is a short tale or prolonged personification with animal characters
intended to convey a moral truth; it’s a myth, a fiction, a falsehood.
It’s a short story about supernatural or extraordinary persons or
incidents. Fabliaux are funny metrical short stories about cunning
humbugs and the unfaithful wives o f rich merchants. These tales
were popular in medieval France. These stories were told in the
dialects o f Middle English. They were usually comic, frankly
coarse and often cynical. The urban literature did not idealize
characters as romances did. Fabliaux show a practical attitude to
life.
Q uestions and Tasks
1. In what languages did communication go in England in the
Norman period?
2. What were the tales and verses in the Norman period about?
3. What did the term “romance” mean in the medieval period?
4. What can you tell about Romances which were composed
in the 12- 13th centuries?
5. Who collected the romances about King Arthur and what
was in their plot?
6
. What is the difference between fables and fabliaux?
Pre-R cnaissancc Period in English literature
In the 14th century the Norman kings made London their
residence, It became the most inhabited and busy town in England.
(The London dialect was the central dialect, and could be
understood throughout the country). Even peasants who wished
to get free o f their masters went to London. But the life in the
country was miserable especially with the so-called Hundred
Years’ War flamed by King Edward against France. There was
another burden on people’s shoulders - rich foreign bishops of
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