27. Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales. They are a series of tales told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

Unfinished poem of about 17 000 lines. Introduces a groups of pilgrims who are journeying from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. Storytelling competition; Chaucer planned 120 tales, but could finish only 24.

The tales permit open dialogue between people from different levels of society

A variety of medieval genres (beast fables, homily, sermon)

Written in English – supported the idea of national language. A valuable social document. Experimentation with rhyme and rhythm. A cast of memorable characters.

Two level of meaning: a superficial level – expression of ‘admiration’ and a deeper level – playful fun of the subject. The writer cannot be ‘accused’ of attacking the subject and leaves it entirely up to the reader to find reasons for criticism.

28. Old English theatre and old English drama

In the year 1576 James Burbage built the first English theater. The venture proved so successful, that 12 theaters were soon furnishing entertainment to the citizens of London. Of these the most celebrated was "The Globe." (It was so named because its sign bore the effigy of Atlas supporting the globe.) Some of these theaters were arenas for bull-baiting.

Compared with the magnificent theaters of the present day, all were poor and squalid. Most of them were entirely uncovered, except for a thatched roof over the stage which protected the actors and privileged spectators from the weather. The audience was exposed to sunshine and to storm. Plays were acted only in the daytime. The musicians, instead of being placed in the orchestra, were in a lofty gallery over the stage.

The performance began early in the afternoon, and was announced by flourishes of a trumpet. Black drapery hung around the stage was the symbol of tragedy.

Dancing and singing took place between the acts; and, as a rule, a comic ballad, sung by a clown with accompaniment of tabor and pipe and farcical dancing closed the entertainment.

Old English drama (11-16th century) is a fusion of 2 theatrical traditions: street performance and religious dramatisations.

Popular types of drama (street performance): singers, dancers, acrobats, storytellers, mime artists

Mystery plays were based on stories from Bible (Mystery Circle).

Church uses drama to educate the illiterate masses (подробно в 41 вопросе)

29. British science in the Middle Ages. Mathematics and philosophy

The history of science in the Middle Ages is concerned with the study of nature, including practical disciplines, the mathematical sciences, and natural philosophy

Science, and particularly geometry and astronomy, was linked directly to the divine (божественное) for most medieval scholars

With the beginning of the Renaissance of the 12th cent., interest in natural investigation was renewed.

Golden period of scholastic philosophy focused on logic and advocated empirism

Nature is a coherent system of laws that could be explained in the light of reason.

By the eighth century, learning was almost entirely oriented toward studying the Bible in Latin.

study of nature was pursued more for practical reasons (e.g., medicine, astronomical timekeeping) than as an abstract inquiry.

The English monk Alcuin of York - a project of scholarly development aimed at reintroduction classical knowledge by establishing programs of study based upon the 7 liberal arts. The cultural scenario changes when the contact with the Arabs after the Reconquista and during the Crusades allowed Europeans access to preserved copies of ancient works.

- Robert Grosseteste (1168-1253), Bishop of Lincoln, - the central character of the English intellectual movement in the 13th cent and the founder of scientific thought in Oxford.

- Grosseteste was the first scholastic to fully understand Aristotle’s vision of the dual path of scientific reasoning: concluding from particular observations into a universal law, and then back again: from universal laws to prediction of particulars. Called this “resolution and composition”

- Roger Bacon (1214-1294), Doctor Admirabilis, joined the Franciscan Order around 1240, influenced by Grosseteste. Bacon made the concept of “laws of nature" widespread, and contributed in such areas as machanics, geography and, most of all, optics. The optical research of Grosseteste and Bacon - the later invention of such instruments as the telescope and the microscope

- William of Ockham (1285-1350), o Doctor Invincibilis, was an English Franciscian frair, philosopher, logician and theologian. His principle later became known as Occam’s Razor and states that if there are various equally valid explanations for a fact, then the simplest one should be chosen.

- the 12th and 13th century – the dawn of the Age of Exploration

- Thomas Bradwardine and the Oxford Calculators of Merton College distinguished kinematics from dymanics, emphasizing kinematics, and investigating instantaneous velocity