Middle English (jan 1, 1100 – jan 1, 1500)

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Major influences on Middle English
The English language developed from the West Germanic dialects spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and other Teutonic tribes who participated in the invasion and occupation of England in the fifth and sixth centuries. Loan words: king, rules, pig,…
During the period when Norman French was the dominant language, English was rarely used in writing, and started to change in many ways. ... More than 10,000 French words found their way into English – words associated with government, law, art, literature, food, and many other aspects of life. Loan words: royal, law, mutton, pork,...
During the renaissance, 10.000-12.000 new words were added (democratic, enthusiasm, imaginary..), the pronuncation af the letter ‚a‘ became ‚e‘ in some words and long vowel ‚e‘ was represented by ‚ee‘, ‚ea‘, ie‘.

Middle English spelling
There is no set spelling system in Middle English; the same words are often spelt more than one way. Reading aloud can help you recognise the intended word. The endings –(e)s and –(e)n had multiple functions: the plurals and possessives of nouns, and various forms of verbs. Some words that have survived sometimes had different meanings in the earlier period (e.g. silly meant ‘blessed’ and buxom meant ‘obedient’).

The Great Vowel Shift
It was a massive sound change affecting the long vowels of English during the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. The long vowels shifted upwards; that is, a vowel that used to be pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced in a different place, higher up in the mouth.

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