Chaucer Heralds a New Literature

By the end of the 14th century the language (in its altered form called Middle English) was being used by nobles as well as commoners. In 1362 it became the language of lawcourt pleadings, and by 1385 it was widely taught in place of French.
Most of the great literature of the time was written from 1360 to 1400, a good part of it by one man, Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400). Chaucer was one of the world's greatest storytellers. His 'Canterbury Tales' is a masterpiece, with characters who remain eternally alive--the Wife of Bath, with her memories of five husbands; the noble Knight, returned from heroic deeds; his gay young son, the Squire ("He was as fressh as is the month of May"); the delightful Prioress ("At mete [meat] well ytaught was she with alle/ She let no morsel from her lippes falle."); and entertaining scoundrels, such as the Friar, Summoner, and Pardoner.
At the same time as Chaucer, another man was writing in the northern part of England. He is known as the Pearl Poet (14th century), from the name of one of his four poems in an old manuscript. Generally he is remembered for his narrative poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'.
There are a number of poems about Sir Gawain (just as there are about Sir Lancelot, Sir Perceval, and King Arthur); but this is the best. Unfortunately, it is written in the Lancashire dialect and is almost as difficult to read as Old English. Chaucer may be read with a little study because the Midland dialect in which he wrote became the standard one for English writing. Even in translation, however, 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' is fascinating.
Another poet contemporary with Chaucer was William Langland (1330?-1400?), a figure almost as shadowy as the Pearl Poet. His masterpiece, also in a somewhat difficult dialect, is 'The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman'. It consists of a series of dream-visions in which human life passes in review. Langland wrote with power and sincerity. He attacked the social ills of his time, rebuked evildoers, and urged men to "learn to love."
For nearly 200 years after the death of Chaucer there were almost no great literary works produced in England. One noteworthy exception is 'Le Morte d'Arthur', by Sir Thomas Malory (died 1470?). Malory made up this great collection of stories about King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table from the Arthurian legends circulating in French plus the English romances about the knights. 'Le Morte d'Arthur' was the main source for later retellings of the stories.
The other outstanding literary achievement of the times was the creation of the great English and Scottish ballads. These were probably sung by people at social gatherings. The ballads preserved the local events and beliefs and characters in an easily remembered form. It was not until several hundred years later that people began to write down these ballads. They are immensely vivid stories that modern readers find especially attractive. Three familiar ballads are 'The Wife of Usher's Well', about her three ghost sons; 'Sir Patrick Spens', concerning his death by drowning; and 'Edward', about his murderous revenge.