Middle English Background Flashcards
1
Q
Middle English
A
1100 - 1500
2
Q
Northmen
A
Nor(th)men = Vikings = Men from the North
> in the North of England
> in the Normandy
3
Q
1002
A
King Aethelred the Unready marries a wife from Normandy
4
Q
1042
A
Edward, Aethelred’s son, is King of England
5
Q
1066
A
- End of Old English
Norman Conquest: - January: Edward the Confessor dies childless
- Harold Godwinson, the oldest son of the Earl of Wessex is elected to be the new king
- October: Battle of Hastings (William the Conqueror challenges the new king)
- William of Normandy (Duke, known as William the Bastard) becomes King of England, remains Duke of Normandy
> he speaks French, not English
6
Q
1199
A
John Lackland becomes king
7
Q
1200
A
John Lackland marries Isabel of Angoulém
8
Q
1204
A
Loss of Normandy
9
Q
1337 - 1453
A
Hundred Years’ War
- long political conflict between England and France
10
Q
1362
A
Parliament opened in English for the first time
11
Q
1476
A
Introduction to the printing press: William Caxton
- he did not invent it
12
Q
History and Culture
A
- Great influence of French on the English language
- Anglo-Norman (close to French): Language of the upper class
- English: Language of the major part of the population
- Anglo-Norman looses influence from the second half of the 14th century
- in the 15th century, Anglo-Norman had the status of a foreign language
13
Q
Why was the English language favoured?
A
- Loss of Normandy (1204)
- Many members of the upper class considered themselves as Englishmen and not Normans
- Anglo-Normans was not a popular dialect, that is Central French
- Hundred Year’s War (1337 - 1453)
- English-speaking middle class grows and has influence
- the Black death
- growth of the cities, social development
-1362: Parliament was opened in English
