This period started with the Norman Conquest in 1066 and ended at the close of the 15th century. There are two shorter ages within this period. The time from 1066 to 1340 is called the Anglo-Norman Period because the literature of that period was written mainly in Anglo-Norman, the French dialect, spoken by the new ruling class of England. The period from 1340 to 1400 is called the Age of Chaucer because Chaucer, the great poet, dominated this period. The time from 1066 to 1500 is called The Middle Ages. The early part of the Middle Ages is called the Dark Ages because what actually happened during that time can hardly be known.

The important facts which influenced the literature of this period are:

1. The English parliament was established in 1295.
2. Crusade, the religious battle between Muslims and Christians, took place between the 11th and 13th centuries.
3. Magna Carta, the great charter which limited the power of the monarchs was passed on 15th June 1215. 
4. In 1362 English was declared to be the language of law and courts.
5. The Feudal System, which had been very strong earlier, collapsed after the Black Death, a plague in 1348-49.
6. In the 14th century Reformation of the English Church began under the leadership of John Wycliffe.
7. William Caxton established the printing press in 1476. 
8. Renaissance began with the fall of then Constantinople in 1453. Mohammad II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Turks and a crusader, defeated the Christians in 1453 and occupied Constantinople, the then capital of the Byzantine Empire and the center of classical learning. After the defeat, the Christian scholars fled to different parts of Europe where they spread their knowledge. Thus, ancient learning started reviving. This revival of classical knowledge is called the renaissance. Its features are curiosity about the unknown, patriotism, desire for unlimited wealth and power, love of adventures, admiration for beauty, care for humanism, and fondness for the past.
9. Columbus discovered America in 1492 and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498.

During this period Copernicus (1473-1543) proved that the sun is the center of all planets.

Major Writers of the Period end Their Major Works:

John Wycliffe (1324-84):
* He is called the father of English prose.
The Bible (translated into English from Latin) 

John Gower (1325-1408):
Confessio Amantis

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400):
Troilus and Criseyde (1387)
Canterbury Tales (1385-1400)

William Langland (1332-1386):
“Piers Plowman” (1362) 

Sir Thomas Malory:
Morte d’ Arthur (1485), the first romance in prose 

Main Literary Features of the Age:

1. Poetry serves as the main genre.
2. The prose in English gets a strong foundation.
3. The English language reaches a considerable standard though old spelling continues.
4. The drama began in the form of “Mystery Play,” “Morality Play” and “Interlude”.
5. The writers of the age are influenced by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
6. Love, chivalry, and religion are the 3 main literary subjects of this period.
7. The spirit of romance dominates the age.
8. Use of pentameter (ten syllables in each line) begins.
9. End-rhyme is introduced.
10. Stressed alliteration is discarded and humour, irony, and satire are brought into practice.