English replaces French as educational language

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Ever since the government of England had been taken over by a Norman elite with the conquest of 1066, French had been the language of the court, of government and of education. English was still spoken by the common people throughout this period, of course, but from approximately 1350, it also started to be used again for literary texts. The second half of the fourteenth century saw a flowering of literature in Middle English that included the anonymous

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

, William Langland's

Piers Plowman, and the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.

92 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "English replaces French as educational language". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=9459, accessed 29 March 2024.]

9459 English replaces French as educational language 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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