This work is designed to help students navigate the rich and often confusing landscape of Middle English vocabulary by gathering the most essential words into a single alphabetical and etymological arrangement. The authors address the primary difficulty in reading this period's texts: the vast and inconsistent variation in vowel spellings, particularly the interchange between i and y. To solve this, they provide numerous cross-references and practical substitution rules, sparing the reader from constantly consulting exhaustive grammars.
Unlike earlier dictionaries that relied heavily on expensive, rare publications, this volume uses a few easily accessible Clarendon Press text-books as its main authorities, such as Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early English. The selection focuses on the typical spellings of the age of Chaucer and Langland, paying special attention to the heavy French element that shaped the language following the Norman Conquest. Each entry provides the modern English meaning, variant forms, and immediate etymological sources, often citing Anglo-French roots to trace how words evolved.
The collaboration between Walter Skeat and Anthony Mayhew brought together decades of philological labour. While the original plan and specific letters were devised by Skeat, the vast majority of the compilation and preparation for the press was executed by Mayhew. The resulting volume bridges the gap between basic glossaries and massive scholarly projects like the New English Dictionary. It equips the learner with a compact yet profoundly thorough guide to the literature of the medieval and early modern periods.
