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This course offers an introduction into Middle English (ME), which is an umbrella term for the versions of English spoken between the Norman Conquest and approx. 1500. After a brief recapitulation of the historical backdrop of the period (which is closely linked to some of the linguistic developments of ME) and of the state of the English language at the end of the Old English period, the linguistic developments during the ME period at different linguistic levels (in particular, phonetics/phonology incl. spelling, morphology) will be investigated. In several case studies we will review prominent changes within ME, in particular, the emergence of the Modern English word order, and the origins of the so-called do-support. These theoretical investigations will be interlaced with readings of sections from original texts from different periods of ME, in particular, the Peterborough Chronicle, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the Canterbury Tales. The texts will exemplify and illustrate the phenomena and developments to be investigated. |
