Analysis: In the Mabinogion, the Welsh Otherworld, or Annwn, is not a place of reward or punishment like heaven or hell, but rather a parallel world that often interacts with the human realm. How does the relationship between the human world and the Otherworld shape the plot and themes of the First Branch of the Mabinogi (the story of Pwyll)?

Part 2: Marie de France - The Art of the Lai

Marie de France was a highly educated poet who wrote in Anglo-Norman French in the late 12th century, likely for the court of King Henry II of England. She is best known for her collection of twelve lais, which are short narrative poems about courtly love, adventure, and the supernatural, often drawing on Breton and Welsh folklore.

1. Defining the Genre: Based on the description above, what are three key characteristics of a Breton lai as written by Marie de France?
2. Literary Analysis: In the lai "Lanval," a knight of King Arthur's court is overlooked and lonely. He falls in love with a beautiful, wealthy fairy queen who makes him promise never to reveal her existence. Later, Queen Guinevere makes advances toward Lanval, and when he rejects her, she accuses him of not being interested in women. To defend his honor, Lanval breaks his promise and boasts that his love is far more beautiful than the queen. Guinevere, insulted, demands Arthur punish Lanval with death for this slight. Just as he is about to be condemned, Lanval's fairy queen arrives, proves his claim to be true, and spirits him away to the magical island of Avalon.
   
   Considering this plot, how does Marie de France use the supernatural (the fairy queen) to critique the social and political realities of the human court (Arthur's court)?

Part 3: Geoffrey Chaucer - A Portrait of an Age

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 1400) is often called the "Father of English Literature." He was a courtier, diplomat, and civil servant whose greatest work, The Canterbury Tales, presents a vivid cross-section of 14th-century English society through the stories told by a diverse group of pilgrims.

1. Literary Device: The Canterbury Tales is a prime example of a frame narrative. Briefly explain what this literary device is and identify the "frame" in this work.
2. Character Comparison: In the "General Prologue," Chaucer describes the Knight and the Squire. The Knight is portrayed as a model of chivalry, "evere honoured for his worthynesse," who has fought in numerous crusades. The Squire is his son, a lover and a "lusty bacheler" with embroidered clothes and curled hair, who fights in nearby France "in hope to stonden in his lady grace."
   
   What does the contrast between the Knight's focus on duty and faith and the Squire's focus on courtly love and appearance suggest about changing ideals of chivalry at the end of the Middle Ages?

Part 4: A Treatise on the Astrolabe

Beyond his poetry, Chaucer also wrote a prose scientific work, A Treatise on the Astrolabe. It is a manual explaining the form and use of the astrolabe—a complex medieval instrument used for astronomy, navigation, and telling time—written for his 10-year-old son, "little Lewis."

1. Function and Purpose: What was an astrolabe, and why would an instrument that could measure the position of stars be so important in the medieval world? List at least two practical applications.
2. Authorial Insight: What does the fact that a great poet like Chaucer also wrote a detailed, technical manual on astronomy reveal about the concept of a "Renaissance man" even before the Renaissance had fully begun? What does it suggest about the intellectual culture of his time?

Part 5: Synthesis

Consider the works and authors discussed. The Mabinogion arises from an ancient, mythological oral tradition. Marie de France writes courtly, aristocratic poetry. Chaucer creates both a sweeping social panorama and a technical manual. How do these different works—the Mabinogion and The Canterbury Tales—reflect the societies that produced them? Contrast their subject matter, tone, and intended audience to explain your points.

Answer Key

Part 1: The Mabinogion

1. The correct names are Rhiannon and Blodeuwedd.
2. The interaction between the human world and the Otherworld drives the plot of the First Branch. Pwyll's accidental entry into Annwn and his agreement to trade places with its king, Arawn, for a year sets up the central conflict and his eventual meeting with Rhiannon. This relationship reveals that the values of early Welsh society included honor (Pwyll keeps his word to Arawn), courage, and an understanding that the world was filled with powerful, mysterious forces beyond human control. The permeability of the border between worlds suggests a worldview where magic and the mundane were deeply intertwined.

Part 2: Marie de France

1. Three key characteristics are: 1) Short, narrative form (story-telling poem). 2) Focus on themes of courtly love, chivalry, and adventure. 3) Inclusion of supernatural or fairy-tale elements, often drawn from Celtic (Breton) sources.
2. Marie de France uses the fairy queen as an external force that exposes the flaws of Arthur's court. The human court is shown to be a place of jealousy (Guinevere), injustice (Arthur is willing to execute Lanval based on his wife's anger), and social isolation (Lanval is initially lonely because he is not a favorite). The fairy queen, by contrast, represents a world of true love, loyalty, immense wealth, and ultimate justice. When she saves Lanval, it serves as a critique that the supposedly ideal human world of Camelot is inferior to the moral and magical clarity of the Otherworld.

Part 3: Geoffrey Chaucer

1. A frame narrative is a literary technique where a main story is used to set the stage for a collection of shorter, individual stories. The "frame" in The Canterbury Tales is the pilgrimage to Canterbury. The journey itself, and the interactions between the pilgrims at the Tabard Inn and on the road, provides the context for each character to tell his or her own tale.
2. The contrast suggests a shift from an older, more martial and pious form of chivalry to a newer, more courtly and romantic one. The Knight represents the ideal of the past: a humble, battle-hardened warrior fighting for his faith in distant lands. The Squire represents the emerging ideal of the Renaissance courtier: a young man concerned with art (singing, poetry), fashion, and winning a lady's love through deeds performed closer to home. It shows that the concept of "chivalry" was evolving from a primarily military and religious code to a more social and aesthetic one.

Part 4: A Treatise on the Astrolabe

1. An astrolabe was an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators. It was a versatile instrument that could be used to: 1) Tell time during the day or night. 2) Determine latitude by measuring the altitude of the sun or stars. 3) Aid in astrological calculations. 4) Help with navigation at sea.
2. The existence of this treatise demonstrates that the divide between the arts and sciences was not as rigid in the late Middle Ages as it is today. An educated person like Chaucer was expected to have a broad range of knowledge. It shows he was not just a poet but also a scholar with expertise in mathematics and astronomy. This embodies the ideal of a well-rounded, intellectually curious individual—a precursor to the "Renaissance man." It suggests an intellectual culture where practical science and literary art were seen as complementary, not separate, fields of knowledge.

Part 5: Synthesis

A strong answer would include the following points:

• Society and Subject Matter: The Mabinogion reflects an earlier, aristocratic warrior society rooted in Celtic mythology. Its subjects are kings, queens, magical beings, and heroes whose actions have mythological significance. In contrast, The Canterbury Tales reflects a more complex, stratified, and commercial society of the late 14th century. Its subjects include a wide range of social classes, from the noble Knight to the corrupt Pardoner, the wealthy Wife of Bath, and the humble Plowman.
• Tone: The tone of the Mabinogion is often serious, mythic, and fantastical, dealing with epic themes of honor, betrayal, and magic. The tone of The Canterbury Tales is much more varied, ranging from the pious and chivalric (the Knight's Tale) to the bawdy and satirical (the Miller's Tale). Chaucer's overarching tone is one of worldly irony, social commentary, and humor.
• Intended Audience: The Mabinogion likely originated in oral tales told in the courts of Welsh princes, intended for an aristocratic audience familiar with its mythological background. Chaucer's work, while also enjoyed by the court, was written in the vernacular (Middle English) and seems intended for a broader, literate audience that would include merchants, clergy, and educated city-dwellers who would recognize the social types he was satirizing.