Middle French (French: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other competing Oïl languages, which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of Old French (l'ancien français) * the French language was imposed as the official language of the kingdom of France in place of Latin and other Oïl and Occitan languages * the literary development of French prepared the vocabulary and grammar for the Classical French (le français classique) spoken in the 17th and 18th centuries.