Home Random Page


CATEGORIES:

BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism






Historical background: Medieval Britain

It is considered that Middle English period approximately started iafter the Norman invasion of 1066 and lasted to the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s. This period is marked by considerable changes in phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary. It was the period when English started to acquire its modern shape.

 

The first important changes (mostly in the sphere of vocabulary) resulted from the influence of the Scandinavian languages during the Scandinavian invasion and the Rule of Danes (as you remember, England was once a part of a vast Scandinavian empire). The Scandinavian languages belong to the Germanic group, too. Though the English and the Scandinavian belonged to one and the same group and the people could even communicate without an interpreter, the later possessed some peculiarities that influenced English.

Many new words were borrowed, for example fellow. It is easy to trace many borrowed words of that time, because they usually have the initial combination sk- (e.g. skirt). In similar English words this combination turned into [ʃ] as a result of palatalization, though backlingual k and g didn’t undergo any changes.

 

Norman Conquest – the military conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy, primarily effected by his decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings (Oct. 14, 1066), and resulting ultimately in profound political, administrative, and social changes in the British Isles. Edward the Confessor, last king of the Old English royal line, had almost certainly in 1051 designated William as his successor. Although on Edward's death (Jan. 5, 1066) Harold, the powerful earl of Wessex, had himself crowned king, his position was far from secure. On the Continent the political situation favoured William's enterprise; and by August 1066 he had assembled a force of about 5,000 knights ready for embarkation.

William was successful in his enterprise, and after the devastating march through England defeating Harold’s troops, was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. Sporadic native revolts continued until 1071.

 

The extent and desirability of the changes brought about by the Conquest have long been disputed among historians. Certainly in political terms William's victory destroyed England's links with Scandinavia, bringing the country instead into close contact with Western Europe. Inside England the most radical change was the introduction of military feudalism.

The resultant almost total replacement of English with a Norman aristocracy was paralleled by a similar change of personnel among the upper clergy and administrative officers.

Apart from the tragedy of the dispossessed Old English aristocracy, probably the most regrettable effect of the Conquest was the total eclipse of the English vernacular as the language of literature, law, and administration. Superseded in official documents and other records by Latin and then increasingly in all areas by Norman-French, written English hardly reappeared until the 13th century.



One result of the Norman Conquest of 1066 was to place all four Old English dialects more or less on a level. West Saxon lost its supremacy and the centre of culture and learning gradually shifted from Winchester to London. The old Northumbrian dialect became divided into Scottish and Northern, although little is known of either of these divisions before the end of the 13th century. The old Mercian dialect was split into East and West Midland. West Saxon became slightly diminished in area and was more appropriately named the South Western dialect. The Kentish dialect was considerably extended and was called South Eastern accordingly. All five Middle English dialects (Northern, West Midland, East Midland, South Western, and South Eastern) went their own ways and developed their own characteristics.

 

For three centuries the literature of England was trilingual: Latin was the language of Catholic church, Anglo-Norman French was the learned tongue of the court, and vernacular English remained, though, the spoken language of the majority. It certainly was a literary language in England, alongside Anglo-Norman and Latin from the 12th to the 14th centuries. In the later 14th century, Chancery Standard (or London English) – itself a phenomenon produced by the increase of bureaucracy in London, and a concomitant increase in London literary production – introduced a greater deal of conformity in English spelling. The Parliament of England used English increasingly from around the 1360s, and the king's court used mainly English from the time of King Henry V. Towards the end of the 14th century London dialect became influential in other parts of the country and eventually became the base of the national English language.


Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1089


<== previous page | next page ==>
 | Changes in Middle English Grammar
doclecture.net - lectures - 2014-2024 year. Copyright infringement or personal data (0.007 sec.)