Middle English period (jun 3, 1066 – apr 10, 1450)
Description:
The Normand invasion or the Norman Conquest was a time where a man named William the Conqueror a duke of Normandie (part of France) invaded the English peninsula at the battle of the Hastings 1066 and became king. With this invasion, lots of French influence came such as new words, social and cultural changes, administrative and political impact.
French was inserted as the language of the royal court and in the law. French became the language of the nobles and kings and was praised and looked upon to be a language of high intellect. New genres and ranges of literature emerged of the French influence such as Chivalry romance, religious songs- folk ballads, drama, and musical plays.
The middle English language sounds more like modern English, with some inflections of German and French. You could see the pattern of how the influence of French words and culture really flourished the language for the better. As this new language came writers and scholars had found new words and phrases to bite on such as this man Geoffry Chaucer and his Canterbury tales.
