The Main Historical Events of the Middle Period

The Main Historical Events of the Middle Period Lecture 4

1. Aim to consider the main historical events of the middle period; to analyze the influence of the two invasions during the middle period.

2. The Scandinavian Invasion the 1 st inroads of the Scandinavian Vikings – the end of the 8 th century; the North-Eastern part of the country suffered more; The most successful in fighting against them – Kingdom of Wessex (King Alfred the Great); the Treaty of Wedmore → Danelaw; Edward the Confessor (1042 -1066)

3. The Scandinavian Influence on the English Language Influence on word-stock, grammar and phonetics (especially felt in the North and East parts of England); Influence conditioned by: 1. no political or social barriers between the English and the Scandinavians, the latter living on an equal footing with the English; 2. no cultural barriers between the two people (both of the nations being Germanic); 3. the language difference was not so strong (Common Germanic).

4. The Norman Conquest began in 1066; by origin a Scandinavian tribe who two centuries back began their inroads on the Northern part of France (Normandy); In 1066 King Edward the Confessor died → the weak King Harold → the Norman Duke William invaded England. (battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066).

5. 1. The Norman Influence • The English nobility perished through different reasons and was replaced by the Norman barons; • King William confiscated the estates of the Anglo-Saxons nobility and distributed them among the Norman barons (in court, Parliament, Church or school); • By 1087 the Normans composed almost 10% of the total population. social revolution in England

5. 2. The Norman Influence The 13 th century – the first Parliament, or a council of barons; Though Germanic by origin, the Normans were French by their language, habits and customs; for more than two centuries after the conquest the English country was ruled by French-speaking Kings and nobility, and the French language was the state language of the country.

6. The development of English 1258 — Proclamation of King Henry III was publishedbesides French also in English; 2. 1362 — the English language became the language of. Parliament, courts of law; later, at the end of the century — thelanguage of teaching; 3. the rule of King Henry IV (1399— 1413) — the first king after the conquest whose native tongue was English. 4. The end of the 14 th century – first "English“ translation of the Bible, and Chaucer was writing his "English“ masterpieces. 1.

Thank you for attention!

Check Yourself! Variant A Variant B Describe the changes in the English Language following the Norman Invasion. the English Language following the Scandinavian Invasion.