A Look at the People, Places, Things, and Events that influenced the

development and use of the English Language.

A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CH. 1 : OF SWORDS AND SCRIPTURE

• Romans• Anglo-Saxons• Christianization• Vikings

Information taken from C. M. Millward’s A Biography of the English Language. 1996.

• Roman Name: Britannia

• Oldest language used : Celtic

• 55 BC – Julius Caesar attempts to invade; fails.

• 43 AD – Emperor Claudius attempts to invade; succeeds by 50 AD.

• Conquers the southern half of England.

• What they did: Build roads, cities, forts, walls (e.g. Hadrian’s Wall), Christianity, Latin words

• c.410 AD – Romans leave

ENGLAND BEFORE THE ENGLISH

Image taken from http://battle1066.com/pics/romebrit.jpg

• With the Romans gone, native Picts began invading into the southern half of England.

• C. 449 AD – Angles, Saxons, and Jutes come to the “aid” of the southern natives.

• This is where we get the term “Anglo-Saxon”.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH

Clip taken from Vsauce’s “ENGLISH” <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atI-JPGcF-k>.

• The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came from a peninsula jutting off of Germany.

• These Germanic tribes split up the land amongst themselves, creating seven major kingdoms: Northumberland, East Anglia, Mercia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Wessex,

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

Image taken from http://englishosaca.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/anglo-saxon_map.jpg

• Destroyed much of the roman constructions, introduced and enforced the medieval system of feudalism.

• Converted the majority of the population (by process of elimination) to a dialect of West German that eventually became what is known as Old English.

• During this time, most people believed in the Germanic gods which were very similar to the Old Nordic pantheon (e.g. Thor, Odin, Loki, etc.)

WHAT DID THEY DO?

• Most of Christianity had been forced out of England with the coming of the Anglo-Saxons.

• In 597 AD, Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine to Kent, who swiftly converted the Germanic peoples.

• Some pagan customs continued, but were given Christian significance (e.g. Halloween or weekdays).

THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF ENGLAND

Image taken from http://www.wnd.com/images/story/daysofweek.jpg

• When the Germanic invaders took over England, the native Britons were forced into Ireland—taking the Christianity brought by the Romans with them.

• Around the time St. Augustine was working to convert the southern part of England, Irish missionaries were working to convert the northern half.

Image taken from http://www.aidanharticons.com/saints/St%20AugustineCanterbury_b.jpg

ST. AUGUSTINE AND IRISH MISSIONARIES

• At this time, Latin loanwords began entering the English language, contributing greatly to the size of the English lexicon.

• Christianity also brought the use of the Latin alphabet to replace Futhorc when English was written down.

• From the coming of St. Augustine in 597 AD until the Vikings came, the English built several monasteries and were quickly increasing literacy and scholarship all over Britain.

HOW DID THIS AFFECT THE LANGUAGE?

• 793 AD – Vikings begin raiding England• Called “Danes” by the English.• Mostly raided coastal towns

and rich monasteries.• 865 AD – Huge Viking Army

lands in East Anglia.• 878 AD – King Alfred defeats

the Vikings and negotiates the Treaty of Wedmore, establishing the “Danelaw”.

THE VIKING INVASIONS

Image taken from http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/schools/primaryhistory/images/vikings/who_were_the_vikings/vk_map_whowerethey.jpg

• With the Treaty of Wedmore, the Northeastern part of England was seceded to the Danish king Guthram, in exchange for the end of Viking raids on English territory and Guthram’s conversion to Christianity.

• Made the Danes long-term neighbors with the English, creating an opportunity for linguistic and cultural exchange.

THE DANELAW

Image taken from http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/images/danelaw.gif

• Since the Anglo-Saxons and many of the Danish invaders historically came from the same place, many of the words were so similar as to be nearly the same.

• However, many words that were added to the English language from Old Norse came from practices of war • knifr cnif knife• berserkr berserker

• Most of the changes that occur due to interactions with the Vikings happen during the early parts of the Middle English Period.

HOW DID THIS AFFECT THE LANGUAGE?

• In 1066, William the Conqueror, named after the fact, defeated King Harolde in the Battle of Hastings, securing himself as King of England.

• William then proceeded to purge the aristocracy and church leadership of Anglo-Saxons, replacing them with his own Norman compatriots.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST

• “Common men know no French.”

• In general, the Norman aristocracy replaced English with French as the language of business and law.

• This, however, complicated the relationship between nobles and their subjects because no self-respecting Englishman ever learned French.

• Thus, many French and English words begin to be used interchangeably.

English O.E. FrenchCow Ceu BoeufChicken Cicen PouletSwine Swin PorcFish Eafisc Poisson

HOW DID THIS AFFECT THE LANGUAGE?

• The plague, or Black Death, swept through England in 1348-1351, killing roughly a third of the English Population.

• As a result, workers became more important and began to assert themselves for higher wages and more respect.

THE BLACK DEATH

• With an increase in the prestige of common people, it became more important that ever that nobles could communicate with their people.

• This resulted in a resurgence of English as the dominant language of law, education, and business in the British Isles.

• However, many French influences can still be seen, since the nobility only spoke English as their second language.

HOW DID THIS AFFECT THE LANGUAGE?

• From 1337-1453, Norman nobleman feuded with the French crown over landholdings in Mainland France.

• At first, the English were able to beat back the French nobles, but with the addition of Joan d’Arc, the English were pushed back to the modern day province of Normandy, losing most of their landholdings in France.

THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR

• England was already primarily a Bilingual state, with English and French being used interchangeably. However, Since everyone (including the commoners) spoke English, it became the de facto language of the land.

• This led to a resurgence of English Literature, most notably the Narrative Verse work of Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.

HOW DID THIS AFFECT THE LANGUAGE?