G.M Trevelyan - SHE - Chapter I
[alert-success] CHAUCER'S ENGLAND
[/alert-success]
[alert-primary] Town and Church [/alert-primary]
[alert-primary] Town and Church [/alert-primary]
[btn href="http://www.speedynotes.in/2022/09/social-history-of-england.html" class="bt" btn]Back[/btn]
In the Fourteenth Century,
The English town was still a place where people lived and worked in agriculture
and industry. The town was protected by a stone wall that set it apart from
open villages. As in Oxford and Cambridge, the town's common pasture was
usually along the river. In 1388, the parliament decided that journeymen and
apprentices should bring in the corn during harvest time.
Norwich is considered as the second city of
the United Kingdom after London. Plague often came to the
town because it wasn't as clean as the village. There were nice gardens and
farmyards around the houses. For a fair-sized town, there are between 2,000 and
3,000 people living there. All of the writers were unconsciously influenced by
the natural beauty that was all around them.
Medieval London:
More and more wood and
charcoal were being replaced by ‘sea’ coal. It is called as ‘sea’ coal because
it came from Tyneside by ship. Roofs in London were changed from thatch to red
tiles out of fear of fire. The
chief architectural glory of the capital London was its hundred Churches. Westminster
had become the recognized centre of royal administration, law and parliament.
The Trades in Wool and Cloth:
Most of the English goods
that left the country through the port of Calais were raw wool. These staplers
are the ones who gave the most money to the king, who sent wool abroad to feed
looms in other countries. Cloth-making has been done by hand for a long time,
but now water power is starting to be used. The cloth trade was most popular
during this era.
Masters, apprentices, and
Journeymen were all more or less the same class before the period of Chaucer.
During the period of Chaucer, the difference between "employer" and
"employed" became more evident. The difference between the rich
trading master and the poor manufacturing master grew as well.
Church Reform Delayed:
Great changes were taking
place in Chaucer’s day in the structure of society. In the field of religion
too changes took place. Langland, Gower, and Chaucer, spoke out against the
corruption of the clergy in the church. The friars attacked the bishops and
clergy who were not religious. Bishops in Chaucer's time were honest,
hardworking men, but the church became rotten. The only kind of churchman that
the poets seemed to have liked and respected was the parish priest. Parish
priest ruled inside the walls of his church, which most of the village went to
on Sundays. Confession was a duty that people had to do, and it was usually
done to the parish priest. The friars were the only real Evangelicals in
England. They preach very well. Wycliffe liked their ideas, but he didn't like
the way they lived.
Monks and Friars
In Chaucer's England, the
monks were well-traveled and lived well on their land. They stopped working
with their hands and hired servants to do their work. They spent a lot of money
to make guests who were much wealthier feel welcome. The commons said that the
church controlled one-third of England's wealth. By the standards of the time,
monks had a very good life.
Universities and the Rise of the Colleges
There were grammar schools
in different parts of England. The people who ran these schools were not part
of the church. Oxford and Cambridge were the first two universities in England.
In Chaucer's time, Oxford was the place where people went to learn. After a
while, the college system was added to these universities. The system took hold
in England and did well there more than anywhere else. It led to better morals,
more discipline, and a more organised school life.
Lawyers
The non-professional lawyers, who had made the Inns of
Court for themselves between London and Westminster. These common lawyers were
the first educated non-lawyers as a group, which was very important to the
growth of the country.
Conclusion
The
Chaucer’s period was a period which was discontent with its institutions. This
uprise has resulted in the wake of new monarchy, new learning and new
discoveries in the next century.
[btn href="http://www.speedynotes.in/2022/09/social-history-of-england.html" class="bt" btn]Back[/btn]
0 Comments