Old French

Old French

Old French was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from about the late 700s to the middle of the 1300s. It was not just one language but a group of different dialects that were similar enough to understand each other. These dialects were called the langues d'oïl.

By the middle of the 14th century, a new form of the language called Middle French began to appear. This was the beginning of the language used during the French Renaissance in the Île-de-France region, and it eventually became Modern French. Other dialects from Old French also changed over time into languages still spoken today, like Poitevin-Saintongeais, Gallo, Norman, Picard, and Walloon.

Old French was mainly spoken in the northern part of the Kingdom of France and its surrounding areas, including parts of the Angevin Empire and the duchies of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Old French was also used in England and the Crusader states.

Old French had many different dialects. One was Burgundian in Burgundy. Another was Picard, spoken in areas like Picardy and Romance Flanders. There was also Old Norman in Normandy, which later influenced English after the Norman Conquest. Other dialects included Walloon in Belgium, Gallo in the Duchy of Brittany, and Lorrain in the Duchy of Lorraine.

The time around the year 1100 in France and associated territories brought many new creative works. Old French changed into Middle French by the middle of the 14th century. The oldest surviving French books date back to the 800s, but very few from before the 1000s remain. The first French stories were about saints' lives. By the year 1200, a writer named Jean Bodel split French stories into three groups: stories about Charlemagne and his heroes, stories set in ancient times, and stories from Britain like Arthurian romances. One famous group of stories is called chansons de geste, which are long poems about brave heroes. The oldest and most famous of these is The Song of Roland, written in the late 1000s.

Later, French stories included more poems and songs. These were inspired by poets in the south of France and Provence. These poets were called troubadours. Their ideas spread to poets in the north, who were called trouvères.

The 13th century saw the growth of new kinds of plays and stories.