Middle English

The Normans from Normandy in northern France invaded England in 1066 CE. They took over the reign of Britain. They spoke French which became a language for the elite in England. They introduced new words like ‘cash’, ‘reward’, ‘age’, ‘damage’, ‘jury’, ‘justice’, ‘parliament’,  ‘prison’,  marriage’, etc to the English language.

 

The transition was gradually made to Middle English. Over time, the ruling Normans ceased to speak authentic French. Rather, their language became a Middle English and French hybrid.  The common folk of England however continued to converse in Old English for a while.

 

Though modern English and Middle English are similar to the human ear, the latter language may seem quite incomprehensible to us now. Many works from this era have been preserved today, the most renowned of which is ‘The Canterbury Tales’ by Geoffrey Chaucer, authored 600 years ago.    

This literary text is a poetry collection regarding various people journeying to Canterbury town. This Middle English poem artistically chronicles society and the people of the age. Some of the work’s characters are wise, brave and nice. Others are silly and mean. 

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/canterbury-tales-canterbury-pilgrims-1730722/: Picture courtesy: Image of The Canterbury Tales by Alasdair Macleod from Pixabay 

 

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