1. A History of the English Language
A Look at the People, Places, Things, and Events that influenced the development and use of the English Language.

2. Ch. 1 : Of Swords and Scripture
Romans
Anglo-Saxons
Christianization
Vikings
Information taken from C. M. Millward’s A Biography of the English Language

3. England Before the English
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
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4. The Arrival of the English
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”.
Clip taken from Vsauce’s “ENGLISH” <

5. Where did they come from?
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,
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6. What did they do?
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.)

7. The Christianization of England
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).
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8. St. Augustine and Irish Missionaries
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.
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9. How did this affect the language?
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.

10. The Viking Invasions 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”.
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11. The Danelaw
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.
Image taken from

12. How did This affect the Language?
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.

13. The Norman Conquest
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.

14. How did This affect the language?
“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.
French
Cow
Ceu
Boeuf
Chicken
Cicen
Poulet
Swine
Swin
Porc
Fish
Eafisc
Poisson

15. The Black Death
The plague, or Black Death, swept through England in , 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.

16. How did this affect the language?
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.

17. The Hundred Years War
From , 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.

18. How did this affect the language?
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.