Middle English Timeline by Declan Fletcher

Normans Take England (1)

Oct 14, 1066

In 1066, the Battle of Hastings occurred and the Normans of (what later became) France defeated the Old-English-speaking Anglo-Saxons of England. The Normans took over England and effectively became the upper class and the royalty there, leaving 95% of the population as uneducated peasants who spoke Old English. This was by far the most significant event in Middle English history as it was these peasants that were the first to begin speaking Middle English.
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Normans Take England (2)

Oct 14, 1066

As the Normans were the upper-class, and because of interbreeding, the lower class borrowed as many words as possible from the Norman. This meant that Norman blended into Old English so much that it became Anglo(English)-Norman(French), or Middle English. It is estimated that 85% of Old English was lost after blending with Norman. Some believe that Middle English would have been lost after completely assimilating and being replaced by French, had it not been for many of the... L8TRFIN

Normans Take England (3)

Oct 14, 1066

… historical events depicted in this timeline. However because these events did happen, this hybridisation of Middle English was solidified, and continued to evolve into Modern English. During the later stages of Middle English, many people in the upper-classes were trilingual, as they could speak the nobility’s French, the Latin of the churches and schools, and the Middle English of the common peasants. This was of course, before Latin was lost entirely, much closer to the endofMiddleEnglish

Middle English

Period: Oct 14, 1066 to Jan 1, 1500

Bayeux Tapestry

Jan 1, 1077

Around 1077 I think the Bayeux tapestry was made. This was written in Latin and depicted the events that lead to the end of old English. It was written very soon after Hastings. Much of what we’ve learned about English back then comes from or was confirmed by this tapestry.

Domesday book completed

Jan 1, 1086

The Domesday book was a large scale survey conducted by members of the nobility to assess what was going on in the plebeian community. This promoted connectedness (and interlinguistic blending) between the upper and lower classes and some of the nobility would have had to learn English to communicate with the people they had recently invaded.

Middle English Implemented (1)

Jan 1, 1150

As it took time for the blending to occur between English and French, it wasn’t until around 1150 that Middle English was implemented. Notably, it was around this time that the Irish Church became a part of Catholicism and the second crusade occurred. When Middle English was popularised, many of the letters from Old English were dropped. The oldest document found written in Middle English is the translation of a sermon presented by an archbishop of Canterbury. L8TRFIN

Middle English Implemented (2)

Jan 1, 1150

The way in which it was written differed noticeably from texts that were written before 1150, marking the real beginning of Middle English.

Anglo Saxon Chronicle

Jan 1, 1154

In 1154 the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" was disconinued. This depicted a biased view of Anglo-Saxon history and served as one of the oldest texts written in Middle English that we have today. Texts before this are distinguished as they were written before Middle English was implemented, the main difference being that they were instead predominantly French, Old English or Latin.

Oxford University Established

Jan 1, 1167

Though year of origin is unkown (somewhere between 1096 and 1167), Oxford is the oldest university to teach in English, which meant that education was open for all classes, allowing for more old english words in the anglo-norman blend of middle english. However, it still taught in Latin even after schools began to teach English. In the 1st of February 1884, Oxford released a dictioanary whose later editions are considered by some nowadays to be the most official record of English words.

Ormulum Completed

Jan 1, 1180

The Ormulum was a bilical work by monks which helped us discover a large amount of information about how letters were pronounced in MIddle English before the Great Vowel Shift.

Cambridge Founded

Jan 1, 1209

Like Oxford, Cambridge initially taught in Latin and only began teaching in English a while after English became widely spoken in schools. Nonetheless, Cambridge is the second oldest English-teaching university. Cambridge have also released a prestigeous dictionary and had similar effects on the English language to Oxford, which were particularly impacting when they started teaching in English.

English in Schools

Jan 1, 1348

Before this point, schools were taught in Latin and it was in 1348 that they began to teach in English. This had significant impact on middle English as it meant that the English-speaking peasantry wer becoming more educated. This means they would probably have a broader vocabulary and chose which French words to adopt into their anglo-norman language. Oxford and Cambridge Universities took some time after this to begin teaching in English.

Prominent Genesis Picture Book

Jan 1, 1350

During that time there were many elaborately illustrated bibles. The one in the image was a particularly popular Genesis picture book. The significance of these illustrations was that the lower classes could read the general outline of the stories, which would be otherwise impossible because all bibles legally had to be written in Latin.

Statute of Pleading

Jan 1, 1362

Also known as the "Pleading in English Act 1362", this act was the reason that English was first used in Parliament, and was effected because of the number of people in England who didn't speak French or Latin (the languages used in the courts). This occurred after English was used in schools but well before it was used in churches. The act specifically stated the court would discussed in English and officially entered and recorded in Latin.

Piers Plowman

Jan 1, 1367

Written by WIlliam Langland, Piers Plowman has three versions of the text dating between 1367 and 1386. The poetry was very controversial in its time, being cited during the Peasant's Revolt and containing appraisal to John Wycliffe's illegal english bible publishing. This further encouraged the speaking of English and the uprising of the the lower class.

Gawain and The Green Knight

Jan 1, 1375

This famous poem was written in northwest England in the late 14th century. It is a famous, poetically structured poem written in the North West Midland dialect of middle English, which differed strongly from other dialects as it borrowed many words from Welsh, combining it with the French and Old English that made up Middle English.

John Wycliffe Publishes Illegal English Bible Translation (1)

Jan 1, 1384

Before Oxford English professor and theologan John Wycliffe illegally translated the bible into the middle english that all (including most peasantry) could understand, bibles and church related services were only to be held in Latin, as a way of the church maintaining political control over the dogma for the lower classes. For a long time schools were only taught in Latin to prevent peasants from becoming knowledgable and developing their own educated opinions. This translation of the L8TRFIN

John Wycliffe Publishes Illegal English Bible Translation (2)

Jan 1, 1384

drastically impacted society and took away much of the church's power over the peasantry. This was the beginning of Latin's gradual death as English was more practical and commonly spoken. Note that this was published recently after the Peasant's Revolt in England. There was a strong resistance from the lower classes and this would have probably meant that the rate of adoption of French words into middle English would have probably lessened.

First King to Speak Middle English (2)

Jan 1, 1399

(hence why today's Modern English consists of roughly 28.3% French). The only reason why English was still being spoken was because roughly 90% of the population was peasantry. Since the king himself began to speak English, this severely impacted the English language as it encouraged its use in common speech, thus reducing the bleeding effect of French into Middle English.

First King to Speak Middle English (1)

Jan 1, 1399

In 1399-1413, Henry IV ruled as the first king of England to speak Middle English. Before this, almost all of the nobility spoke French and Latin, making their words the more fancy and proper wordsthat the middle-english-speaking peasants wanted to adopt. This put the Anglo-Norman English in a threatened position as the Norman French part was so popular that a large portion of the language was borrowed from French L8TRFIN

The Great Vowel Shift

Jan 1, 1400

It was around 1400 (give or take a century, it's not a very exact point in history) that The Great Vowel Shift began, until it ended around 1700. During this time the pronunciation the vowel sounds in Middle English severely changed, hence why many older texts have such strange misspellings (they were spelled how they sounded at the time).

Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (1)

Jan 1, 1400

"Canterbury Tales" was considered one of the first great works of English literature mostly because Geoffrey Chaucer chose to write it in English, rather than French (the language of the nobility in which almost all books were written). It was written during the Hundred Years' War, in which many of the rulers and nobility from various kingdoms were fussing over who gets the throne to what. Chaucer started writing this in 1387 until he died in 1400, when he debatably finished his work.L8TRFIN

Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (2)

Jan 1, 1400

The "Canterbury Tales" became hugely popular and encouraged the speaking of middle english among the lower classes, drawing them from the persuasion to adopt more French words to sound more "proper". However, 500 words from the 858 lines of prologue to "Canterbury Tales" were borrowed from French, and it is estimated that roughly 20-25% of Chaucer's middle english was borrowed from French.

Printing Press (2)

Jan 1, 1476

To some degree, the printing press solidified English, while having a similar effect on the lower classes as the teaching of English in schools. The press also accelerated society and assisted the beginnings of capitalism, degrading England's Feudal system and causing even less segregation between the English and the French speakers of England. The strengthening of Middle English endorsed its continuation into Modern English, rather than just becoming more French. This MachinePartlyEndedMidEng

Printing Press (1)

Jan 1, 1476

In 1476, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. Although the Chinese had already been using similar methods for 600 years, this revolutionised English Society. It drastically increased the rate of book production and allowed for exact copies to be made. It allowed books to educate a vast number of people. The printing press also began some degree of a standardisation of spelling due to the officiality of its prints, even though the first dictionary had not been invented yet. L8TRFIN

Renaissance Begins in England

Jan 1, 1500

The English Renaissance began a period in which more vernacular English began to be used in both literature (as shown by William Shakespeare during early stages of the English Renaissance) and general speech. This as part of what marked the end of Middle English, as it was when modern English began to become more popular, and the English language's assimilation with French decelerated. Ironically, the word renaissance comes from French, meaning "re-birth".

First English Printed Bible (2)

Jan 1, 1526

... number of the members of the lower class to access. This lossened the dogmatic grip that the church had, educated the commoners severely assisted in the transition of Middle-English into Modern English, as significant literature such as this encouraged the use of English, as opposed to the authorities constant prohibition of it. Tyndale translated many common sayings that are used today such as "broken-hearted" and "the apple of his eye".

First English Printed Bible (1)

Jan 1, 1526

William Tyndale produced the first commercially printed bible in English. Although John Wycliffe had already distributed illegal English bibles with success, this was still highly controversial for its time and was still illegal in many places. This was illegal because the church authorities believed that it would be heretical for the language of the peasants to be applied biblically. William Tyndale was later executed for this, but he had produced enough bibles for a large ... L8TRFIN