What language did medieval French resemble?

Answer 1

Medieval French (Old French) was spoken in only a tiny part of modern France, with many other dialects spoken in other areas, including Occitan. Old French did not resemble any other language, except perhaps the Norman French spoken in Normandy (but even these languages were not the same).

When the French female writer Marie de France came to the court of Henry II in England, she had to drop her native language (Old French) and learn Anglo-Norman French in order to be understood by the Anglo-Norman aristocracy - her work would have been incomprehensible otherwise.

Just a few examples:

English..............................Old French.........................Modern French

sister.................................suer....................................soeur

priest..................................prestre...............................prêtre

woman................................fame...................................femme

servant................................serjanz...............................domestique

large, big.............................granz..................................grand

to sit....................................seoir...................................s'asseoir