Учебное пособие для специальностей «Переводческое дело» и«Иностранный язык: два иностранных языка»
UNIT 7. THE NORMAN CONQUEST AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE
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| UNIT 7. THE NORMAN CONQUEST AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE
LINGUISTIC SITUATION § 1. The historical background The Normans (or „Northmen‟) were descended from the Vikings who had settled in northern France (Normandy) during the 9 th century. They were quickly assimilated by the French and came to Britain in the 11 th c. as French speakers and bearers of the French culture. They spoke the Northern dialect of French, which was different in some respects from Parisian French. In 1066 (this year in the history of the English language is often regarded as the opening of the Middle English period) King Edward the Confessor of England died. He was succeeded by Harold, Earl of Wessex. However there were two other claimants to the throne: William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold Hardrada of Norway. Both claimants invaded Britain: Harold invaded the north, but was defeated, and, three days later, William invaded the south with the best cavalry in Europe. The Battle of Hastings was one of the most decisive battles in English history. It brought victory to William who was declared English king – William I (1066-1087), known also as „William the Conqueror‟. In just a few years, putting down revolts in different parts of the country, the Normans became masters of England. William also controlled most of Wales despite uprisings by the Welsh princes. However he did not succeed in making the Scottish king accept him as his overlord although he had made raids on Scotland too. The Normans brought a new social system into England which is known as feudalism. William I organized a strong central government in which most positions of power were given to the Normans. All positions in the church, from abbots upwards, were also granted to the representatives of French culture. Frenchmen arrived in England in great numbers. Among them there were soldiers, merchants, teachers, craftsmen seeking for a new field of activity. All in all, about 200 000 Frenchmen settled in England during the reign of William the Conqueror. The influx continued in the following two centuries. The ruling class of Anglo-Saxon nobility vanished almost completely: some of them perished in uprisings and battles, others were executed or emigrated. During several centuries the ruling language in England was French. It was the language of the royal court, the government, the courts of law, and the church. The use of the English language was reduced to a lower social stratum: peasantry and poor townspeople. The relation between French and English was, thus, different from that between Scandinavian and English: French was the language of the ruling class. |