<P> Middle English lasted until the 1470s, when the Chancery Standard, a London - based form of English, became widespread and the printing press started to standardise the language . Chaucer is best known today for The Canterbury Tales . This is a collection of stories written in Middle English (mostly in verse although some are in prose), that are presented as part of a story - telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from Southwark to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral . Chaucer is a significant figure in the development of the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were still French and Latin . </P> <P> At this time, literature in England was being written in various languages, including Latin, Norman - French, and English: the multilingual nature of the audience for literature in the 14th century is illustrated by the example of John Gower (c. 1330--October 1408). A contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Chaucer, Gower is remembered primarily for three major works: the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in Anglo - Norman, Latin and Middle English respectively, which are united by common moral and political themes . </P> <P> Significant religious works were also created in the 14th century, including those of Julian of Norwich (ca . 1342--ca . 1416) and Richard Rolle . Julian's Revelations of Divine Love (about 1393) is believed to be the first published book written by a woman in the English language . </P> <P> A major work from the 15th century is Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, which was printed by Caxton in 1485 . This is a compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances, and was among the earliest books printed in England . It was popular and influential in the later revival of interest in the Arthurian legends . </P>

Important periods in the history of english literature