Everyday Canvas

Canterbury Tales and Middle English

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was set during a spring pilgrimage, was one of the great early contributions to English Literature.
What are some words you use today that would not have been around in the late 1300's? Do you think you'd have a tough time talking with people back then? Why or Why not?

-----------------

Some of the Middle English words since the 1300s have evolved in meaning. The word “above” meant superior then, and “able” suitable, “bath” cauldron, “cow” a crow-like bird, “repair” visitors, “undertake” affirm, etc. Other words like coy, paramour, potage, accord etc. have remained more or less the same. Some of the words are similar or the same but are written differently like symple for simple and theef for thief.

Canterbury Tales, however, is quite understandable when you put your mind to it and use a Middle English dictionary.

“Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duc that highte Theseus;
Of Atthenes he was lord and governour,
And in his tyme swich a conquerour,
That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.”

Once as old stories tell us,
There was a duke called Theseus;
In Athens he was lord and governor
And in his time such a conqueror
Greater than him was not there under the sun


I am guessing those guys wouldn’t understand our talk well, and I’d have a difficult time conversing with them in the way they would understand, especially if I talked street talk such as using the stuff in our Urban Dictionary. If they could somehow come to our day, some of our four letter and f words would make their hairs stand on end, since cursing or talking the “ungodly” talk was taboo for them. I can just imagine the expressions on their faces if they heard our ways of communication.

Here is a link to more on Canterbury tales and Middle English, if anyone wishes to read or hear the stories from their original.

http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm