Middle English: A historical introduction Flashcards
What did not disappear overnight at the Norman Conquest?
Old English
Old English continued to be written for a time in some monasteries.
What literary tradition continued after the Norman Conquest?
West Saxon literary tradition
This tradition was maintained in some of the great monasteries.
What significant change occurred in the language within less than a century after the Norman Conquest?
The Old English period ended and Middle English began.
How did the Norman Conquest affect the transition from Old English to Middle English?
It made the change appear more sudden by introducing new spelling conventions.
What is a characteristic of an established literary language like late West Saxon?
It tends to be conservative in its spelling.
What did scribes often do despite changes in pronunciation?
They continued writing words in the traditional way.
How did Norman scribes approach English spelling?
They disregarded traditional English spelling and spelt the language as they heard it.
What influence did Norman French have on English after the Conquest?
Many conventions of Norman French influenced English spelling.
Fill in the blank: The transition from Old English to Middle English was made to look more sudden due to _______.
new spelling conventions
True or False: The changes in English spelling after the Conquest reflected changes in pronunciation.
True
What emerged clearly due to the new spelling conventions introduced by Norman scribes?
Changes that had not been reflected in Old English spelling, became clear because the Normans spelled words the way they heard them
