Middle English

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Period of the English language from about 1050 to 1550. The language and literature of the period is marked by increasing influence from Europe, particularly from France, due to the arrival of the Norman ruling class at the end of the 11th century; Norman-French culture suppressed the native English one, until the 13th century. See also English literature.

As well as influence from Norman France, Italian culture and literature was also important for the development of English literature, which can be seen as being slower to develop than that of continental Europe. Italian poets Dante Alighieri wrote ‘Divina Commedia’/‘The Divine Comedy’ between 1307 and 1321 and Boccaccio the ‘Decameron’ between 1350 and 1352, both of which were influential for Middle English poets. Major writers in English during this period include Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland, but much of the poetry, prose, and drama of the period was anonymous. The Middle English literary culture was mostly an oral one, and literacy levels were still low at this time. Middle English poetry is a particularly oral genre, and is often structured so as to make it easy to remember, either through rhyme or through alliteration (whereas the poetry of Old English literature is mainly alliterative).

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