I dunno, I’ve listened to some Middle English on a History of English podcast, and could follow along only slightly. I’m sure I could come up to speed quickly, since it at least has the French influence already (if I remember right).

I’m not familiar with the great vowel shift, is that a result of the Norman invasion in 1066, adding French into Old English? (That’s the sequence, right? It’s been a while since I read about it).