But still, the medieval English literature gave strong clues as to how much influence religion had at that time. Hill's essay concerns "The Ballad of St. Stephen and Hero," a poem that "clearly displays the tendency of medieval popular religion to reshape 'historical' narrative to conform to the conventions and expectations of traditional or 'folk' narrative. St. Stephen, in historical context, was reportedly the first Christian martyr. After the death of Christ, Stephen was preaching in the streets and was apparently such an irritation to angry Jews who heard him extol the virtues of Christ, they stoned him to death. The poem, which Hill analyses, actually takes serious liberties with the real Biblical story; Hill points out that the poem claims Stephen's martyrdom resulted from the power of a star at Christ's birth, flatly contradicting Scripture. That having been said, this poem is just another example of the "folk' sensibility of medieval popular religious culture reshaping the 'facts' of scriptural history," Hill reports.
This distinction between supposed religious history and folk interpretations of religion in medieval times is easier to understand and justify if what Hill says is true: "In late medieval England lay Christians were actively discouraged from acquiring the kind of scriptural knowledge which would allow them to understand the historical context of their faith."
Probably the best-known and likely most highly respected literature in the Middle Ages was written by Geoffrey Chaucer; and Chaucer's most famous work of literature is Canterbury Tales. In the Canterbury Tales, the General Prologue offers personality portraits of the main characters, and invites the reader to come along on this adventure....
According to an Sonjae ("Brother Anthony"), writing in Literature in English Society: The Middle Ages, Christian themes are found throughout the book. The Monk in Chaucer's story "goes hunting instead of praying," Sonjae writes. The Prioress has an expensive set of beads around her arm, which would normally be used for prayer, but ends up as a brooch that has the inscription, "Love conquers all," Sonjae explains. The Friar in Canterbury Tales pays close attention to church-going folks who "...confidently live in contradiction with what is expected of them."
The Parson is a "model churchman" and is very interested in "true Christianity"; he is accompanied on the famous pilgrimage by the Plowman, who is the "model lay Christian," according to Sonjae's essay. The Plowman may well have been inspired by Chaucer's reading of the famous poem from the Middle Ages, Piers Plowman; in Chaucer's story, the Plowman is always eager to give aid to the poor, which is indeed a classic Christian theme.
Works Cited
Hill, Thomas D. "The Ballad of St. Stephen and Herod': Biblical History and Medieval
Popular Religious Culture." Society for the Study of Mediaeval Languages and Literature.
Retrieved 11 October, 2006, at http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/.
Notre Dame University. "Introduction to Anthropology." Retrieved 11 October 2006 at http://www.nd.edu/~gantho/anth1-163/introduction10-12.html.
Richardson, Jan. "The Luminous Word: Living the Advent Hours." The Other Side 39.6
2003): 17-23.
Sonjae, an. "The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales." Literature in English Society:
The Middle Ages. Seoul, Songang University Press, 1997.
