The Plantagenets
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Road to Chaucer: History and Literature of Early England Part 10: The Canterbury Tales
By the time we reach Geoffrey Chaucer, English literature feels like it has been speaking in distant voices for centuries. Old English poetry carried the weight of heroism and fate. Middle English writing leaned heavily on religion and moral instruction. Much of it feels formal, even a little removed from everyday life. Then suddenly, everything… Continue reading
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History and Literature of Renaissance England Part 1: The Wars of the Roses
England in the 15th century was a land on edge. After decades of intermittent warfare in France and the unstable reign of Henry VI of England, the kingdom’s nobles were restless, ambitious, and divided. What followed was nearly thirty years of dynastic conflict that would tear England apart: the Wars of the Roses. The war… Continue reading
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Road to Chaucer: History and Literature of Early England Part 8: The Plantagenets
After the Norman dynasty, England was no longer a fragile land of conquest and survival. The Plantagenets, beginning with Henry II of England in 1154, would rule for over three centuries, and their reign reshaped the country politically, socially, and culturally. England became a place of ambition, law, literature, and story. Henry II inherited a… Continue reading
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