2. 1066-1204 Decline of English
French (Norman) invasion (1066), William, Duke of Normandy's conquest and
unification of England, crowned king of England as William I, the Conqueror
(r. 1066-1087); Normans were descendants of Danes living in northern France
and spoke a French influenced by Scandinavian; death of many Anglo-Saxon
nobles
French became the dominant language in England, spoken by the upper
classes from 1066 until late in the 14th century. English language was relegated
to the lower classes and was heavily influenced by French in matters of
vocabulary, prosody, and spelling
Frenchmen in all high offices; kings of England spoke French, took French
wives and lived mostly in France; French-speaking court; imposition of feudal
system, vassalage, peasants bound to the land
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3. 1066-1204 Decline of English
Henry II (House of Plantagenet, Angevine) (r. 1154-1189), married to
Eleanor of Aquitaine; Henry II and Eleanor were the parents of
Richard I, the Lionheart (r. 1189-1199) and John Lackland
lack of prestige of English; French was the language of the court; Latin
was the written language of the Church and secular documents;
Scandinavian still spoken in the Danelaw; Celtic languages prevailed
in Wales and Scotland
development of bilingualism among Norman officials, supervisors;
some marriages of French and English; some bilingual children
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4. 1066-1204 Decline of English
examples of words of French origin: tax, estate,
trouble, duty, pay, table, boil, serve, roast, dine,
religion, savior; pray, trinity
very little written English from this period; the Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle continued to be written until 1154
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5. 1204-1348 Rise of English
King John (John Lackland) (r. 1199-1216); loss of Normandy in 1204; beginnings of the
political and cultural separation between England and France
many Norman landholders chose to stay in England, spoke Anglo-French dialect
Henry III (r. 1216-1272), son of John; francophilia of Henry III, many Frenchmen given
official positions
eventual decline of French cultural dominance in England
rise in use of English, smoothing out of dialectal differences, beginning of standard
English based on London dialect; crusades and pilgrimages contributed to increase in
communication and formation of common language.
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6. 1348-1509 Dominance of English
French remained official language of England until second half of 14th
c.; by mid to late 14th c. English was normal medium of instruction; in
1362 English became official language of legal proceedings; everyone
in England spoke English by end of 14th c., displacing French, Norse,
and Celtic languages
increase in English writing, more common in legal documents than
French or Latin by 15th c.
emergence of London/East Midland dialect as standard spoken and
written language; dominance of London as commercial center,
seaport, proximity to Westminster court
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7. 1348-1509 Dominance of English
Edward III (Windsor) (r. 1327-1377); his claim to French throne led to
Hundred Years' War (1337-1453); eventual French victory; England lost
all of its continental holdings; English hostility to French language
and culture
Black Death 1348-1351, death of one third of English population, social
chaos, labor shortages, emancipation of peasants, wage increases, rise
in prestige of English as language of working classes
War of the Roses (1455-1485), House of York (white rose) vs. House of
Lancaster (red rose)
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8. 1348-1509 Dominance of English
printers' activity (William Caxton 1474), increased literacy
Henry VII (House of Lancaster) (r. 1485-1509) marries
Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV), fathers Henry
VIII, and begins Tudor dynasty
1509 begins reign of Henry VIII; end of Middle English
Period, beginning of English Renaissance and Early
Modern English Period
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