I'm reading Chaucer in Middle English. I frequently find constructions like "Ygeten us thise knedyng tubbes thre". What is the y+verb construction? The translator whose work I'm reading has paid more attention to scansion and feel than accuracy. [more inside]
posted by Netzapper on Feb 14, 2008 - 14 answers

There seems to be a consensus on how Chaucer and his contemporaries sounded. What I'd like is a summary (or links, or pointers to resources) of how we know how Middle English speakers sounded.
posted by everichon on Oct 10, 2005 - 7 answers