MiddleEnglish

1、Middle English1066-1500The Norman Conquest1066-1200A. The single most important event on the history of the English language is the Norman Conquest in 1066.B. In 1066 King Edward (the Confessor) died childless. Edwardschiefadvisor(earlof West Saxon), Godwin, had a son names Harold.Harold succeeded h

2、is father Godwin and virtually ruled Englandthe last 12 yearsof Edwards reign.Upon Edwards death,Haroldwas elected King.C. William, the duke of Normandy, was 2nd cousin to Edward, and Edward had promised him the throne upon Edwards death. Once William learns of Harolds succession to the throne, Will

3、iam begins a very detailed and careful plan to win the crown.1. First, William secured cooperation from his vassals by promising good rewards.2. He made peace with his enemies on the continent.3. He appealed to the Pope to sanctionhis plan and recievedthe blessing of the Church.4. The end result was

4、 a massive number of people with questionable (greedy & ambitious) motives coming to the aid of William. By the time William invades England, he has a formidable army.5. When Williamlanded (Sept.1066 at Pevensy inthe southof England), he was unopposed.6. Harold was busy in northern England trying to

5、 ward off an invaion by the king of Norway, who also wanted the throne.7. When Harold finally marshals his army, he didnt havethe numbers thatWilliamdid.However, the day of the big battle,Harold managed a valiant fight and actually held William off.According to history, military might had nothing to

6、 do withWilliams victory. Instead, Harold was killed, and in theconfusion without a leader, the English troops fell apart. Thus, William was able to triumph at Hastings.8. However, William had to burn and pillage southeast England before the people gave in, and on Christmas Day 1066, William was cro

7、wned king.D. Williams reign virtually wipes out all of the old English nobility. In its place, a new nobility-of Norman descentE. With Norman nobility in place, nearly all great estates and important positions were held by Normans or other foriegners.F. The governing class in both church and state,

8、then, was foreign, and their influence great.Language Use During ME1. Frencha. The ruling class continued to use their ownlanguage-French.b. For 200 years afterthe Conquest, the language of policywas French.And thiswas not a demarcationof ethnicity.NumerousEnglishpeople (thoseof the upper classes)le

9、arnedthe languagethrough marriage and by association.c. However, the language of themasses remainedEnglish.d. Until the beginning of the 13th century,Frenchcontinued to dominate as the language ofnobility.A very closeconnection existed between the continent and England . . . the nobility usually hel

10、d land in both places: therefore, travel between the two was fairly common.e. Further, William was no exception tothis. In fact when William died, he left Normandy to his eldest son and England tohis youngest son, Williamthe Second. LaterNormandy and Englandwere under one ruler, but not until Henry

11、the First. Under Henry the Second, English possessions in France were even furtherbroadened and enhanced.f. When Henry the 2nd marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, heincreased his holdings so that by the time he became King ofEngland, he controlled about 2/3 of France.g. From William the Conqueror through

12、Henry the 2nd, mostkings spent at least2/3 of theirtime in France. And besides HenryI,no otherEnglishking marriedan Englishwoman untilEdward the4th in the 1460s. The perpetuationof French was on. Too much timeand too much money were invested in France for the nobility notto have, as a naturalcourse

13、of events,used French as the language.*note:no evidence existsto suggest that English wasa hated language. Most probably very littleattentionwas paidto it because classes simply did not mix.2. Fusion of the French and English-overtime,the two culturesassimilated and adjusted to one another.3. Diffus

14、ion of Englisha. Some nobility spoke English. This would be a naturaloccurrence.b. Some clergy preserved English.c. Some of the educated, the nobility, and clergy, then, representing the upper social strata, were bilingual.4. Diffusion of Frencha. Knights learned French.b. Merchants spoke both Frenc

15、h and English.c. Managers (sheriffs, bailiffs, etc.) on large estateswere bilingual.d. For the most part, bilingualism extended only down tothe middle class.*Qualification: Bilingual as used above does notindicate fluency.The Re-establishment of English1200-15001. The Loss of Normandya. King John lo

16、st Normandy in 1204b. King John fell in love with a French noblewoman-Isabel of Angouleme.c. He married her hastily without regard for her othersuitor (to whom she was already engaged), Hugh of Lusignan.d. Hugh was the head of a very powerfuland ambitiousfamily,but John chose to ignore these connect

17、ions and, in anticipation of retaliation for stealing Isabel, attacked Hughs family.e. Hugh appeals to the King of allFrance, Philip,and Philiptook advantage of the situation to embarrass the duke of Normandy (and King of England), John. Since John was extremely irritating to Philip, it was with gre

18、at delight that Philipsummoned John to appear before him, answer charges, and submit to the judgement of the court.f. Johnmaintainedthat, as Kingof England,he was exemptfrom subjugation and did not appear at his trial. Hence, Philip stripped John of his dukedom and invaded Normandy.g. Philip succeed

19、ed, and Normandy returned solely to the French.h. John lost support: he was viewed as a scoundrel. Therewas even thought (with some basis) that he had his own cousin, prince Arthur, murdered.2. Separation of English and French nobilitya. With the loss of Normandy (some holdings were left in the sout

20、h of France), many nobles had to decide where their allegiance lay . . . France or England.b. Philip, and later Louis, helped solve this problem: heconfiscatedthe land of many nobles.Those who stillhad holdingsin both places were forcedto give up one or the other.There weresome that were divided up

21、by Philip, and in some instances, thenobles kept theirlargerlandholdingsin Englandand gave up thelesser in Normandy.c. By 1250 the holdingshad been dividedor the choicemadeto hold land either in England or Normandy, and by 1250, therewas no real reason for using French.d. During the breakup of holdi

22、ngs, an influx of French from the south was also occurring. There were three periods of infiltration by foreigners, all occurring during the reign ofHenry the 3rd:1.-in1233 under Peter des Roches (a Frenchman madebishop of Winchester and later chancellor)2.-in1236 when Henry married Eleanor of Prove

23、nce,and he gave her many, many relatives land and positions3. -the last in 1246e. Not all infiltrators were French; some were Spanish3. Henry the 3eds reign was full of excesses and liberties. He freely gave to foreigners-land,etc.-and encouraged theirinflux. The hostilities that ensued were, in lar

24、ge part, due to Henrys catering tothe French. Resentment of the foreigners andof Henry was the attitude of the day.4. Promotion of National Feelinga. Opposition to foreigners helped promote national feeling b. Drove the barons and middle class together in a commoncausec. Ironically, one leader of th

25、e cause was Simon de Montfort-a Norman by birth.d. In line with these feelings, then, some knowledge ofEnglish would be regarded as desirable.5. French as supremea. Though England was beginningto unite,thisdid not meanFrench was given up overnight.b. In fact, French was consideredthelanguage of thec

26、ontinent. Even Germans and Italians spoke French.6. The 13th Centurya. French continued to be spoken by the upper class in England, but not for different reasons. No longer the mother tongue, French was spoken as a matter of social custom and administrative convention.b. However, withthe separationo

27、f nobilityfrom interestsin France and Normandy, the upper classes were generally using it.c. Because French use was fading and English use becomingprevalent,the impact of borrowingFrench vocabularyis major.When an English term was unknown and needed to be expressed, aFrench word or phrase was used.d

28、. On the whole English use was steady.e. By the middle ofthe 13thcentury,French is considereda foreign language.f. Some attempt to preserve French existed in the clergyand from scholars, but not much.g. The French that had been spoken among Englishmen wasconsideredby Francophilesto be a backardand b

29、utchereddialect.7. Other factors contributing to the rise of Englisha. The 100 years War-promoted national unity against theFrench to a very intensedegree. Because the Englishcameto hatethe French, the French language was used less and less.b. The rise of the middle class-with the outbreak of The Bl

30、ack Death in 1348, approximately 30% of the population died. This brought a shortage of labor; consequently, the economicimportance of the working class grew. Since English was the language of the common laborer, its use become even more widespread.8. By the beginning of the 14th century, English wa

31、s once again the dominant language. Futher, in 1362 Parliament enacted a lawrequiring all lawsuits to be conducted in English. English is, then, officially recognized. From here, the use of Englishfiltered down to other branches of government and law.9. Henry Vs reign from 1413-1422 marked a turning

32、 point in English as a written language. Henry used English in writing letters, and the practice diffused among the English people.10. French literature was not so easily replaced, though, byEnglishliterature.Most of the literaturein Middle Englishcomesin the form of religious.11. The diffusion of h

33、te language does extend eventually toliterature. -Chaucer (1340-1400), Langland (Piers Plowman), and the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight emerge, leading to the labeling of writing at the time as The Period of Greatindividual Writing (1350-1400).12. The 15th century literature of England be

34、comes known as the Imitative Period or Transition Period, the period of imitatorsof Chaucer and before Shakespeare.Middle English Dialects and The Rise of Standard EnglishA. ME was comprised of 5 distinct dialects (see p. 186 in book).These reflect :1. original settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Jutes2.

35、 the influence on ON on OE. The division between East &West Midland reflects the boundary of the OldDanelawB. As London developed into a major commercial city and seat of government, London English (which was a variety of East MidlandEnglish)became the language of literature& of widestuse by theend

36、of the 14th century C. However, the present day writtenstandard English derives from the variety used in the Chancery(the national bureacracy). The written conventions & spellingadopted by the clerksof the Chancery provideda writtenstandardthat existed in spite of significant differences in the spok

37、en language.Middle English Phonology1. Vowel changes-simple vowels change in quality, and the 4 OE diphthongs become monophthongs.a: b nb n(backing) 鎉? :yy:a :I i:捩 tthats? :synnhy:dan(backing)s :(raising)s nne(unrounding)hi:dan(unrounding)Diphthongs (smoothing): ? hearm ? : :stream o heofone:oe:b o

38、nharmstremehevenb n2.New diphthongs-6 new ones appear, but only one persists inModern English: borrowed from French (joie)3.Lengthening and Shorteninga. Vowels became long after ld, mb, and nd (but not if a third consonant followed)OEMEcildch ld (c.f. children)hundhoundb. The vowels a,e,and obecamel

39、ong in open syllablesof disyllabic wordsOEMEnamana:menosuno:se (c.f. nostril)c. Vowels became short before double consonants andconsonant clusters other than ld, mb, and ndOEMEce:ptekeptble:ddebledde (c.f. bleed)d. Vowels becomeshortin the firstsyllableof trisyllabicwords (trisyllabic shortening)OEM

40、Eha:ligdaghalidai (c.f. holy)4. Consonant Changesa.hl, hn, and hr become l, n, and rrespectivelyOEMEhlu:dlu:dhneccaneckehringringb.w islostbetween a consonant and a back vowel (, ,o, and u)OEMEModern Etwa:t :twoswords rdswordc. , is lost after unstressedvowelsOEMErihtlirightlya:nlionlid.Voicedfricat

41、ivesemerge as separate phonemes (v, 餧 ,z and ) as a result of:1.levelingnosu n zurisan ri:zanOEnose n :zrise ri:zME2.French influencevat, vixen, verseMiddle English GrammarA. Leveling eliminates most of the inflectional systemB. As a consequence, word order and prepositionsbecomeincreasingimportantC

42、. The loss of inflectionsleads to the replacementof grammaticalgender with natural genderD. Dual number pronouns disappearE. Many strong verbs become regularized; in ME, many verbs are in a state of flux.F. The strong/weak adjective disappears as a result of the loss of inflectional endingsG. They b

43、egins to appear as a 3rd person plural nominativeFrench Influence on ME Vocabulary-If two languages are spoken side by side, frequentlytransferenceof words from one language to anotheris inevitable.Again this process is called borrowing.-The borrowingthatoccurred was not an immediate process;rather,

44、it occurred gradually.-We can trace the borrowings from French by two time periods:before 1250 and after 1250.A. Prior to 12501.Approximately 900 French words borrowed2.Most of the 900 came in through language contact between the nobility and the working class3.baron, noble, dame, servant, feast, et

45、c., all signifying the relationship between the classes4.story, rime, etc., came in by way of literature5.The largest number of words to enter during this period were, however, from the church. The need to convey doctrine andbelief quickly accounts for this, the largest group.B. After 12501.Of the t

46、wo periods, more words entered after 1250 whenthe language was in transition from French back to English2.The transference occurring during this period included all categories of words and is quite extensive. C.French loan or borrowed words1.Government and administrative-government, govern, administ

47、er,crown, state, empire, real, reign, royal, prerogative, authority, parliament, assembly, statute (see p. 165)2.Ecclesiasticala. general-sermon, religion, theology, prayer,confession, lesson, communionb. terms of rank/class within the church-clergy, cardinal, chaplain, parson, pastor, vicar, novice

48、c. terms associated with the church service or with the way of life for the clergy-crucifix, incense, lectern,image, chapter, abbey, convent, sanctuaryd. terms thatexpressed fundamentaltheologicalor religiousconcepts-creator, savior,trinity, saint, miracle,faith, heresy, reverence, devotion, sacrile

49、ge, temptation, redemption, absolution, immortality, salvation3. terms that expressed virtues-piety, sanctity, charity, mercy, pity, obedience, virtue4. form class wordsa. adjectives-divine, devout, reverend, solemnb. verbs-preach, pray, repent,confess, adore,convert,anoint, ordain3.Lawa. nouns-just

50、ice, equity, crime, bar,attorney, petition, complaint, inquest, indictment, jury, juror, panel, felon, evidence, proof, bail, verdict, sentence, punishment, decreeb. verbs-plead, arraign, depose,arrest, warrant,condemn, convict,judge, acquit, pardonc. other-arson, fraud, felony, trespass, slander,libel,perjury, adultery,property,estate,tenement,chattels,legacy, patrimony, heir, executord. adjectives-just, innocent, cu