Old English/Anglo-Saxon Period PDF

Language History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad OLD ENGLISH/ ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD (500 A.D. -1100 A.D.)  History of English Language Dr....

Language History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad OLD ENGLISH/ ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD (500 A.D. -1100 A.D.)  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Phases of English Language Development  Before English (Prehistory – 500 AD)  Old English (500 – 1100)  Middle English (1100 – 1500)  Early Modern English (1500 – 1800)  Late Modern English (1800 – Present)  History of English Language Britain Before Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English  The first people in England about whose language we have definite knowledge are the Celts.  Celtic was probably the first Indo-European tongue to be spoken in England.  One other language, Latin, was spoken rather extensively for a period of about four centuries before the coming of English.  Latin was introduced when Britain became a province of the Roman Empire. This was an  History of English Language The Romans in Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Britain They came to Britain in 55 BC under Julius Caeser. (it was not a permanent invasion) Emperor Claudius sent a prepared force in 43 AD to subjugate the British Celts Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for about 400 years.  History of English The Romans influence Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad l l y e ra n Ge They had a profound influence on the culture, religion, geography, architecture and social behaviour of Britain. l l y i c a is t g u They speak Latin but it did not replace the L i n Celtic language. It was spoken by members of upper classes and inhabitants of the cities and towns. Less than 200 loanwords coined by Roman merchants and soldiers such as: win(wine), butere(butter), caese(cheese), piper(pepper),…etc.  Three Main Events Affected Old English Period 1. The Germanic invasion 2. The Coming of Christianity 3. The Vikings The Coming of English The Germanic Invasion  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English  After the Roman legionnaires were withdrawn from Britain in the early fifth century (by 410), Picts from the north and Scots from the west savagely attacked the unprotected British Celts, who after generations of foreign domination had neither the heart nor the skill in weapons to put up much resistance.  Several times they called upon Rome for  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English  Vortigern, one of the Celtic leaders, is reported to have entered into an agreement with the Jutes (from Jutland in modern-day Germany) whereby they were to assist the Celts in driving out the Picts and Scots and to receive as their reward the isle of Thanet on the northeastern tip of Kent.  The Jutes, having recognized the weakness of the Britons, decided to stay  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English The Jutes came in numbers and settled on the lands of the Celts. They met the resistance of the Celts by driving them out.  In 477 A.D., the Jutes was soon followed by the migration of other continental tribes: Angles, who occupied the east coast and Saxons, who settled in the south coast.  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English The influx of Germanic people was more of a gradual encroachment over several generations than an invasion proper, but these tribes between them gradually colonized most of the island, with the exception of the more remote areas, which remained strongholds of the original Celtic people of Britain and completely changed the character of the island of Britain.  History of English Language Anglo-Saxon Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Civilization In some districts where the inhabitants were few, the Anglo-Saxons probably settled down beside the Celts in more or less peaceful contact. In others, as in the West Saxon territory, the invaders met with stubborn resistance and succeeded in establishing themselves only after much fighting. Many of the Celts undoubtedly were driven into the west and sought refuge in  History of English Language Anglo-Saxon Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Civilization Such civilization as had been attained under Roman influence was largely destroyed. The Roman towns were burnt and abandoned. Town life did not attract a population used to life in the open and finding its occupation in hunting and agriculture. The Celts referred to the European invaders as “barbarians” (as they had previously been labelled themselves); the invaders referred to the Celts as weales  History of English Language Anglo-Saxon Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Civilization The Germanic settlement comprised seven kingdoms, the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy: 1. Kent, 2. Essex, 3. Sussex, 4. Wessex, 5. East Anglia, 6. Mercia,  History of English Language Influence of the Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Celts  Despite the dominance of the Celts in Britain at an early formative stage, they have had very little impact on the English language.  The Celts were by no means exterminated except in certain areas, and that in most of England large numbers of them were gradually assimilated into the new culture.  In the east and southeast, where the Germanic conquest was fully accomplished at a fairly early date, it is probable that  History of English Language Influence of the Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Celts Many British place names have Celtic origins such as: Kent, York, London, Dover, Thames, Avon, Trent, Severn, Cornwell, …etc. The names of rivers and hills Thames, Avon, Exe, Esk, Barr, Bredon, Bryn Mawr, Creech, Pendle, …etc. Outside of place-names, however, the influence of Celtic upon the English language is almost negligible. Not more than a score of words in Old English can be traced with The Coming of Christianity  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Christianity  The most important event in the history of Anglo-Saxon culture occurred in 597, when Pope Gregory I dispatched a band of missionaries to the Angles under the leadership of St Augustine.  They landed on the Isle of Thanet in Kent and were courteously received by king Ethelbert, who converted to Christianity and married a Christian Frankish princess.  In 601 A.D., Augustine was consecrated first  History of English Language The Coming of Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Christianity  Christianity had actually come to the Anglo-Saxons from two directions: Rome with Celtic Church Saint with Irish Augustine missionaries  For a time it was uncertain whether England would go with Rome or the Celts.  Those apparently trivial decisions were symbolic of the important alignment of the English Church with Rome and the  History of English Language The Golden Age of Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English  England after its conversion to Christianity at the end of the sixth century became a true beehive of scholarly activity.  The famous monasteries at Canterbury, Glastonbury, Wearmouth, Lindisfarne, Jarrow, and York were great centers of learning where men such as Aldhelm, Benedict Biscop, Bede, and Alcuin pursued their studies.  The great scholarly movement to which Bede belonged is largely responsible for  History of English Language The Golden Age of Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English  Literature in the Old English period was rich in poetry. Cædmon was the first English poet.  The epic poem Beowulf, probably composed in the early eighth century embodied traditions that go back to the Anglo-Saxons’ origins on the Continent in a sophisticated blending of pagan and Christian themes. Its account of the life and death of its hero sums up the ethos of the Anglo-Saxon people.  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Roman Occupation  The Latin influence sprang from the period of Roman occupation.  It is probable that the use of Latin as a spoken language did not long survive the end of Roman rule in the island and that such ruins as remained for a time were lost in the disorders that accompanied the Germanic invasions.  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Roman Occupation  The Celts, indeed, had adopted a considerable number of Latin words—more than 600 have been identified—but these words were not passed on. Among the few Latin words that the Anglo-Saxons seem likely to have acquired upon settling in England, one of the most likely, in spite of its absence from the Celtic languages, is ceaster. This word, which represents the Latin castra (camp), is a common designation in Old English for a town or enclosed community. It forms a familiar element in  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n  The greatest influence of Latin upon Old English was occasioned by the conversion of Britain to Roman Christianity beginning in 597.  The introduction of Christianity meant the building of churches and the establishment of monasteries.  Latin, the language of the services and of  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n  Schools were established in most of the monasteries and larger churches. Some of these became famous through their great teachers, and from them trained men went out to set up other schools at other centers. They devoted considerable time and energy to teaching.  In short, the church as the carrier of Roman civilization influenced the course of English  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n  It is obvious that the most typical as well as the most numerous class of words introduced by the new religion would have to do with that religion and the details of its external organization.  Because most of these words have survived in only slightly altered form in Modern English, the examples may be given in their modern form. The list includes abbot, alms, altar, angel, anthem, Arian, ark, candle, canon, chalice, cleric, cowl, deacon, disciple, epistle, hymn, litany, manna, martyr, mass, minster, noon,  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n  But the church also exercised a profound influence on the domestic life of the people. This is seen in the adoption of Names of articles of clothing and many words; household ap, sock, silk, purple, chest, mat, sack  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n Words denoting foods beet, caul (cabbage), lentil (OE lent), millet (OE mil), pear, radish, doe, oyster Names (OE ofostre), trees,lobster, plants,mussel and herbs box, pine, aloes, balsam, fennel, hyssop, lily, mallow, marshmallow, myrrh, rue, savory (OE sæþrige), and  History of English Language Latin Influence on Old Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad English Christianizatio n Education and learning school, master, Latin (possibly an earlier borrowing), grammatic(al), verse, meter,of A number gloss, verbsnotary and(a scribe). adjectives āspendan (to spend; L. expendere), bemūtian (to exchange; L. mūtāre), dihtan (to compose; L. dictāre) pīnian  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings  By the late 8th Century, the Vikings (or Norsemen/Northmen) began to make sporadic raids on the east cost of Britain.  They came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, although it was the Danes who came with the greatest force.  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings  The Vikings pillaged and plundered the towns and monasteries of northern England - in 793, they sacked and looted the wealthy monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria - before turning their attentions further south.  By about 850, the raiders had started to over-winter in southern England.  In 865, there followed a full-scale invasion and on-going battles for the possession of  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings  Viking expansion was finally checked by Alfred the Great.  In 878, a treaty between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings established the Danelaw A line splitting the country along roughly from London to Chester. giving the Norsemen control over the north and east giving the Anglo-Saxons control over the  The Danelaw Map  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings Alfred the Great  Alfred is the only English king to be honored with the sobriquet “the Great,” and deservedly so.  In addition to his military victories over the Vikings, Alfred reorganized the laws and government of the kingdom and revived learning among the clergy.  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings Alfred the Great  From his capital town of Winchester, he set about rebuilding and fostering the revival of learning, law and religion.  He believed in educating the people in the vernacular English language, not Latin, and he himself made several translations of important works into English, include Bede’s “Ecclesiastical History of the  History of English Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad The Vikings Alfred the Great  He was also responsible for the compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—the major sources of our knowledge of early English history.  He is revered by many as having single- handedly saved English from the destruction of the Vikings, and by the time of his death in 899 he had raised the  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  Over time, Old Norse was gradually merged into the English language, and many Scandinavian terms were introduced.  In actual fact, only around 150 Norse words appear in Old English manuscripts of the period, but many more became assimilated into the language and gradually began to appear in texts over the next few centuries.  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  The amalgamation of the two peoples was greatly facilitated by the close kinship that existed between them.  Among the most notable evidences of the extensive Scandinavian settlement in England is the large number of places that bear Scandinavian names.  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of  Vikings When we find more than 600 places like Grimsby, Whitby, Derby, Rugby, and Thoresby, with names ending in -by, nearly all of them in the district occupied by the Danes, we have a striking evidence of the number of Danes who settled in England.  Some 300 names like Althorp, Bishopsthorpe, Gawthorpe, and Linthorpe contain the Scandinavian word -thorp (village).  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  Place names are also sometimes Scandinavianized: the palatalized Ashford becomes Askeford with a non-palatalized [k].  Numerous other Scandinavian elements enter into English place-names. It is apparent that these elements were commonplace in the speech of the people of the Danelaw.  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  The largest number are found in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. In some districts in these counties as many as 75 percent of the place- names are of Scandinavian origin.  It may be remarked that a similarly high percentage of Scandinavian personal names has been found in the medieval records of these districts. Names ending in -son, like Stevenson or Johnson, conform to a characteristic Scandinavian custom.  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  Unlike Celtic and Latin, Scandinavian affected Old English grammar, not just its vocabulary. For instance, the appearance of the third person plural they, them, and their is due to Scandinavian contact.  Grammatical words such as pronouns and prepositions are typically very stable in language history and this development is therefore unexpected. It shows that the influence of Scandinavian was quite strong.  History of English The Scandinavian Language Dr. Mayada F. Elhaddad Influence: The Age of Vikings  Endings on verbs, nouns, and adjectives also start to simplify in the north. This is most likely due to contact with Scandinavian.  Other influences on the grammar consist of the introduction of 1. till 2. the infinitival marker at 3. the present participle ending in -and Thank You