Lesson 4. The Norman Conquest. Part I

The Norman Conquest and Settlement
1. The consequences of William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings and his coronation in London in 1066.
  1. Introduction of a new nobility during the next four years.
    1. Many of the English higher class had been killed on the field at Hastings and those who escaped were treated at traitors. Their places were filled by William's Norman followers.
    2. William entered upon a series of campaigns to demonstrate his mastery.
      1. As a result of these, the OE nobility was practically wiped out.
    3. For several generations the important positions and the great estates were almost always held by Normans or men of foreign blood.
  2. Norman prelates were gradually introduced to all important positions in the church.
    1. The two archbishops were Normans. Wulfstan of Worcester as the only OE bishop who retained his office until the end of the Conqueror's raign
    2. The English abbots were replaced more slowly.
    3. Foreign monks and priests followed the example of their superiors.
      1. A number of new foundations were established and peopled by monks brought over from Norman houses.
  3. Normans in the lower walks of life who came into England with William's army.
    1. Many of them remained in the island, and their number was increased by constant acretions throughout the rest of the 11th century and the whole of the next.
      1. We find instances through the 12th century of foreign forces being brought to England
        Every Norman baron was surrounded by a swarm of Norman retainers.
        The bishop of Ely, in the reign of Richard I, was surrounded with an army of friends and foreign soldiers and also arranged marriages between Englishmen of position and his relations.
        Eccesiastics sometimes entered upon their office accompanied by an armed band of supporters.
        Merchants and craftsmen from the continent seem to have settled in England in considerable numbers.
The use of French
1. Circumstances Promoting the Continued Use of French
  1. The close connection that existed all these years between England and the continent.
    1. In dividing his possessions, William the Conqueror gave Normandy to his eldest son and England to William, his second son. Later the two domains were united again the hands of Henry I.
      1. Upon the accession of Henry II, English possessions in France were still further enlarged.
    2. English kings often spent a great part of their time in France. Except for Henry I, no English king until Edward IV (1461-1483) sought a wife in England.
    3. Nobility in general was an Anglo-French aristocracy. Nearly all the great English landowners had possessions likewise on the continent and spent much time in France.
2. The Attitude toward English
  1. It was an uncultivated language, the one of a socially inferior class.
    1. We can expect the conquered people felt resentment and the Norman were somewhat overbearing. However, there is evidence of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation and also intermarriage.
    2. William the Conqueror made an effort to learn English at 43 in order to understand and render justice in the disputes among his subjects, but his energies were too absorbed by his many other activities.
      1. In the period up to 1200 the attitude of the king and the upper classes toward the English language may be characterized as one of simple indifference.
The Co-Existence of French and English. A Social Approach
1. The Diffusion of French and English
  1. Books and treatises, such as the 'Ancrene Riwle' and the various 13th-century works on husbandry shed some light on the problem.
    1. 13th century. The language in which a man testifies is occassionally noted. The appearance of manuals from about 1250 for the teaching of French is significant.
    2. 14th century. Poets and writers often preface their works with an explanation of the language employed.
    3. 15th century. Abundant evidence: letters public and private, the acts and records of towns, guilds, and the central government, and a variety of incidental allusion.
  2. In general terms, French was the language of the court and the upper classes, English the speech of the mass of the poeple. However, the question to be asked is twofold:
    1. When and how generally did the upper class learn English?
    2. How far down in the social scale was a knowledge of French at all general?
2. Knowledge of English among the upper class
  1. French was a mark of social distinction
  2. Henry II himself seems to have understood English, though he did not speak it. His wife, however, Eleanor of Aquitaine, always required an interpreter when people spoke English.
  3. Among churchmen, English was apparently fairly common. But that did not mean that English was universal among people of this station.
    1. Among those of lower rank, whose position brought them into contact with both the upper and the lower class the ability to speak English as well as French must have been quite general.
  4. Conclusion: knowledge of English was not uncommon at the end of the 12th century among those who habitually used French; that among churchmen and men or education it was even to be expected. And among those whose activities brought them into contact with both upper and lower classes the ability to speak both languages was quite general.
3. Knowledge of French among the middle class
  1. The knightly class seems to have cultivated some French.
  2. The inhabitants of towns probably contained the largest number of those among the middle class who knew French. Especially in important trading centers, a majority of the merchant class. Also stewards and bailiffs.
  3. There was a complex situation in medieval England as a result of the presence of 3 languages: Latin, French and English.
    1. Preaching was often done in French but we know that they did not understand what was said. However, it is a mistake to consider that French was an exception among the common people as a whole.
  4. In the period preceding the loss of Normandy in 1204, some spoke only French and many more spoke only English. There were a considerable number who were bilingual as well as many who had some understanding of both languages while speaking only one.

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Lesson 4. The Norman Conquest. Part I

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