Middle Scots was the
Anglic language of
Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its
phonology,
orthography,
accidence,
syntax and
vocabulary had diverged markedly from
Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early
Northumbrian Middle English. Subsequently the orthography of Middle Scots differed from that of the emerging
Early Modern English standard. Middle Scots was fairly uniform throughout its many texts, albeit with some variation due to the use of Romance forms in translations from Latin or French, turns of phrases and grammar in recensions of southern texts influenced by southern forms, misunderstandings and mistakes made by foreign printers.