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The Renaissance
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The Renaissance - After 1066, English was never invaded. In 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press into England. Had an important effect on the process of standardising the language. English spoken differently in different parts of the country
Chaucer wrote in his South-eastern dialect, at the same time William Langland was writing his great poem 'Piers Plowman' in his own West Midland dialect. No standard spelling or definition of words. Caxton had to decide which words and grammar to print his books, Huge change began in the language. The way people pronounced the vowel sounds began to shift. Over next 2 centuries, the Great Vowel Shift occurred in which all the long vowel sounds in words changed.
Renaissance was an influence.