We Tried To Write an Entire Article in Middle English

Page from “The Canterbury Tales”

When William of Normandy invaded England in 1066, it began a transformation of the Old English language. The Norman conquerors replaced the Anglo-Saxon ruling class, bringing with them their Anglo-Norman language, which was based on Old French. Over time, the two languages blended. Old English grammar became simpler, and the English vocabulary expanded with the addition of French words. The result was a new stage of the English language: Middle English, spoken around 1100 to 1500.

During this time, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, one of the most famous examples of Middle English literature. Chaucer’s writing — and the English language in general — was not uniform at this time. Spellings varied and were often phonetic, and pronunciation differed by region; Chaucer often used whichever version of a word fit his rhyme.

There were some differences between the Middle English alphabet and our modern alphabet. Middle English included letters such as “þ” (known as thorn) for the “th” sound, and some other letters — such as “u” and “v” or “i” and “j” — were interchangeable. There were also some common words we no longer use. Middle English used “thou” for informal speech and “ye” as a formal or plural form, both of which were replaced by “you.” And third-person verbs ended in “eth” or “th” (such as “goeth”), which was later simplified to “s.” During the Great Vowel Shift, which occurred between 1350 and 1600, the pronunciation of many words also changed. For example, in Middle English, “sheep” sounded more like “shape,” and “bite” sounded like “beet.”

Another major shift occurred when the printing press was introduced to England in 1476, marking the start of a new stage of the language, known as Modern English. As printed books became more widespread, spelling and grammar became more consistent, and English began to take its current form.

Middle English Translation

Below is the same article written in Middle English. For this translation, we referenced the University of Michigan’s Middle English Dictionary, Harvard’s translation of “The Canterbury Tales,” the 14th-century Wycliffe Bible, and various AI tools including Claude Sonnet, ChatGPT, and OpenL. We omitted special characters such as ī, ǒ, ā, ē̆, and obsolete letters such as þ (thorn) and ƿ (wynn), using the modern English alphabet instead. It’s also worth noting that many words in Middle English had multiple spellings, so there is more than one possible translation.

Whanne William of Normandi iyede Engelond in the yeer of oure Lord a thousand and six and sixti, it bigan a gret chaunge of the Olde Englissh langage. The Norman conquerours becomen the Anglo-Saxon lordes, and bringen with hem here Anglo-Norman langage, which camen of Olde Frenssh. Over tyme, the two langages blenden. Olde Englissh gramere was moore simple, and the Englissh wordes expanden with the addicioun of Frenssh wordes. Thereof cam a newe tyme of the Englissh langage: Middel Englissh, spoken betwixe the yeer of oure Lord a thousand an hundred and the yeer a thousand an five hundred.

During this tyme, Geffrey Chaucer wroot The Tales of Caunterbury, oon of the moost famous ensamples of Middel Englissh litterature. Chaucer's writyng — and the Englissh langage in generale — was nat uniforme at this tyme. Spellinges varied and were often writen after the soun, and pronunciacioun varied by regioun; Chaucer often used which-ever versioun of a word fitte his rime.

Ther were som differences betwixe the Middel Englissh alphabete and oure Modern Englissh alphabete. Middel Englissh includid lettres swich “þ” (icleped thorn) for the “th” soun, and som lettres — swich “u” and “v” or “i” and “j” — were bothe used. Ther were also som commun wordes we speketh nomore. Middel Englissh used “thou” for informal speche and “ye” as a formal or plurel forme, bothe of which were chaunged to “you.” And thrid-persoun verbes endden in “eth” or “th” (swich “goeth”), which bicometh “s.” During the Gret Vouel Shiften, that fel bitwixe the yeer of oure Lord a thousand thre hundred and fifti and a thousand six hundred, the pronunciacioun of mani wordes also chaunged. For ensample, in Middel Englissh, “sheep” wolde soun moore lyk “shape,” and “bite” wolde soun lyk “beet.”

Another gret shiften fallen whanne the prentyng presse camen to Engelond in the yeer of oure Lord a thousand foure hundred six and seventi, bringing the biginning of a newe tyme of the langage, icleped Modern Englissh. As prented bookes bicom moore brod-spred, spelling and gramere bicometh moore stedefast, and Englissh bigan to take his present forme.