What Did Middle English Sound Like?

English has not evolved to an extent that we can no longer understand those sixteenth and seventeenth century works. The big difference between that period and the modern english period is the way words were pronounced, especially vowels. For some reason, around the year 15 hundred, English speakers in the british isles began to change the way they pronounced their vowels. This shift was one of the events which marks the transition from middle english to modern english. To illustrate how these older versions of the language sounded, i want to read a passage from one of the most important pieces of literature composed during period of middle english. It's very likely that you read the canterbury tales in school