The Middle English Period(1066-1500)

The Middle English period(1066-1500)

This period started with the Norman Conquest in 1066 and ended with the end of fifteenth century.There are two short ages in this period.The span from 1066 to 1340 is called Anglo-Norman Period because the literature of that period was written mainly in Anglo- Norman,the French dialect spoken by the new ruling class of England.The period from 1340 to 1400 is called The Age of Chaucer because Chaucer, the great poet, dominated this period.The time from 1066 to 1500 is called The Middle Ages.The early part of the Middle Ages is called the Dark Ages because what actually happened during that time can hardly be known

Major Writers and Their Major Works

1.   John Wyclif (1324-1384), the father of English prose:
                           Translation of The Bible into English (prose)
2.   Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
                                    Troilus and Criseyde (1387)
                                     Canterbury Tales (1385-1400)
3.  William Langland
                          Piers Plowman (1392)
4.  John Gower (1325-1408)
                        Confessio Amantis
5.  Sir Thomas Malory
                          Morte d' Arthur (1485;prose)