INVASION OF NORMANDY

Chris Smith and Sam Leonard

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

William of Normandy conquered a kingdom that

resisted Viking invasion for years on end.

English Army of King Herold II vs. Army of William of

Normandy

English had a strong stance to keep the Normans away.

Threw stones and javelins while the Normans tried to

run up the hill

CONT.

William sent his cavalry sooner than he should

have

The left flank retreated and was followed by the

remaining two divisions.

Rumor got around that William was dead and he

took off his helmet to prove otherwise

This boosted Norman morale and was the turning

point in battle

CONT.

Many believe that King Herold was struck in the

eye with an arrow

Others believe that he was killed by the sword.

Battle of Hastings was the longest and most brutal

battle in English History

INFLUENCE IN LANGUAGE

Modern English is very different from the English

that was spoken before the conquest.

It comes from the combination of the updated West

Saxon-Old English, and the most common form of

Norman French.

OLD ENGLISH

Old English was generated from the West Germanic

language.

After the Viking wars, and a settlement of many Old

Norse speakers, or North Germanic speakers, simplifying

grammar and the intro to new words had already started.

With the West and North Germanic languages combining,

there were four major dialects including: Northumbrian,

Mercian, West Saxon, and Kentish.

Soon the kings of Wessex, or the West Saxon, became

kings of all England and West Saxon language gradually

took over Old English.

NORMAN FRENCH

The area west of the Roman Empire spoke Latin. But the

Latin was not the regular, higher form used by scholars and

churches.

It was more common, known as Vulgar Latin used by soldiers

and the market. The French used a large amount of the

language used by the Gauls, who originally occupied the land.

The two major parts of French are: the Langue d’oil from the

North, and the Langue d’oc in the South.

MODERN ENGLISH

Modern English is the combination of both of those languages,

and by about 1100, it was soon classified as the ‘new’ English.

So when the Norse invaded they brought a language from the

same linguistic family. The languages were both so similar that

some of the words had supplemented others before the fighting

even stopped.

The Norse, as the new ruling class, with the new society

developments, England's new culture and language was much

different from before they invaded in 1066.

http://

www.historyinanhour.com/blog/read_17226/the-battl

e-of-hastings-a-brief-summary.html

http://geoffboxell.tripod.com/words.htm