Broadly speaking the topic of Anglo-Norman literature covers the period from the Conquest in 1066 up to the fifteenth-century in which literary texts showing Anglo-Norman linguistic features were produced. It is not then limited to the period of Angevin rule that ended with the reign of John Lackland in 1216, or the loss of continental lands in 1204. Anglo-Norman literary culture was primarily an elite and secular cultural phenomenon that never directly impacted on more than a tiny minority of those living in an England where English remained the dominant language. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Anglo-Norman literary expression runs out of steam if not out of cultural influence. Its importance lies in the creative flowering of the twelfth century when a network of talented…
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Citation: Gillies, Patricia H. S.. "Anglo-Norman Literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=56, accessed 21 November 2024.]
