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UNIT 6. THE SCANDINAVIAN CONQUEST AND ITS INFLUENCE ON
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| UNIT 6. THE SCANDINAVIAN CONQUEST AND ITS INFLUENCE ON
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE § 1. The historical background The Scandinavian conquest of England was a great military and political event, which also influenced the English language. Though the Scandinavian invasions of England are dated in the OE period, their effect on the language is particularly apparent in ME. Scandinavian inroads into England had begun as early as the 8 th century. At first Scandinavians appeared at about 787, but then they only visited England for short periods merely to plunder and return to their homeland. Their homes were in the lowlands of Denmark, in Sweden, and along the coast of Norway. All were of the same stock – Danes (also known as North, or Norse men; Vikings, or men of the creeks). 23 But before 855 the Danes only came to England in summer, and for winter they returned home, to the North. Only in 855 they remained on the island for winter and wanted to settle for living there. The reason of their decision to make here their homes was because strong kings in the North left no room for independent chiefs. The Danes conquered Mercia and East Anglia, and after that they attacked Wessex. In the midst of all this, by the end of the ninth century, there uprose one of the noblest English kings, Alfred the Great. He offered the invaders a stubborn resistance. In 878 King Alfred made peace with the invaders (the so-called Wedmore peace). As a result of that England was divided by a line formed by the river Thames: the country north of this line was given over to the Danes and called the Danelaw (Danela ʒ ) ; the territory to the south fell to Alfred, who became the recognized champion of the English against the Danes. In the late 10 th century war was resumed, and in 1016 England became part of a vast Scandinavian Empire in Northern Europe under the Danish king Knut (or Canute). Scandinvian power in England lasted until 1042, when it was overthrown, and the power of the English nobility was restored under king Edward the Confessor. жүктеу/скачать 0,78 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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