This document summarizes key aspects of Middle English grammar and language from the medieval period in 3 sentences or less: Middle English exhibited significant changes from Old English in its nouns, verbs, pronouns and orthography due to Norse and French influences over time. Regional dialects developed differently across England, leading to variation in vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. By the late 14th century, the London dialect began to become more standardized due to its use by royal administrators, though regional dialects still varied greatly.

1. Middle English
Medieval English Literature - Week 4 & 5

2. Nouns
• Plural: -es (townes), -s (cooks), -en (oxen,
eyen)
• Possessive: -s, -es (his, Chaucers--no
apostrophe)

3. Verbs
• Infinitive: -n “to goon”, -en “to slepen”
• Past participle: -n “y han eaten”, “I han
slepen”
• Subjunctive: “if he be”, “if I were”
• Past form: strong (sang) versus weak verbs
(walked); NB: “holp” from help and others

4. Verbs: Present tense
• Northern dialects: y goes
• Southern dialects: y goeth

5. Pronouns
Old English Early Middle English Late Middle English
ic ich I
þu þou thou
he, heo, hit he he, heo, ha hit he, she, hit
we we we
ge ye, you ye, you
hi hi, heo, ha they

6. Pronouns 2
Old English Early Middle English Late Middle English
me me me
þe þe thee
hine, him him him
hire hir(e) hir(e)
hit, him hit hit
us us us
eow you you
hi, him hem them

7. Pronouns 3
Old English Early Middle English Late Middle English
min min(e) my, mine
þin þin(e) thy, thine
his his his
hire hir(e) hir(e)
his his his
ure ure, oure oure
eower your(e) your(e)
hira hire hire

8. On pronouns
• he can be feminine in some dialects (Not
Chaucer’s)
• -o is generally northern or western
• thou is singular and casual; you is polite
• he, she, they pronouns are often very
similar, especially “hem” (obj.) and
“her” (poss. and fem. obj.)

9. Pronunciation
• Shorter vowels
• a as in “father”
• e in eCe, “here”, like “hey”
• e in eCC, “herkneth”, like “bet”
• Final e in unstressed syllables: “gode”

10. Pronunciation
• i/y is always ee, as in “machines”; “wyf”
• o often long, “holy”, “holden”, “hot”
• o/u also like “boot” in modern “ou” words:
yong, lovede, comen, cuppe, ful; sometimes
spelled “ou” in Chaucer
• au/aw: similar to modern English “cause”,
“law”

11. Pronunciation
• ay, ai, ey, ei: modern long i: “say”, “sail”, “wey”
• oi, oy: long modern English “boy”, “coy”

12. Orthography
• uu for w
• y for i; y before i in some dialects
• Thorn and yogh: þ ; Ȝ
• þus he Ȝought yit gode to heren a songe.

13. Orthography vs. Dialect
• Spelling differences are not necessarily
dialect differences
• Colour vs. color
• Dialects (Gr. dialegesthai--“converse with”)
• Differences in sound: grammar, accent,
speech pattern, semantics

14. Vocabulary
• Middle English dictionary: http://
quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/
• Lost Old English words: swyve, bote
• Lost Old Norse words
• Changed meaning: wyrd, thing
• Lost French words/forms: “chaungement”

15. Negatives
• Sometimes double, or multiple
• “ne”, “noght”, “no”

16. Questions
• Sometimes subjunctive “Be he gode?”
• Lack “do” verb: “Ate thou lunch?”
• Auxilliary: Has forms question: “Hast eaten
thou lunch”
• NB: Different word order

17. Map of English dialects

18. Dialects
• Continuation from OE
• Develops differently in different places
• No standardized spelling
• Great variation

19. What is “it”?
• It is: • ytt
• hit • t
• hyt • tt
• yt • h tt
• þit
• hytt • yt
• it

20. Isoglosses
• Northern
• Southern
• Midlands
• East
• West
• Kent
• London

22. London English
• Regional dialect in the early 14th century
• Difficult to define
• Urban mix of people from different areas
• Mixture of different dialects
• Basis of Chancery standard
• Dictated by Henry V (1413-1422)
• Still a dialect, but influential

23. Verb conjugations Present participle Personal pronouns
ik (I)
3rd. person verbs Ends in –ande scho (she)
N end in -s (scho (goande)
goes, she goes) ho (he)
þai (they)
3rd. person verbs Ends in –ing ich (I)
S end in -th (heo (going)
goeth, she goes) heo, ho, he (she)

24. Sounds 3rd Person Pl. Pronouns
Begins with th- sound like
N a for wham for words etc.) for
gone,
o in many
whom,
(gan in modern English (þai,
they; þem, them; þair, their)
S o like o inwhom forEnglish etc.) Begins withhere, their)
for gone,
modern
whom,
(gone
hem, them;
h- (heo, they;

25. Scribal vs. Authorial
• 1200: N Author writes Text
• 1240: S Scribe A makes Copy 1
• 1310: WM Scribe B makes Copy 2
• 1415: K Scribe C makes Copy 3

26. Further Sources
• http://www.csun.edu/~sk36711/WWW/
engl443/MEintro.pdf
• http://www.csun.edu/~sk36711/WWW/
Common%20Files/megrammar.pdf
• http://webpages.marshall.edu/~will2/
chaucer.html
• http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/