1066

The Norman Conquest:

Old English to Middle English
1) Excerpts from A History of the English Language (1935)

by Albert C. Baugh
Towards the close of the Old English period an event occurred which had a
greater effect on the English language than any other in the course of its
history. This event was the Norman Conquest in 1066. What the language
would have been like if William the Conqueror had not succeeded in making
good his claim to the English throne can only be a matter of conjecture. It would
probably have pursued much the same course as the other Teutonic [i.e., Germanic]
languages, retaining perhaps more of its inflections and preserving a
preponderatingly Teutonic vocabulary . . . and incorporating much less freely
words from other languages. In particular it would have lacked the greater part of
that enormous number of French words which today make English seem on the
side of vocabulary almost as much a Romance as a Teutonic language. The
Norman Conquest changed the whole course of the English language. An event
of such far-reaching consequences must be considered in some detail . . .
On the northern coast of France directly across from England is a district . . .
known as Normandy. It derives its name from the bands of Northmen who settled
there in the ninth and tenth centuries, at the same time as similar bands were
settling in the north and east of England . . . A generation after Alfred reached an
agreement with the Northmen in England a somewhat similar understanding was
reached between Rollo, the leader of the Danes [Vikings] in Normandy, and
Charles the Simple, king of France. In 912 the right of the Northmen to
occupy this part of France was recognized; Rollo acknowledged the French
king as his overlord, and became the first duke of the Normans. In the
following century and a half a succession of masterful dukes raised the dukedom to
a position of great influence, overshadowing at times the power of the king of
France . . .
Readily adopting the ideas and customs of those among he came to live, the
Norman had soon absorbed the most important elements of French
civilization . . . But most important of all, for us, he soon gave up his own
language and learned French. So rapidly did the old Scandinavian tongue
disappear in the Norman capital that a second duke was forced to send his son to
Bayeux that he might learn something of the speech of his forefathers. In the

eleventh century, at the time of the Norman Conquest, the civilization of

Normandy was essentially French . . .
For some years before the Norman Conquest the relations between England and
Normandy had been fairly close. In 1002 Aethelred the Unready had married a
Norman wife, and, when driven into exile by the Danes, took refuge with his
brother-in-law, the duke of Normandy. His son Edward, who had thus been
brought up in France, was almost more French than English. At all events, when in
1042 the Danish line died out and Edward, known as the Confessor, was
restored to the throne from which his father had been driven, he brought with him
a number of his Norman friends, enriched them, and gave them important places in
the government. A strong French atmosphere pervaded the English court during
the twenty-four years of his reign . . .
When in January, 1066 . . . Edward the Confessor died childless, England was
again faced with the choice of a successor. And there was not much doubt as to
where the choice would fall. At his succession Edward had found England divided
into a few large districts, each under the control of a powerful earl. The most
influential of these nobles was Godwin, earl of the West Saxon earldom. He was
a shrewd, capable man and was soon Edwards principal adviser . . . His eldest son
Harold succeeded to his title and influence, and during the last twelve years of
Edwards reign exercised a firm and capable influence over national affairs. The
day after Edwards death Harold was elected king.
His election did not long go unchallenged. William, the duke of Normandy at
this time, was a second cousin to the late king [i.e., Edward the Confessor].
While this relationship did not give him any right of inheritance to the English
throne, he had nevertheless been living in expectation of becoming Edwards
successor. Edward seems to have encouraged him in this hope. While William
was on a brief visit in England Edward had assured him that he should succeed.
Even Harold had been led, though unwillingly, to acknowledge his claim . . .
Only by force could William hope to obtain the crown to which he believed
himself entitled. Perhaps the difficulty involved in an armed invasion of England
would have discouraged a less determined claimant. But William was an
exceptionally able man. From infancy he had surmounted difficulties.
Handicapped by the taint of illegitimacy . . . he had succeeded to the dukedom of
Normandy at the age of six. He was the object of repeated attempts upon his life,
and only the devoted care of his regents enabled him to reach maturity . . . William
the Great, as the chroniclers called him, was not the man to relinquish a kingdom
without a struggle.

Having determined upon his course of action, he lost no time in beginning

preparations. He secured the cooperation of his vassals by the promise of
liberal rewards, once England was his to dispose of. He came to terms with his
rivals and enemies on the continent. He appealed to the pope for the sanction of
his enterprise and received the blessing of the Church . . . In September he landed
at Pevensy, on the south coast of England, with a formidable force . . . [131-134]
For two hundred years after the Norman Conquest French remained the
language . . among the upper classes in England. At first those who spoke
French were of those of Norman origin, but soon through intermarriage and
association with the ruling class numerous people of English extraction must have
found it to their advantage to learn the new language . . . The language of the
masses remained English . . .
In the years following the Norman Conquest the sting of defeat [was] gradually
forgotten. People accepted the new order as something accomplished; they
accepted it as a fact and adjusted themselves to it . . .The fusion of Normans and
English was rapid . . . This early fusion of French and English in England is
quite clear from a variety of evidences. It is evident in the marriage of Normans
to English women . . . It is evident from the way in which the English gave their
support to their rulers and Norman prelates . . . It is evident in many other ways. . .
Norman nobles identified themselves with their new country by founding
monasteries on their estates, and chose burial for themselves and their families in
their adopted land rather than in Normandy . . . Everywhere there are signs of
convergence. The fusion seems to have gone forward rapidly in the reign of Henry
I, and by the end of the twelfth century an English jurist was able to write: Now
that the English and Normans have been dwelling together, marrying and
giving in marriage, the two nations have become so mixed that it is scarcely
possible today, speaking of free men, to tell who is English, who of Norman
descent. [139-147]

In your own words (4-5 sentences MAXIMUM) summarize the main

points of the above excerpts.

2) Excerpts and examples from Origins of the English Language

(1975) by Joseph M. Williams

After the migration of the Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century from the Continent
to Britain, the Norman Conquest was the single most significant event in the
external history of the English language. The Danes [i.e., Vikings] added many
words to the vocabulary . . . but because Danish was somewhat like OE [Old
English] to begin with, its impact could not have been as influential as Norman
French. The Norman Conquest has led to a language that is qualitatively
different from what it was before 1066. . .
In retrospect, the linguistic consequences of this invasion and colonization are easy
enough to recognize . . . The enormous influx in Middle English of not only
French but also Latin words certainly would never have occurred without the
Conquest. But if the effects are easy to discern, the precise social milieu [i.e.,
environment] in which they occurred, the specific reasons for their occurrence, are
less easy to reconstruct . . . [65-67]
[Consider the following statistics about the English language:]
If we group [English] vocabulary into the first most frequent thousand words,
second most frequent thousand, third most frequent thousand, and so on, then
compute the percentage of native [i.e., English] versus borrowed words in
each of these groups of a thousand, we find figures such as these:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

English
83%
34%
29%
27%
27%
27%
23%
26%
25%
25%

French
11%
46%
46%
45%
47%
42%
45%
41%
41%
42%

Latin
2%
11%
14%
17%
17%
19%
17%
18%
17%
18%

Danish
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%

Other
2%
7%
10%
10%
8%
10%
13%
13%
15%
14%

A. Can the statistics above be understood without any historical

knowledge? Explain.

[Partial list of French words that came into English, ca. 1066-1250]
abbot, cardinal, clerk, countess, empress, duke, court, rent, justice, miracle, dame,
prince, chapel, image, reason, pilgrim, saint, virgin, religion, sermon, prophet,
patriarch, archangel, sacrament, sepulchre, custom, admiral, baron, crown,
astronomy, nunnery, abbey, physician, parishioner, city, crucifix, purgatory,
tournament, unicorn, journey, medicine, witness, constable, uncle, aunt, cousin,
lamp, rose, war, arrive, pay, poor, rich, mercy.

[Consider the following lists of words deriving from Old English and
French respectively]
Old English: calf, cow, boar, swine, deer, chicken, sheep
French: veal, beef, brawn, pork, venison, poultry, mutton
Old English: farmer, woodsman, fisherman, shepherd, hunter, skinner, miller,
baker, cook
French: tailor, butcher, glazier, physician, mason, barber, carpenter, attorney,
painter, chandler, haberdasher, draper, merchant

B. Explain the differences in the lists of words above. Offer an

educated guess for each set. [Hint: Can the types of words tell us
something about English society after the Norman Conquest?]