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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
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During the medieval period what were the two languages spoken?
One of the most common languages being spoken during the medieval era was Latin. Another language that was being spoken during that time was French.
How did the crusades get their name?
the word 'crusade' is from the Frankish (medieval french) term for 'taking the cross'
What language was chivalry derived from?
From French chevalier: knight.
How did french come around?
French is a Romance language that came about after Rome invaded Gaul and forced its Latin language in its administration. It evolved first in the Northern part of France, from a mix of vulgar Latin and a few other influences such as Frankish, a German language, Gaulish, a Celtic language, and Old Norman. Old French was first part of the "langues d'oïl" (languages of the North), as opposed to the "langues d'oc" (languages of the South, such as Occitan and Provençal). The French spoken in Paris eventually propagated to the whole country under the reign of the French kings.
Where did the word jeans come from?
The word jeans comes, by a roundabout route through French and medieval Latin, from Genoa - the place in Italy.
