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Middle English 1100-1500
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Influences and Decline of English Norman Invasion (1066) Increase in French as main spoken language The influence of the Normans can be illustrated by looking at two words, beef and cow. Beef, commonly eaten by the aristocracy, derives from the Anglo-Norman, while the Anglo-Saxon commoners, who tended the cattle, retained the Germanic cow. French and English eventually combine into Middle English
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Decline of English (1066-1204) Increase in dialectal differences Influence of social classes (aristocrats vs. working class/peasants) Geographical divisions Lack of prestige French as language of courts Latin as language of Church Little written in English during this time
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Rise of English (1204-1348) Bilingualism begins to appear with marriages between French and English French culture declines Norman landholders remain and spoke Anglo-French dialect Increase in cultural mingling led to decrease in dialectal differences Beginning of standard English in 14 th century
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Dominance of English (1348-1509) 1399 – King Henry IV became the first king of England since the Norman Conquest. By the end of the 14th Century, the dialect of London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we now call Middle English. Increase in English writing More legal documents in English by 15 th century Dominance of London as commercial center Black Death (1348-1351) Rise in prestige of English as language of working class Conclusion of Middle English with reign of Henry VIII English Renaissance and Early Modern English
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Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (approx. 1387-1400) Late 14 th century English poet Served in Hundred Year’s War (England and France) as soldier and diplomat Influenced by Dante and Petrarch Discusses social tensions Consists of 24 tales Narrator (host) joins 29 pilgrims Characters tell tales on way to Canterbury Traveling to the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket Noted for realism of characters
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