William the Conqueror
William I the Conqueror was "one of the greatest soldiers and rulers of the Middle Ages". (Encyclopędia Britannica, 1997) He was declared, while he was still a child, Duke of Normandy in 1035 after the death of his father, Robert I "the devil". His early years of reign were filled with conflict and strife since they correspond with one of the darkest periods of Normandy. However, he succeeded in crushing all his enemies and his throne was forever secure. During those years, he learned to fight and rule. His long struggle to gain peace during this period marred his character and shaped his outlook on life. In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim his right to the English throne and on December 25th of that year, England was conquered. Therefore, William the first' became the first Norman king of that country while at the same time remaining the Duke of Normandy. The conquest of England by William I the Conqueror altered the course of English history. William I, as the French ruler of Normandy, brought in England his French culture which changed England's language and politics system. In the years after the conquest, William set up his government on a firm basis: he established feudalism into England, which was the mo
(Erekson) Other words that reflect French nobility such as prince, duke, peer, marquis, viscount, and baron were developed during the Middle English period into king, queen, lord, lady, and earl. When looking at modern England, the results of William the first' conquest influence on England is still apparent in today's English tradition, government and language. However, according to Awylie, the Middle English [u] changed to the French [ou] as in house and this shift was due to the careless French scribes. One point that reveals how William's authority was well established through the feudal system is when looking at the records of the inventory of his realm called the Domesday book. Depending if it the letter y stood for a long or short vowel in Old English words, the letter y changed either to the short vowel u of French or the long u written ui in French. In doing so, William's kingdom monarchy was strengthen by "the bond of tenure"(Stenton 411)which insured that his will remained supreme. Therefore, "the introduction of the French word ver which sounded like Old English's fer forced speakers and listeners to make a difference between the two sounds"; [f] and [v], since these were both use in Old English to say [f]. His great ability to rule and his strong establishment of the feudal system resulted to the later economic and political success of England. French became the language of law, estates, song, verse, chanson, and romance since the Conqueror's language was French. (Awylie) William the Conqueror, in bringing his French culture into England, changed the course of that country's language and political history. His distribution of the lands was a reward for his vassals implication into the invasion of England but it was more to secure their allegiance to him since they had some obligations in having and keeping their land. (Knox 16) In addition to the political changes, the Norman invasion brought language changes among England population. On the other hand, "French never became the language of the populace; many facts indicate that it was employed mostly by the higher" or educated class. During the Norman invasion words like battle, peace, beauty, jewel, satin, beef and judge were added during the Middle English.
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