Discuss and compare key features of the Renaissance in Great Britain, Russia and France in small groups.

Make a short research on the topic “The impact of the Renaissance on literature and culture of English-speaking countries”. Discuss the results of your research in your group.

Additional texts

Feudalism [17]

The word “feudalism” comes from the French word “feu”, which the Normans used to refer to land in return to duty or service to a lord. The basis of feudal society was the holding of land, and its main purpose was economic. The central idea was that all land was owned by the king, but it was held by others, called “vassals”, in return for services and goods. The king gave large estates to his main nobles in return for a promise to serve him in war for up to forty days. The nobles also had to give him part of the produce of the land. The greater nobles gave part of their lands to lesser nobles, knights, and other “freemen”. Some freemen paid for the land by doing military service, while others paid rent. The nobles kept “serfs” to work on his land. These were not free to leave the estate, and were often little better than slaves.

There were two basic principles to feudalism: everyman had a lord, and every lord had land. The king was connected through this “chain” of people to the lowest man in the country. At each level a man had to promise loyalty and service to his lord. This promise was usually made with the lord sitting on his chair and his vassal kneeling before him, his hands placed between those of his lord. This was called “homage”, and has remained part of the coronation ceremony of British kings and queens until now. On the other hand, each lord had responsibilities to his vassals. He had to give them land and protection.

When a noble died his son usually took over his estates. But first he had to receive permission from the king and make a special payment. If he was still a child the king often took the produce of the estate until the boy was old enough to look after the estate himself. In this way the king could benefit from the death of a noble. If all the noble’s family died the land went back to the king, who would be expected to give it to another deserving noble. But the king often kept the land for some years, using its wealth, before giving it to another noble.

If the king did not give the nobles land they would not fight for him. Between 1066 and mid-fourteenth century there were only thirty years of complete peace. So feudal duties were extremely important. The king had to make sure he had enough satisfied nobles who would be willing to fight for him.

William gave out land all over England to his nobles. By 1086 he wanted to know exactly who owned which piece of land, and how much it was worth. He needed this information so that he could plan his economy, to find out how much was produced and how much he could ask in tax. He therefore sent a team of people all through England to make a complete economic survey. His people asked all kinds of questions at each settlement: How much land was there? Who owned it? How much was it worth? How many families, ploughs and sheep were there? And so on. This survey was the only one of its kind in Europe. Not surprisingly, it was most unpopular with the people, because they felt they could not escape from its findings. It so reminded them of the paintings of the Day of Judgment, or “doom”, on the walls of their churches that they called it the “Doomsday” Book. The name stuck. The Doomsday Book still exists, and gives an extraordinary amount of information about England at this time.

The Sword in the Stone [18]

One Christmas day Merlin reappeared and caused a great stone to appear in a London churchyard. Set in the stone was an anvil, and sticking out of the top of the anvil was a sword. There were letters inscribed in gold upon its hilt, and they read, ’Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all England.’

Tongues began to wag at that. But once all the jokers had tried and failed to remove the sword, it was decided to call a tournament for New Year’s Day. Every night in the kingdom would come surely one of them would prove to be the king. But when the day came, not one of the nights could budge the sword an inch.

When all had tried and failed to pull the sword from the stone, the knights moved on to challenge each other on the tournament field. One of these nights was a young man from the north of England, Sir Kay was a hasty and ill-tempered youth, and when he reached the tournament field and realized he’d forgotten his sword, his young squire, a lad of about 13 or 14, got the blame. Kay cuffed him, and shouted at him, and sent him running to fetch it.

But when the lad arrived at the house where they were lodging, he found everything locked and barred. Everyone was at the jousting. So he had no choice but to make his way back to Sir Kay, empty-handed. On the way back he passed a churchyard and in that churchyard he saw the very thing he wanted: a sword. He didn’t pause or think, but just took the sword and carried it to Sir Kay.

Now Sir Kay was not a fool – and he knew at once what it was the squire had brought him. He called his father, Sir Ector, to his side, and said, ‘Here is the sword from the stone. I am the rightful king of England.’

Sir Ector just looked at Kay. And then he led his son back to the churchyard, and into the church. Then he took a bible and gave it to Kay, saying; ‘Son, swear to me on this holy book that you yourself removed the sword.’

‘My squirm, Arthur, brought it to me,; said Sir Kay.

So Sir Ector called the lad Arthur in to the church, and asked him how he came by the sword. Arthur thought he was to be scolded, and seizing the weapon he ran to slide it back through the anvil in to the stone. He said he hadn’t meant to do wrong.

Sir Ector and Sir Kay followed Arthur back into the churchyard, and they both tugged at the sword, but it would not move. ‘Arthur,’ said Sir Ector, ‘remove the sword again,’ and Arthur withdrew it as easily as from a scabbard. Then Sir Ector and Sir Kay knelt down before him, and kissed his hand. And Arthur, who had been raised as a foster brother to Sir Kay, said, ‘Father, brother, why do you kneel t me?’

Sir Ector told him, ’I am not your father, Arthur, nor is Sir Ector your brother. You are a foundling child, brought to me as a baby by the enchanter Merlin. Since then, I have raised you as my own. I never dreamed you were King Uther’s son.’

Then the lad Arthur wept, because Sir Ector was not his father, and Sir Kay was not his brother, and he was king of all England.

You can imagine the nobles and the knights were not well pleased. But not one of them could move the sword, and Arthur cold do so whenever he pleased. It was the common folk that made Arthur king, because they suffered from lawlessness of the times and the caprice of the nobles.

And when Arthur became king, he helped the common people most. With Kay as his steward, and Merlin as his guide, he set about restoring law and justice to the land. And to help him do so, he created the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table, for those knights who wanted to fight wrong, and help him rule justly and wisely.