Middle English vocabulary experienced significant changes during the Middle Ages due to heavy borrowing from French. Approximately 10,000 words were introduced into the language between 1250–1450. The borrowing occurred in two phases, with the first phase (1066–1250) seeing about 900 words borrowed, influenced by Anglo-Norman phonology. The borrowed words covered various aspects such as social terms (baron, noble, dame), literary terms (story, rime, lay), and church vocabulary for religious services due to the French-speaking Normans controlling the church in England.