The literature of the 15th century

The Wars of the Roses. The death of Chaucer was a great blow to English poetry. It took two centuries to produce a poet equal to him. The Hundred Years' War ended, but another misfortune betel the country: in 1455 a feudal war broke out between the descendants o Edward ni, which is known as the Wars of the Roses. The feud turned into a bitter struggle for the crown, each party splitting up into smaller parties that murdered every likely heir to the throne. The commons tool little part in the struggle. Anarchy reigned, making the exchange c! knowledge almost impossible. " deed, it was impossible for other "; continue the work Chaucer had begun while the people suffered from con tinual war and remained completely ignorant.

William caxton (1422–1491)

In his early youth William Caxton was an apprentice to a company of London dealers in silk and wool lei cloth. Later, he lived in Flanders in the town of Bruges, where h worked as a hand-copier of book for the royal family. He was learned man and translated French histories into English. Wheel on business in Cologne , a German town, he learned tb art of printing. In 1476 Caxton set up the first printing-press ii Westminster.

Two years later, after Caxton had attracted public notice, a second printing-press was set up at Oxford. During the next fifteen years Caxton printed sixty-five works, both translations and originals. The works of Chaucer were also printed with great care.

Folk-songs and ballads

Folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland in the 15th century.

Folk-songs were heard everywhere. A folk-song is a short poem in rhymed stanzas usually set to a melody. The rhythm goes along with the subject dealt with in the song. Thus mowing-songs, spinning-and weaving-songs were made up to the measured motion of that kind of work. Harvest-songs and wedding-songs were set to the measured motion of a dance.

The most interesting examples of folk poetry were the ballads. English and Scottish ballads were either lyrical-epic poems (these were narratives), or lyrical-dramatic poems (incidents in action). Ballads were either for singing or for reciting. They were often accompanied by musical instruments (such as the bagpipes in Scotland) and dancing. The ballad became the most popular form of amusement in towns and villages because it was something intermediate between a performance and a game.

As regards the content, the ballads may be divided into three groups: historical, heroic, and romantic ballads. Historical ballads were based on a historical fact, while heroic ballads were about people who were persecuted by the law or by their own families. Among the most popular ones were those about Robin Hood, who was an outlaw.

Ballads and songs express the sentiments and thoughts of a people, therefore the author is not felt in them. They were handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.

The art of printing did not stop the creation of folk-songs and ballads. They continued to develop till the 18th century.