Middle English Language Period (1150-1500) PDF

Middle English language period (1150-1500) History of the Middle English language 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 1  Historical Background The Middle English period was influenced by several social, economic...

Middle English language period (1150-1500) History of the Middle English language 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 1  Historical Background The Middle English period was influenced by several social, economic and political factors. The Middle English period can be studied under two major factors: A. The neglect of the English language: This refers to the dominance of the French language and the neglect of the English language until the end of the 13th century (1150-1400). B. The patriotic revival of interest in the English language: This happened during the second half of the Middle English period. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 2 A. The Neglect of the English language (1150- 1400) The Battle of the Hastings in 1066: this battle led to drastic changes in the status of the English language. It is generally believed that there is no battle in the history of the world has led to a drastic change in the basic character of a language as the Battle of the Hastings did. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 3  The Battle of the Hastings was between England and France. Harold, the king of England, was killed in this battle. The French Duke of Normandy, William won this battle. This winning of the Duke of Normandy has caused significant changes to the basic characters of the English language. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 4  William, the Duke of Normandy, ordered his army after winning the Battle of the Hastings to plunder and burn the southeast of England. The English people accepted William as the new King of England. Thus in 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy in France was crowned as the new King of England. With William, as the King of England, the linguistic situation in England took a sudden and drastic turn. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 5  King William attempted to learn the English language, but he could not find the time for it. King William filled all the major positions in England with people from Normandy who spoke the French language. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 6  During King William’s reign, the French language was the language of all the top officials. The French language was the language in the church, the army, the palace, the court, the government offices, and schools. The French language was also the language of the upper class of the society in England.  King William’s sons and grandsons and great grandsons continued to adopt the French language as the official language. For more than two hundred years, the King’s court continued to be a stronghold of the French language. This was because these Kings had greater sense of identity with Normandy in France than with England. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 8  Therefore, the French language continued to be a language of great importance. The French language was a mark of social distinction. The French language was a language of opportunities, a language by using of which one could obtain royal favors. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 9  The English language was neglected for centuries. During the first 250 years of the Norman’s rule, the English language had an utterly low status. During that period, the English language was only used by the poor, the downtrodden, and the illiterate peasants living in the villages. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 10  The first half of the Middle English period was an exceptional period in history. During the Middle English period, the English upper and Middle class people were so much involved in learning and cultivating the French language. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 11  The poor and illiterate users of the English language became its sole masters. These poor and illiterate users shaped and molded the English language as they wished. They used it with simplicity, ease and naturalness giving no attention to its grammatical correctness. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 12  B. The Patriotic Revival of Interest in the English Language: The French language started to lose its importance in England in the 14th century. The French language lost its importance for three main reasons: 1. The Black Death and its Impact on the masses. 2. English speaking monks 3. The loss of Normandy 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 13 1. The Black Death and its Impact on the masses: In 1348, an epidemic plague known as Black Death broke out in England. This disease turned out to be one of the largest killers in history. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 14  At that time, poor people died in larger numbers than the rich people. The rich people had the chance to shut themselves up in their houses or their castles. The rich peoples’ houses and castles were located at long distances from the hutments of the poor people. Therefore, the poor people were infected and died in large numbers. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 15  The Black Death created an acute shortage of laborers. The laborers were needed to work in farms all over the country. Because of the Black Death, wages went up very high. Therefore, demand and supply were in favor of the poor Englishmen. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 16  The peasants and laborers gained a significant role in the society after the Black Death. The poor Englishmen gained recognition, wealth and freedom that they never had before. The importance of a language in any society depends on the importance attached to the users of this language. Thus, the language of the peasants and laborers, the English language, regained recognition and importance. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 17 2. English speaking monks: Because of the Black Death epidemic, monks contracted the infection on an extensive scale and died in very large numbers. Monks could not shut themselves up in their houses. Monks had to stay in the churches to provide solace to the masses suffering from that epidemic. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 18  Because a large number of monks died in this epidemic, their posts were vacated. The posts of these monks were filled by English-speaking people. This factor helped the English language to revive and regain its importance. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 19 3. The loss of Normandy: King John became the King of England in 1199. After his accession to the throne, King John, developed a relationship of hostility with King Philip of France. King Philip did not support John’s accession. King Philip asserted that Arthur had the right to be the King of England. Arthur was the nephew of King John. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 20  King Philip of France decided that King John should be deprived of all his possessions in France including his dukedom of Normandy. King John mustered the support of Germany and of the Flanders. King John, with help from Germany and the Flanders, invaded France in 1214. However, King John was badly defeated. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 21  The loss of Normandy led to essential changes The Norman kings, nobles and their supporters changed their attitude towards England. They decided to forget their roots in France and to make England their homeland. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 22  The Norman kings, nobles and their supporters did not consider themselves as aliens anymore. The elite class gradually switched from using the French language as the means of their daily communication language to the English language. This gave the English language a strong position that it did not have before. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 23  The change of the elite class attitude led to a patriotic revival of interest in the English language: The English language became the language of the parliament. The English language started to be used in schools. The English language started to be used in law courts. 8/22/2023 Fourth Lesson 24