2. BACKGROUND
• When Edward the Confessor died in 1066, he left a disputed succession. The throne was seized by his leading
aristocrat, Harold Godwinson, who was quickly crowned.
• Almost immediately, Harold faced two invasions - one from the king of Norway, Harald Hardrada, who was supported
by Harold Godwinson's brother Tostig and the other from William, Duke of Normandy.
• Harold defeated the Norwegian invasion at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September 1066 but he was defeated
and killed shortly after at the Battle of Hastings in October of the same year.
• The victorious William, now known as 'the Conqueror', brought a new aristocracy to England from Normandy and
some other areas of France. He also strengthened aristocratic lordship and moved towards the reform of the church.
• Also, William was careful to preserve the administrative machinery that had distinguished the regime of the late
Anglo-Saxon kings.
• At William's death, his lands were divided, his eldest son Robert took control of Normandy and his second son, William
Rufus, became king of England.
• Rufus successfully dealt with rebellions and the threat of his elder brother (he defeated Robert during an invasion of
Normandy) and maintained the powerful kingship of his father.
• Following the death of Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury, good relations between king and church broke down,
and the new archbishop, Anselm, became involved in quarrels with both Rufus and his successor Henry I.
3. INFLUENCES
• Before the conquest in 1066, the people of England spoke Old English(Anglo-Saxon, which
was Germanic in vocabulary.) However, many Latin words had entered to this language
before this date and this proves that Old English was not a pure Germanic dialect before
the conquest and it was a blend of West Germanic and Scandinavian.
• After the conquest, the Normans became the masters of England and this lead to many
consequences:
-The Normans formed the upper class of the English society and so was their language.
-Many French words in the field of war, military, religion, nature, appearance, food, etc. were
adopted in English.
-Old English had undergone many linguistic changes in writing, spelling, pronunciation, and
even in the condition of dialects. Thus, some of the five Middle English dialects as the South
Eastern were extended, whereas others as the South Western were diminished.
-The French words which were adopted in English suffered a great change in sounds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-normans-language/10766.html
4. EXAMPLES
• The same French word appearing in more than one shape according to its age in English:
Saloon and salon, liquor and liqueur, rout and route
• The foreign words in the twelfth century were classified as follows:
Words representing person or rank: due = duke
Words representing finance: tresor = treasure
Words representing law and social relations: pais = peace
Words representing religion: carite = charity
Words representing physical action and appearance: chere = face, appearance
Words representing moral and Intellectual: deol = sorrow
