Key Terms for Middle English

These terms and dates form part of the discussion of the readings for this section, and you should become familiar with them. You can find them defined separately in the Glossary in the back of our textbook, as well as the online glossary on this site. Some of these terms may also come from our lectures, supplementary readings, and workbook exercises for the unit. You may find it helpful to continually refer back to this list as you progress through the material and lectures of this unit.

Norman French, Anglo-Norman, or French of England
Parisian French
yogh
function words
levelling of inflected endings
scribal -e
SVO (Subject-Verb-Object word order)
dialect

1066 Norman Conquest; William crowned King of England
1204 King John loses Normandy
1348-1350 Plague
1337-1453 Hundred Years War
1400 death of Geoffrey Chaucer
1476 Caxton's printing press