Middle English Literature

The Middle English period extends from approximately 1100–1150 to 1450–1500. The term “Middle English” was borrowed from historical linguistics, which divides English into three phases: Old English, with its highly inflected grammar; Modern English, where only vestigial inflections remain; and Middle English, which witnessed the change. Thus, the Middle English period (and its literature) has more often been defined by its transitional status than by its intrinsic features; it is difficult to make valid generalizations about texts written over a period of four centuries. The most common approach, therefore, has been to subdivide the corpus into an early and a late period, with 1350 as watershed. Early Middle English texts do not form a unified literary tradition; works do not frequently reference one another, they do not use a uniform style, and they are not concerned with the same topics. One reason for this is the Norman Conquest. Before 1066, English had enjoyed authorized status as the language of record for government and major institutions. After the Battle of Hastings, this role was filled by Latin and Anglo-Norman French. Written English was still cultivated in regional centers, but it did not return to official status until 1362, when the Statute of Pleading made English the language of the law courts. In the twelfth century, more literary patrons commissioned works in French than English; Anglo-Norman literature flourished, culminating in works such as the Lais of Marie de France and Thomas of Britain’s Tristan (both c. 1160). The situation changed in the thirteenth century, with important Middle English texts being produced: Laȝamon’s Brut (c. c.1200); The Owl and the Nightingale (c. 1250); verse romances such as King Horn, Havelok the Dane, and Sir Orfeo (c. 1250–1300); and religious and secular lyrics (from c. 1225). In the late Middle English period, starting in the 1360s, English reestablished itself as the dominant literary language. In addition to Geoffrey Chaucer, other notable authors include the anonymous poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl, William Langland, John Gower, and Julian of Norwich. In the post-Chaucerian period of 1400 to 1500, major figures include John Lydgate, Margery Kempe, Sir Thomas Malory, and William Caxton. In addition to the chronological approach, other ways to analyze Middle English literature include focusing on notable authors, verse forms, genres, or themes, or by using a particular theoretical lens.