The Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest had a greater effect on the E language than any other in the course of history.

The Norman Conquest began in 1066. By origin the Normans were a Scandinavian tribe that two centuries back began their inroads on the northern part of France and they finally occupied the territory on the both banks of the Seine. The territory occupied by the Normans was called Normandy. Normandy is district extending 75 miles back from the Channel across from England on the northern coast of France. The Normans adopted the French language and culture. When the Normans came to Britain they brought the French language with them.

In 1066 when Edward the Confessor died after a reign of 24 years Harold Godwin was proclaimed king of England. As soon as the news reached William of Normandy he landed in Britain.

In the battle of Hastings (October 1066) Harold was killed and the English were defeated. This date is the date of the Norman Conquest. After the victory at Hastings William was crowned king. William and his barons laid waste many lands and burned down many towns and villages. Northumbria and Mercia were almost depopulated. Most of the lands of the Anglo-Saxon lords passed into the hands of the Normans barons.

After the conquest hundreds of French crossed the channel and made their home in Britain.

The Norman Conquest was one of the greatest events in the history of the English language. The most immediate consequence of the Norman domination in Britain is the wide use of the French language in many spheres of life. For almost 3 hundred years French was the official language of

Ÿ administration;

Ÿ the king’s court;

Ÿ the law courts;

Ÿ the church;

Ÿ the army.

It was the everyday language of:

Ÿ many nobles;

Ÿ the higher clergy;

Ÿ many townspeople in the South.

The intellectual life, literature, education were run by French-speaking people. French and Latin were the languages of writing. For teaching French was used too and translations from Latin were done into French.

It is true that English was an uncultivated tongue, the language of a socially inferior class.

But the greater part of the population used their native tongue: lower classes in the towns, people in the country-side. In Midlands and up north people continued to speak English and French was foreign to them. That English survived for a considerable time in some monasteries is evident from the fact that at Peterborough the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was continued until 1154. Among churchmen the ability to speak English was apparently fairly common. But most of the people were illiterate and the English language was used exclusively as a spoken one.

But slowly the two languages began to permeate each other. Probably many people became bilingual and had a fair command of both languages. According to some sources William the Conqueror made an effort himself at the age of 43 to learn English, that he might understand and render justice in the disputes.

But these linguistic conditions were gradually changing as English was the living language of the whole population but French was restricted to some social spheres and to writing. In the 13-th century only a few steps were made for English to get the victory.

The earliest recognition of English by the Norman kings was “Proclamation” issued by Henry III in 1258. It was written in three languages: French, Latin and English.

In 1362 the English language became the language of the Parliament, courts of law and at the end of the century - the language of teaching.

King Henry IV (1399 – 1413) was the first king after the conquest whose native tongue was English.

The 300 years of French domination affected English greatly. The early French borrowings reflect the spheres of Norman influence upon English life. Late borrowings are attributed to the cultural, economic and political contacts between the countries. New words, coming from French, were not adopted simultaneously by all English speakers. They were first used in some varieties (in dialects of Southern England). This resulted in growing dialectal differences.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16