1. The history of English
Ms. Jacobsen

2. 499 – 1485 AD Britian: populated by Germanic tribes Invasions
Jutes, Angles, Frisians, and Saxons
Became known as the Anglo-Saxons
Spoke Old English (aka Anglo-Saxon)
Had dialects
Invasions
Romans: 400s and 600s
Result: Christianity was brought to England but wasn’t accepted by all & language shift
Vikings (aka Norse): 800s
Result: introduction of borrowings and pronunciation

3. King Alfred the great 1st Danish king
Only one with the title “great” added to his name
Danelaw
Divided England into two parts
East and North: ruled by the Danes
South: ruled by the Saxons
Two kings ruled the country
Responsible for Old English manuscripts

4. Norman conquest of 1066
Caused by the death of the English king, Edward the Confessor
Throne was to go to Harold II
William the Duke of Normandy (from Norman, France) claimed the throne was promised to him by Edward
Edward was his relative
William, with his troops, travelled to England to take the throne by force
Battle of Hastings
Success!
Harold dies and William becomes king

5. The effects of the norman conquest
The new king decreed:
Only Normans in court and part of the aristocracy
Only Normans controlled the government
Only Norman French was spoken in the courts and official documents
Supporters received titles and lands –stolen from the Anglo-Saxons
Knights even received land for their service: manors
Anglo-Saxons were the peasantry class and only speakers of Old English / Anglo-Saxon
The Black Plague
Most of the aristocracy died
Those left had to learn Old English to survive and communicate

6. King Henry II
appointed his friend Henry Becket as archbishop of the church
Becket defied his friend and appealed to the Pope
Pope sided with Becket
Henry’s knights slaughtered Becket in the cathedral
On his orders? Misunderstanding?
Atoned for his, and his followers’ actions, by a pilgrimage to Becket’s shrine at Canterbury
Became a way to show religious devotion
Many did this –as seen in Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

7. War of the roses Conflict between two Houses: York and Lancaster
Lancaster: King Henry IV, V, and VI
York: King Richard II, III
Until Henry VII killed Richard III in battle
Tudors crowned him and married Richard’s niece
Unified the houses and ended the conflict