Middle English Period PDF

**MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD** MIDDLE ENGLISH - Began after the Norman conquest in 1066 - Changes influenced by Scandinavian and Norman French - French = Courts - English = Common People - Merged into Middle English in the 1300s - Retained its predominantly Saxon character despite the...

**MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD** MIDDLE ENGLISH - Began after the Norman conquest in 1066 - Changes influenced by Scandinavian and Norman French - French = Courts - English = Common People - Merged into Middle English in the 1300s - Retained its predominantly Saxon character despite the high status of Norman French DIALECTS 1. Northern -- North of Humber and Lowlands of Scotland 2. Midland -- Vast central area, North of the Thames, and South of Humber a. East Midland -- Chaucer's dialect b. West Midland c. South Midland d. North Midland e. Central Midland 3. Southern -- South of the Thames f. South-Eastern g. South-Western GRAMMAR - Period of leveled inflections - Final unaccented syllables were reduced to "-e" which had phonetic value. (ex. "sweete") - General plural marker in most dialects: "-en" - Established plural marker. Preferred plural marker of East Midland dialect: "-es" - Suffix "-en" added to infinitive verb. "to" was added later, then the "-en" was dropped. (ex. "To Sleep" = "To Sleepen", "To Sing" = "To Singen") - The genderless indeclinable "the" was introduced. - Gender became based on common sense and logic. - 1200 -- Natural Gender - Personal pronoun "she" was introduced SPELLING - French and Norman French orthography influenced changes - Old English phonetic habits disappeared due to French Scribes who were chief copyists - Caused confusion in spelling. Introduced new spellings to words that retained their pronunciation. (ex. The "ou" in "mouse" and "house") - Many long vowel sounds were marked by a double letter (ex. "boc" = "booc", "se" = "see") - In some cases, the trailing "e" was no longer pronounced but was retained in spelling to indicate long vowels (ex. Nose, Mole, Name) - The long vowel "a" of Old English became more of an "o" in Middle English. (ex. "Ham" = "Home", "Stan" = "Stone", "Ban" = "Bone") - Short vowels were identified by consonant doubling. (ex. "Siting" = "Sitting") - "C" changed into "K" before front vowels (ex. "Keep", "Kit", "Kelp") - "C" retained its form before back vowels (ex. "Cool", "Come", "Cope") - "C" came to be pronounced as "S" before front vowels due to French influence. (ex. "City", "Receive", "Receipt") VOCABULARY - French was, for many years, was used in Parliament, Law courts, and Schools. - English and French side by side gave rise to synonyms, one of the Native Tongue and one of Norman French, which gradually became differentiated in meaning. Norman French = "Wed" and "Marry" Native = "Wed" -- to take a pledge French = "Marry" -- to become a husband - Word Derivation 1. Based on Native Elements 2. Based on the Mixture of Elements - Native suffixes + Borrowed words English suffixes (-ful, -less, -hood, -like, and -ship) were added to French words. (ex. Unfaithful, beautiful, courtship) The same situation with compounding (ex. Gentle + Woman = Gentlewoman) - Many cooking and food related terms are French. - According to Sir Walter Scott's book "Ivanhoe", domestic animals kept their English names while the English were looking after them in the fields. They gained French names when served on the Normal lord's table. (ex. Cow = Beef, Calf = Veal, Deer = Venison, Pig = Pork, Sheep = Mutton) - Normans introduced into English words relating to the feudal system (ex. Prince, Peer, Duke, Baron, Castle, etc.) The English "Villain" came from the French "Villain" meaning "Labourer." LITERATURE - Between 1100 and 1500 - Reflects historical, social, and linguistic transformations happening at the time. - Three main categories 1. Religious -- often focused on themes related to Christianity, moral lessons, and religious teaching. Aimed to educate and inspire. Included: a. Medieval miracle plays b. Devotional texts c. Hagiographies d. Religious poetry 2. Courtly Love -- focused on idealized and often illicit forms of love associated with the nobility and courtly society. Included: a. Love b. Chivalry c. Honor d. Idealization of the beloved 3. Arthurian -- revolved around the legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, and the Quest for the Holy Grail. Had elements of history, mythology, and romance. - Between Shakespeare and Chaucer, there were the poets: 4. Lydgate 5. Hoccleve 6. Skelton 7. Hawes PRONUNCIATION - vowel + consonant + vowel = Long First Vowel (ex. Open, Irate, Unite) - vowel + consonant + consonant = Short Vowel (ex. Offend, Instance, Upper) - vowel at the end of the word = Long Vowel (ex. Anti, Multi, Fungi) - "y" had the long "i" sound (ex. "Knight" was often written as "Knyght")