How Did The Norman Invasion Affect The English Language

On the 14th of October 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. His win could be summed up by the fact that William was a better leader. Other factors that contributed to William’s victory include: William was better prepared, the English army was severely weakened as Harold had just fought off an invasion in the North of England, and Harold made a fatal mistake of prematurely entering the Battle of Hastings.

In 1066 AD the King of England died without an heir. Three lords of different countries then tried to secure the English throne for themselves. The first to do so was Harold Godwineson. Harold was geographically the closest and therefore first to take the throne. Harald Hardrada king of Norway then invaded England with the intent of claiming the throne, but was repelled by Harold Godwineson's Anglo-Saxon soldiors. Next William, Duke of Normandy invaded England and defeated Harold Godwineson at the Battle of Hastings. This essay is on why William won this crucial battle.

There are some aspects found in almost all literary works written in the medieval times, some of which are influenced by everyday life, problems, religion, and politics. For example, the French invasion of England, known as the Norman Conquest, greatly influenced the language of the time. At first, England was ruled by the Anglo-Saxons, and used Old English in their literature, even though they did not write much. With the invasion of the French, Anglo-Saxon language was not considered appropriate, and so they introduce a new easier dialect, which came to be known as Middle English. This became the language they used to write, and the act of writing itself became more abundant. Moreover, the conquest resulted in an increasing tension between England and France. This tension is apparent in many works of the time, including “Le Morte d’Arthur”. For example, the depiction of Sir Launcelot as the greatest knight of all time in several romances. Also, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” has roots

In this essay I am writing about why William Duke of Normandy won the battle of Hastings.

English is a language that has been around for roughly 1300 years. Its’ early days included several variations of the language. Despite this, the Anglo-Saxons were the most prevalent group in England and are basically the most responsible for the long history of the English language as they were one of the few groups in the world not using Latin. Their history and culture is largely responsible for where the language is in the world today, with several classic pieces coming from this time period which showcase what the various tribes valued in terms of traits. The Anglo-Saxons were a people who respected honor, justice, and bravery.

This was the last invasion of Normandy William saw and with the death of Henry and the Count in 1060 the power balance shifted to William allowing him to eventually conquer Brittany and Maine. By this time William proved to be a powerful, capable, leader. William also began associating with King Edward the Confessor of England and overtime developed some form of friendship. Around 1052 William visited his childless cousin Edward the Confessor, who according to some promised William

The Battle of Hastings took place in October of the year 1066. It was fought between the Normans (French) and the Anglo-Saxons (English). The English were led by Harold II, while the French were led by William of Normandy. William of Normandy made some key decisions in the battle that allowed his army to defeat the English. William of Normandy followed Sun Tzu's Art of War and because of the he went on to win the battle. William of Normandy won the battle by following Sun Tzu's teachings of Weak points & Strong, Strategy and tactics, and leading by example.

The focus on this assignment will be on William the Conqueror who was the king of England, and also the Battle of Hastings. William conquered many countries and won the Battle of Hastings, which then made him King of England. William the conqueror was born in 1028 in a country called Normandy. He became the Duke of Normandy at age 8 after his father (Robert 1, Duke of Normandy) died.

Around 850 the seven kingdoms consolidated into three kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. Many Roman ways in their past culture were set aside in their new culture; they replaced the Roman stone buildings with their own wooden ones, and spoke their own language, which gave rise to the modern English spoken today. Although many spoke in different dialects, which over time became known as Old English. Famous literature emerged in this era: the poem Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which both cover events in the early history of England.

William’s success in the Battle of Hastings had longer lasting effects than just crowning him King and yet this was not his only legacy. Although William was intelligent and savy in relation to fighting wars, he was illiterate and could not speak English, no matter how hard he tried (www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-william-the-conqueror, 2013: online). Consequently, he insisted on the English speaking French on a daily basis and French became the national language for over 300 years. English eventually became more widely spoken again and despite it once again becoming the national language, it had been transformed due to the length of time French had been spoken as it was now infused with French and latin words. William’s inability

In 1066, he invaded and conquered England. With the new invaders, they brought a new language. This language was a form of French. This language was only learned by the Royalty and Upper class. This caused a language barrier between the new language speaking Upper class and the old language speaking Lower class.

William the Conqueror became the Duke of Normandy in 1035. He spent many years struggling for power till he became king in 1066. During his ruling he was able to transform Normandy into a greater military power with an emphasis on horsemanship and the development of cavalry as a fighting force, which made him a sucessful and an acomplished commander. At the battle of Hastings William defeated his rivial Harlod Godwinson. He was successful in this fight because he attackted Harlod right after he had defeated the Vikings. He bulit many castles during his time. The castles he bulit went in return turned into a symbol of his conquest. He created the cenus of england that was known as the Domesday Book. This book helped him in finding out what

Battle of Hastings Introduction: This research talks about the Battle of Hastings, Middle age, the Norman Conquest, and the developments, changes and influences of the language before and after the battle . We will talk about the Battle of Hastings when it started and where it happened and who won the victory . We will talk about the Middle age, in general, because the battle took place in the same era .

Quite a few of the Old English vocabulary can still be found in the Modern English we speak and read today, it is just the spelling that differ is some places. Therefore, if read from a vocabulary perspective, there are familiar words, for example, “awriten” which is “written”, “læst” is “last”, “forð” is “forth”, “steorra” is “star”, etc. These are words which seems familiar, but because of the various influences and where English comes from there is differences and unfamiliar words. Modern English differ from Old English because as the language grew it took in more words and replaced old versions of words (2011:22). For example, the word “sacerda” which means “priests” is from the Latin word “sacerdos” and “folc” and “ic” is Germanic words for “people” and “I”. There are also words from Anglo-Saxon, like “heretoga” which is now “leader or commander” and “tungelwitegan” which is now “wise

Anglo-Saxon period, from 5th century to 1066, became the “ancestor” of our modern literature. There is a big difference from then and now including our language and culture.