A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580

This dictionary unlocks a sleeping language. For centuries, Middle English, the tongue of Chaucer, Langland, and the Pearl Poet, has been sealed behind a wall of unfamiliar spelling and vanished vocabulary. Mayhew's work, with a preface by the eminent Professor Skeat, provides the key. Covering English from 1150 to 1580, it traces the language's transformation from the tail end of Old English into something recognizable to modern ears. The dictionary focuses on the literary language of Chaucer and his contemporaries, offering definitions and etymologies that make the Canterbury Tales, Piers Plowman, and Gawain accessible in their original form. What distinguishes this work is its concision: rather than overwhelming the reader with exhaustive philological detail, it aims to be usable, to get out of the way and let the reader encounter medieval English on its own terms. The preface candidly addresses the challenges learners face, the wild variation in spelling, the pronunciation gaps, and positions this glossary as a bridge between then and now. For anyone who has ever wanted to read Chaucer in the original, or to understand how English became English, this compact volume remains an essential companion.