Language Focus: English in the High Middle Ages

The establishment of Plantagenet Dynasty changed the development of the Anglo-Norman language. Before the 12-th century the Norman dialect had been spread and Normandy was a source of cultural and spiritual standards for invaders. The Plantagenets brought with them the dialect of Central France. This dialect became the norm in court and fashionable society. As the pronunciation of two dialects differed considerably, the same word was borrowed twice and assimilated in two different forms.

In the 13-th century a series of political and social events caused the Normans to stress their allegiance to the conquered land. In 1204 king John lost the province of Normandy to the king of France. This began a process where the Norman nobles of England became interestingly estranged from their French cousins. If England had not lost French possessions, the French language might have remained in use in England forever. So, at the beginning of the 13-th century, as the result of unsuccessful battles with France, the French language became the language of the enemy. England became the chief concern of the nobility and consequently the nobility adopted a modified English as their native tongue.

Gradually the Anglo-Norman dialect became more and more provincial because of hundred years of isolation, which it experienced. A prestigious French dialect had arisen in Paris. The speakers of prestigious dialect mocked the French language, spoken by Normans.

In the 14-th century the status of English changed due to the social changes among English upper classes. The Hundred Years War raised the anti-French feeling, so the French was no longer the only language fit for English gentlemen. By 1362 the linguistic division between the nobility and the commons was largely over. This year the Statute of Pleading was adopted, which made English the language of the courts and it began to be used in Parliament. The town chronicles and the records of guilds and companies began to be written in English. The 14-th century saw the real triumph of the English language – the Middle English became a serviceable and adoptable language with a rich vocabulary and grammatical forms that were much simpler than in Old English.

English was becoming a national language through the war of local dialects – Northern, West Midland, South-Western and South-Eastern. The Midland dialect won the war mainly due to the predominance of London, which in the course of the 15-th century became governmental and commercial center of England. The Middle English period ended around 1500 with the rise of Modern English.

I. Answer the following questions:

1. What was the reason for internal wars to rage all over the country in the 15-th century?

2. Why did this struggle have the name “The War of the Roses”?

3. When did the war end?

4. Who was the king of England after this war?

5. What were the consequences of the war?

II. Characterize the following:

1. The preconditions of the beginning of the War of the Roses.

2. It was a dynastic struggle between two feudal families.

3. The new Tudor monarchy was absolute.