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At the end of the Old English period, the Normans invaded and conquered England. Edward the Confessor was the last king, descent from Alfred the Great. Edward was defeater by King Harold, and this was killed by an arrow.
In the five generations intervening between Duke Rollo and Duke William, the Normans had become French culturally and linguistically. Norman French dialect spoken by the dialect develop in England to Anglo - Norman. -
The beginning and ending of the Middle English period, grammatical and pronunciation changes were develop during this time.
The term Middle indicates that the period was a transition between Old English and early Modern English. -
During the Middle English Period principal consonants were modified.
The long vowel sounds were remained unchanged although their spelling possibilities altered.
Diphthongs changed, the old ones disappeared and a number of new ones develop.
Shortening and Lengthening of vowels caused modifications in the pronunciation and grammar.
As a result of the merging of unstressed vowels into a single sound, the number of distinct inflectional endings in English Was drastically reduced. -
After the Norman Conquest, England was trilingual. Latin was the language of the Church, Norman French of the government and English of the majority of the population.
The Loss of Normandy by King John, removed an important tie with France, and subsequent events were to loosen the remaining ties. -
King Henry III was forced by his barons to accept the Provisions of Oxford, establishing a Privy Council to oversee the administration of the government. English constitution and parliament Growth. -
The Hundred Years´War, saw England and France bitter enemies in a long, drawn - out conflict that gave the deathblow to the already moribund use of French in England. -
The Black Death, or bubonic plague, reinforced by pneumonia, raged during the middle of the fourteenth century killing a third of the half of the population.
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This Statute was enacted, requiring all court proceedings to be conducted in English. -
Led by Wat Tyler and sparked by a series of poll taxes, was unsuccessful but it presaged social changes that were fulfilled centuries later. -
John Wycliffe had challenged by authority of the church in both doctrinal and organizational matters as a par of a movement called Lollardy, which translated the Bible into English. -
Public documents and records began to be written in English and Henry IV used English to claim the throne. -
Geoffrey Chaucer one of the greatest of all times in any language, wrote in both French and English, but hs significant work is in English. This language was established as the language of England in Literary and other uses. -
Began record keeping in a form of East Midland English, which became the written standard of English. -
William Caxton brought printing to England, thus promoting literacy throughout the population. -
Henry Tudor became king of England, ending thirty years of civil strife, called the War of the Roses, and introducing 118 years of the Tudor Dynasty. -
John Cabot sailed to Nova Scotia, foreshadowing England Territorial expansion overseas. -
The London Speech essentially East Midland in its characteristics, though showing Northern and to a less extent Southern influences, should in time have become a standard for all of England.
Until the late fifteenth century, authors wrote in the dialect of their native regions. Authors like Sir Gawin and the Green Knight and Piers Plowman wrote in the West Midland dialect.