Editing Middle Dutch (section)

{{Short description|West Germanic language of the High and Late Middle Ages}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Middle Dutch
| nativename = ''dietsc'', ''duutsch''
| image = Archive-ugent-be-85B8F398-CBE8-11E8-89FD-E2A1BAF99771 DS-7 (2).jpg
| region = The [[Low Countries]]
| era = developed into [[Dutch language|modern Dutch]] around 1500 or {{Circa|1550}}<ref>Klaas van Berkel, Albert van Helden, Lodewijk Palm (eds.): ''A History of Science in the Netherlands: Survey, Themes and Reference'', 1999, p. xvi: "Linguists usually distinguish between Old Dutch (c. 700–c. 1150), Middle Dutch (c. 1150–c. 1550), and Modern Dutch (after 1550)."</ref>
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3 = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| fam4 = [[Weser-Rhine Germanic|Istvaeonic]]
| fam5 = [[Low Franconian languages|Low Franconian]]
| ancestor = [[Frankish language|Frankish]]
| ancestor2 = [[Old Dutch]]
| script = [[Latin script|Latin]]
| iso2 = dum
| iso3 = dum
| glotto = midd1321
| glottorefname = Middle Dutch
| notice = IPA
}}

'''Middle Dutch''' is a collective name for a number of closely related [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] dialects whose ancestor was [[Old Dutch]]. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of [[Modern Dutch]] after 1500 or {{Circa|1550}},<ref>Klaas van Berkel, Albert van Helden, Lodewijk Palm (eds.): ''A History of Science in the Netherlands: Survey, Themes and Reference'', 1999, p. xvi: "Linguists usually distinguish between Old Dutch (c. 700–c. 1150), Middle Dutch (c. 1150–c. 1550), and Modern Dutch (after 1550)."</ref> there was no overarching [[standard language]], but all dialects were mutually intelligible. During that period, a rich [[Medieval Dutch literature]] developed, which had not yet existed during [[Old Dutch]]. The various literary works of the time are often very readable for speakers of Modern Dutch since Dutch is a rather [[conservative (language)|conservative]] language.{{fact|date=September 2023}}