Early Scots

Early Scots was the emerging literary language of the Early Middle English–speaking parts of Scotland in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Early Middle English descended from Northumbrian Old English. During this period, speakers referred to the language as "English" (Inglis, Ynglis, and variants).

Early examples such as Barbour’s The Brus and Wyntoun’s Chronicle are better explained as part of Northern Early Middle English than as isolated forerunners of later Scots, a name first used to describe the language later in the Middle Scots period.