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Definition: Middle English from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 the English language from about 1100 to about 1450: main dialects are Kentish, Southwestern (West Saxon), East Midland (which replaced West Saxon as the chief literary form and developed into Modern English), West Midland, and Northern (from which the Scots of Lowland Scotland and other modern dialects developed). Abbreviation: ME Compare Old English Modern English


Middle English

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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, …
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Full text Article Middle English

From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
The Middle English period is generally acknowledged to have begun in 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest, and to have ended in 1476, the year in which William CAXTON established the first printing press in England. For practical purposes, the dates of the Middle English period are generally given…
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Full text Article Middle English

From Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
The Middle English period is essentially a transitional period in the history of the English language between the basically Germanic character of Old English and the language of the earliest printed books that record what is essentially modern English in the early 16th century. It was a period of…
| 1,723 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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…
| 591 words
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Full text Article Middle English literature

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
English literature of the medieval period, c.1100 to c.1500. See also English literature and Anglo-Saxon literature . The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 traditionally signifies the beginning of 200 years of the domination of French in English letters. French cultural dominance, moreover, was…
| 1,140 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
The English language from about 1150 to about 1500. During this time, following the Norman Conquest of England , the native language of England — Old English — borrowed great numbers of words from the Norman French of the conquerors. Middle English eventually developed into modern English. Many of…
| 117 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
| 95 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From Collins English Dictionary
| 59 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
| 11 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary
| 19 words
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Full text Article Middle English

From Philip's Encyclopedia
| 86 words
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