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Home > Arts > Literature > World Literature > British > Middle English > Language

This category contains sites that focus on the Middle English language. Middle English is the second great stage of the English language, succeeding Old English and preceding Modern English. It was in use in England for four centuries (1100-1500).

Resources in This Category

• Changes in the Language to the Days of Chaucer

  http://www.bartleby.com/211/1901.html
  Explains the historical development of Old English and Middle English. Covers grammar, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and dialects.

• Comparison of Old, Middle, and Modern English

  http://www.bible-researcher.com/engchange.html
  Displays Old English, Middle English, and Modern English versions of each verse.in Luke 2:1-19.

• Concise Dictionary of Middle English

  http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html
  Gives modern English definitions of the most essential Middle English words. By A.L. Mayhew and W.W Skeat.

• English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day

  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15755
  A history of English dialects in Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. By W. W. Skeat.

• History of Middle English

  http://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_middle.html
  Describes the development of the English language during the Middle English period.

• Learn Middle English Online

  http://www.nativlang.com/middle-english/index.php
  Teaches the basics of Middle English grammar: pronouns, verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and sentence structure. Also covers pronunciation and illustrates it with sound files of lines 1-26 of Chaucer's General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.

• Medieval Writing: Literate English

  http://medievalwriting.50megs.com/whyread/english.htm
  Covers the history of written English during the Old English and Middle English periods.

• Middle English Dictionary

  http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/
  The authoritative dictionary of Middle English words.

• Middle English: an Overview

  http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-time/middle-english-an-overview/
  An introduction to the history and key features of Middle English. By Philip Durkin of the Oxford English Dictionary.

• Notes on Translating Middle English

  http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~wpwt/notes/metrans.htm
  Gives tips to students on how to translate Middle English. By Bella Millett.

• Parable of the Prodigal Son in Different Stages of English

  http://pages.towson.edu/duncan/LukeXVOE.htm
  Displays Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English versions of Luke 15:11-32 and enables side-by-side comparisons of different versions. Also provides audio of verses 11-21 in each version.

• Prosody of Old and Middle English.

  http://www.bartleby.com/211/1801.html
  Explains the poetic principles and techniques employed in Old English and Middle English poetry. Covers the distinctive features of Old English verse, the transition from Old English to Middle English poetic forms, foreign influences on Middle English poetry, and the alliterative revival of the 14th century.

• Status of English

  http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/language.htm
  Describes the changing status of English vis-a-vis French and Latin during the Middle English period.

• Teach Yourself to Read Chaucer's Middle English

  http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/less-0.htm
  Online course. The first five lessons cover pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Each of the next four lessons provides an interlinear translation from one of the Canterbury Tales, together with quizzes, to help users learn to read Chaucer's Middle English. For further reading, the last lesson gives links to interlinear translations of the General Prologue and all 25 tales, as well as quizzes for each tale.

• Three Stages of English

  http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/history.htm
  This Merriam-Webster Online article describes the characteristics of Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Includes illustrative passages from Old English and Middle English.

 

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