Middle English
(1100-circa 1500 AD):
HISTORICAL
EVENTS
(summary)
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of
modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new
conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of
French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the
ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of
linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English
and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English
became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words
added. This language is called Middle English. It was the
language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would
still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.
The Norman Invasion
The end of the Anglo-Saxon period was ended 
with the Norman French invasion under William
the Conqueror in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings.
William, The Duke of Normandy, sailed across
the British Channel. He challenged King Harold
of England in the struggle for the English throne.
After winning the Battle of Hastings where he
defeated Harold, William was crowned King of
England. A Norman Kingdom was now
established. The Anglo-Saxon period was over.
After William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy,
invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD with his
armies and became king, he brought his nobles, who
spoke French, to be the new government. The Old
French took over as the language of the court,
administration, and culture. Latin was mostly used for
written language, especially that of the Church.
Meanwhile, The English language, as the language of
the now lower class, was considered a vulgar tongue.
French became the language of the upper
class; Anglo-Saxon of the lower class
 By about 1200, England and France had split. English
changed a lot, because it was mostly being spoken
instead of written for about 300 years. The use of Old
English came back, but with many French words
added. This language is called Middle English. Most
of the words embedded in the English vocabulary are
words of power, such as crown, castle, court,
parliament, army, mansion, gown, beauty, banquet, art,
poet, romance, duke, servant, and governor.
Because the English underclass cooked for the Norman
upper class, the words for most domestic animals are
English (ox, cow, calf, sheep, swine, deer) while the words
for the meats derived from them are French (beef ,‫لحم بقر‬
veal ,‫بتلو‬mutton ,‫ضأن‬pork ,‫لحم الخنزير‬bacon ,‫لحم خنزير مملح‬
venison .)‫لحم الغزال‬
The Canterbury Tales
 The most famous example of Middle English is
Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", a collection of
stories about a group of thirty people who travel as
pilgrims to Canterbury, England. The story is about a
party of pilgrims, the poet among them, traveling to
Canterbury to visit the grave of Thomas a Becket. To
pass the time, they agree to tell tales. In those tales
we get to know the characters themselves. They come
from every class of the society of the time, from the
nobility, members of the church, merchants and
craftsmen, to peasants.
 The portraits that he paints in his Tales give us an
idea of what life was like in fourteenth century
England. The Canterbury Tales is recognized as the
first book of poetry written in the English language.
Because of this work, all of the great writers who
followed, from Shakespeare to Dryden to Keats to
Eliot, owe him a debt of gratitude. It is because
Chaucer wrote in English that there is a written
record of the roots from which the modern language
grew
 Contemporary readers might find his words nearly as difficult to
follow as a foreign language, but scholars are thankful for the
chance to compare Middle English to the language as it is spoken
now, to examine its growth. The Canterbury Tales gives modern
readers a sense of the language at the time, the book also gives a
rich, intricate tapestry of medieval social life, combining elements of
all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to
drunkards and thieves. The General Prologue alone provides a
panoramic view of society that is not like any found elsewhere in all
of literature. Students who are not particularly interested in
medieval England can appreciate the author’s technique in
capturing the variations of human temperament and behavior.
Collections of stories were common in Chaucer’s time, and some
still exist today, but the genius of The Canterbury Tales is that the
individual stories are presented in a continuing narrative, showing
how all of the various pieces of life connect to one another.