Various aspects of the period are impressively reflected in the manifold forms and topics of Middle English literature. One feature, however, clearly unites all texts: in spite of their Englishness they show a more or less strong French influence on their language and literary design which makes them distinct from earlier and later poetic achievements.

Many works are adaptations or even translations of French models and should be understood in their European context. One should, however, consider the fact that the majority of texts aim at an educated audience whose members were very often bilingual, if not trilingual.

Thus it is no wonder that we hardly have any literary English texts during the first century after the Conquest. From 1200 onwards, however, we find an ever increasing number of English texts, which reflects both the increasing literacy and the growing demand for non-French and non-Latin texts. The decline of Anglo-Norman literature goes hand in hand with the rise of English literature during the fourteenth century.

Although the French and Latin influence cannot be underestimated, we find many texts which are genuinely English, such as most works of the alliterative revival or such early works like The Owl and the Nightingale. But, by and large, French models dominate medieval European literature.

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