Файл: lekcii_po_istorii_yazika.doc

LECTURE 3.

MIDDLE ENGLISH. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

List of principal questions:

1. Outer history

0. Scandinavian Invasion

1. Effect of the Scandinavian Invasions

2. Norman Conquest

3. Effect of the Norman Conquest on the linguistic situation

1.3. Formation of the English national language

2. Inner history

2.1. Phonetics

2.2. Grammar

2.3. Word-stock

Literature

1. R.V. Reznik, T.C. Sorokina, I.V. Reznik A History of the English language. M., 2003.

2. T.A. Rastorguyeva History of English. M., 1983.

3. А.И. Смирницкий Лекции по истории английского языка. М., 2000.

4. К. Бруннер История английского языка. Т.1 М., 2001.

5. И. Чахоян, Л. Иванова, Т. Беляева. История английского языка. СПб., 1998.

1. Outer history

1.1. The Scandinavian Invasions in England

By the 8^th c. Norwegian Vikings made their first attacks on England. In the 9^th century Wessex succeeded in consolidating all the kingdoms into a unified country, which broke up the tribal structure and advanced the feudalism society. But it was not possible yet to call England to be the centralized state. The big landowners were as strong as ever and separate regions retained their political independence.

The invaders who in 793 started their predatory expeditions with the ruthless destruction of the Lindisfarne abbey and wholesale slaughter of the people who lived there. It was two Scandinavian tribes Danes and Norwegians. Danes became the invaders of England and the Norwegians invaded Scotland and Ireland.

The Vikings were very skilful warriors and seamen; they were brave, courageous and ferocious fighters. The green meadows, mild climate, rich soil attracted the Vikings. They found the English kingdoms weak and easy to invade. The Scandinavians could afford to equip a huge host, transfer their activities to England launching annual expeditions that inaugurated a whole epoch of slaughter and suffering that lasted practically about three centuries. The Danes surpassed the Anglo-Saxons in military skill and in military equipment. They had improved weapons, long, high-speed ships, iron axes, swords, iron helmets and firm shields and chain armour while the Anglo-Saxons had knives and spears and far from being protected with iron mesh could only boast leather covering.

The traditional date of the Germanic invasion on the British Isles is 449-450 A.D.

The runic alphabet is a specifically Germanic one, which cannot be found in other Indo-European languages. The Vikings’ tactics was very unusual, they knew tricks of lightning –speed attack, getting where they wanted in their long ships with the high stern and pointed bow, landing quickly, getting all the horses available and attacking on horseback, building stockades and retreating behind them if necessary to rally for new attacks.

The traditional date of the Germanic invasion on the British Isles is 449-450 A.D.

The runic alphabet is a specifically Germanic one, which cannot be found in other Indo-European languages. The Vikings’ tactics was very unusual, they knew tricks of lightning –speed attack, getting where they wanted in their long ships with the high stern and pointed bow, landing quickly, getting all the horses available and attacking on horseback, building stockades and retreating behind them if necessary to rally for new attacks.

The Vikings’ armed forces attacked London and burned it up in 842 and in the year 850 they stayed to winter in England instead of withdrawing. And in the sixties of the 9^th century they founded their first permanent settlements. Having founded the military settlements and camps they started to invade the country, moving to the depth of the island. In 871 they founded a fortified camp in Reading that served them as a base for their further push.

The struggle of the English against the Scandinavians lasted over 300 years; during this period the invaders occupied more than half of England. At first there were small raids but by the 9^th century. The raids increased and the Danes subdued Northumbria and East Anglia, ravaged the eastern part of Mercia, and advanced on Wessex. The Scandinavians came to England in large numbers to settle in the new areas. They began to mix up with the English people because they were of the came Germanic group. The communication between the newcomers and the local population was easy one because their languages were of the same group too.

The Viking incursions had destroyed many of monasteries in the north and east of England, and it was in these monasteries in particular that learning had flourished in the 8^th and in the 9^th centuries. That learning was based on knowledge of Latin. It is therefore, understandable that Bede should be a famous author who wrote in Latin, not in English. Other learned men of the pre-Viking age – such as Aldhelm, Alcuin and Boniface – all used Latin as their principal medium of written communication. England was one place where the torch of learning was kept alight – but that learning was Latinate. However, not all learning in England was in Latin in that time. “Cadmon’s Hymn” and the runic inscriptions with parts of The Dream of the Rood found on the Ruthwell cross show that poetry in English was composed on religious themes in Northumbria. In Mercia the poet Cynewulf wrote a number of poems which are still extant in English, and translations such as the Life of St Chad are extant. Although text written by English scholars in Latin could be read all over Europe and therefore stood a better chance of survival, texts written in any variety of English where probably for local consumption and so easily have been lost when the monasteries were destroyed.

The effect of the Scandinavian invasion on the English language became manifest at a later date in the 12^th c. when the Scandinavian elements began to penetrate into the central dialects of the Old English language.

The kingdom of Wessex resisted stubbornly. The King of Wessex, Alfred (871-899) was at the head of that resistance. The year 871 was called “Alfred’s great years of battles”. The Danes encountered staunch resistance and finally they had to make a truce with young king. After that period Scandinavians changed their tactics they found new forms of invasion – such as settling down to found kingdoms. That was done in Northumbria and East Anglia. In 872 the Scandinavian attacks increased in strength and number, so that in 878 Alfred with his armed forces were driven into the Somerset marshes where they took refuge in the island of Athelney. This place was the center of the guerillas and the place of the beginning of the struggle for the national independence. At first they fought against the outnumbered Scandinavian army, but then the people began to join him in his marshy citadel and gradually Alfred gathered a great force. After thorough preparations and training the army Alfred started to learn the strategy and tactics of the Danes to imitate them. The Saxons put to rout the Danes at Ethandune.

In 878, the English concluded the peace treaty with the Scandinavians. England was divided into two halves: the northeastern half under Danish controls Dane lag and the southeastern under the leadership of Wessex. Alfred the Great made vigorous efforts to restore the country’s economy and build up its military potential so as to secure it against invasions. Every nobleman got a certain number of hides (hide estate sufficient to support one family, measure of land about 100-120 acres) of land to serve in the army. He built a lot of fortifications in key points along frontier with permanent detachments of professional soldiers to defend the country in case of the Scandinavian attacks. Later on these fortified camps developed into towns.

The reconquest of the areas under the Danish control began in the early 10^th century but the Danish raids were renewed again and in the early 11 th century the Scandinavians at the head of Sweyn and Canute achieved the success. The English kingdoms had to pay regularly large sums of money (Danegeld “Danish money”). Canute was declared as king, and England became part of a great northern empire, comprising Denmark and Norway. The rein of Canute was marked by a growing unwillingness on the part of the thanes and knights to continue as professional warriors and the king had to create a permanent army of well-trained soldiers who were paid for their service. Thus taxes for hired soldiers from the Anglo-Saxons peasants increased. Henceforth the English tax payers were in fact supporting the permanent army.

It was during Canute’s rein that the Godwin family came to power in England, that was, south- west of the line marking the “Danelaw” territory.

After Canute’s death (1035) and then the death of his son (the last one, childless, died in 1042] his kingdom broke up and England regained political independence. The Godwin family [Godwin held three of the six earldoms of the country] succeeded in restoring the Old Saxon dynasty to the throne of England. Thus, Edward, son of Aethelred was brought back from Normandy. Weak-willed and undistinguished, he prepared the ground for the Norman conquest of England.

With the founding of Scandinavian settlements the first place names of Danish and Norwegian origins appeared. These names are still found in different parts of England, Scotland Ireland and the Isle of Man. There are 1,400 places, which bear the Scandinavian names. Most of these are naturally in the north and the east of England, the districts that were under Danelag (Danish Law) for it was here the majority of invaders settled. The most common Scandinavian elements in place names are: by “farm, village”. - Coningsby “king’s village”, Denby “Danes ’ village”, Derby “animal farm”, Ingleby “village of the English”, Sowerby, Surby “swampy farm” – “homestead” – This element is chiefly Danish Bratoft “broad homestead”, Wigtoft “homestead on the creek.

There are groups of names which include a compound names of Norse – Gaelic background, or mixed Scandinavian – English” for example: Kirkcolm “Columba’s church”, Kirkpatrick B. Patrick’s church”, Kirkbride “St Bride’s church”.

The Scandinavian invaders were no further from the Anglo-Saxons. They belonged to the Northern branch of the Germanic people while the Anglo-Saxons were the western one, and the Goths being the eastern one. They were gradually assimilated. The Scandinavian words enriched the Anglo-Saxons vocabulary.

1.2. Effect of the Scandinavian Invasions

Though the Scandinavian invasions of England are dated in the OE period, their effect on the language is particularly apparent in ME.

We may recall that since the 8^th century the British Isles were ravaged by sea rovers from Scandinavia, first by Danes, later by Norwegians. By the end of the 9^th century the Danes had succeeded in obtaining a permanent footing in England, more than half of England was yielded to the invaders and recognized as Danish territory – “Danelaw”.

While some of Scandinavians came to England, merely to plunder and return their homeland, others made their permanent home in North East England.

In the early years of the occupation the Danish settlements were little more than armed camps. But gradually the conditions stabilized and the Danes began to bring their families. The new settlers and the English intermarried and intermixed, they lived close together and did not differ either in social rank or in the level of culture and customs. They intermingled the more easily as there was no linguistic barrier between them. OE and O Scand belonged to the Germanic group of languages and at that time were much closer than their descendants are today.

The colonization and the intermixture of the newcomers with their former foes continued from the 9^th century during 200 years, which witnessed diverse political events, the reconquest of Danelaw under Alfred’s successors, the renewal of Scandinavian onslaughts in the late 10^th century under Sweyne, and the political annexation of England by Denmark under Canute.

1.3. The Norman Conquest

For a short time England was part of an Anglo-Scandinavian Empire under Canute but after 1042 Norman influence increased under Edward the Confessor who promised the succession to William of Normandy.

When Edward died early in 1066, the Saxon “Assembly of Wise Men” [“the Witeagemot” it means “Council of the Wisest”, the members were big landowners, thanes, bishops, the king was supposed to ask their advice on important decisions of the state.] declared Harold king. William, the duke of Normandy, cousin to Edward the confessor, declared himself heir to the throne of England. Having got the support and the agreement to the right of the throne from the Pope of Rome he started preparations for the English campaign in order to sweep the Saxon dynasty forever.

The Normans were the same Northmen who had invaded Britain three centuries earlier. They had assimilated the local people, who were Romanized Gaul Celts by origin, borrowed their language and culture, their advanced civilization, so that the Duke of Normandy headed an already complex society, which was situated in the north of France. Being fully under the influence of Rome, Normans exercised its cultural influence to the benefit of Norman civilization. Church architecture had reached an advanced stage in Normandy.

The Norman army was much better equipped than the English one. The tactics of the Anglo-Saxons did not change since Alfred the Great’s time. They used the great axes and horses to cover great distances. The core of the Saxons army consisted the housecarls, the ordinary people consisted the other part of the army, which was less equipped and worse trained, wished they had been at home to harvest their crops. The Normans had a very effective cavalry and a great number of bowmen, shooting from the safe distance, to let the arrows down hitting the less protected portions of their opponents’ bodies. It was in this manner that Harold, the king of England shot in the eye.

Harold’s acceptance of the Witenagemot’s offer of the crown, was taken by William as sacrilege (he had made Harold’s swear he would support his claim to the throne) and he appealed to all European knights to get on the march against oath breaker. He promised them land and opportunities of plunder.

On September 28, 1066, William of Normandy landed near Hastings. The last Anglo-Saxon king Harold, who a few days earlier had defeated a Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge, in Yorkshire hurried south. On October 14 William marched out of his camp and attached. In six hours fighting the Anglo-Saxon host was crushed and Harold slain. It was the last successful invasion of England. The strong centralized government imposed by thousand Continental adventurers, distributed Anglo-Saxon estates among Norman barons and their French followers.

The Great Council replaced the Anglo-Saxon Witan (Cora Regis). The majority of English nobles were killed and exiled.

William took their lands and redistributed them among his Norman nobles on terms of feudal military service. The Norman Conquest tied England dynastically, commercially and culturally to the Continent. Many of the ties were beneficial, but England was also committed to an ultimately futile struggle for control of France, which delayed attempts to unity the British Isles.

William the Conqueror installed his followers in castles strategically placed against invasion and revolt. Northumbria was laid waste as a penalty for rebellion. Four fifths of All England’s land changed ownership. As a result of the conquest the English church was more closely linked with Rome and increased its powers Norman bishops were appointed and special over the church and limited interference from Rome. French became the language of the upper classes and Latin the language of the people.

The English village economy was not greatly affected by the Conquest. The Domesday Book, an inquiry into the nature and value of all land herd of the king, was a remarkable and ambitions survey of England conducted by William in 1086 to assess the land, livestock, and population of the country. It is far from complete. It does not cover most of the northern counties, or large town such as London, Bristol and Winchester.

The arrival of the Normans added surprisingly little to the existing place names of the British Isles. There is little significance in the distribution of the few Norman-French names that survive, for they were symbols of class rather than of geographical language units.

Whatever the actual number of Normans settled in England it is clear that the members of the new ruling class were sufficiently predominant to continue to use their own language. This was natural at First, since they knew no English, but they continued to do so for a long time to come.

1.4. Effect of the Norman Conquest

on the linguistic situation

The Norman Conquest was not only a great event in British political history but also the greatest single event in the history of the English language. Its earliest effect was a drastic change in the linguistic situation.

The Norman conquerors of England had originally come from Scandinavia (North, Norman). About one hundred and fifty years before they had seized the valley of the Seine and settled in that area which was henceforth known as Normandy? They were swiftly assimilated by the French and in the 11^th century came to Britain as French speakers and bearers of French culture. They spoke the Northern dialect of French, which differed in some points from central, Parisian French.

Their tongue in Britain is often referred to as “Anglo-French” or “Anglo-Norman”, but may just as well be called French, since we are less concerned here with the distinction of French dialects than with the continuous French influence upon English, both in the Norman period of history and a long while after the Anglo-Norman language had ceased to exist. In the early 13^th century, as a result of lengthy and inefficient wars with France John Lackland lost the French provinces, including the dukedom of Normandy. Among other consequences the loss of lands in France cut off the Normans in Britain from France, which increased the decline of the Anglo-French language.

The most immediate consequence of the Norman domination in Britain is to be seen in the wide use of the French language in many spheres of life. For almost three hundred years French was the official language of administration: it was the language of the king’s court, the law courts, the church, the army and the castle.

1.4. Early Middle English dialects

The regional ME dialects had developed from respective OE dialects.

The following dialects can be distinguished in Early ME.

The Southern group included the Kentish and the Southwestern dialects. Kentish dialect was a direct descendant of the OE dialect known by the same name, though it had somewhat extended its area. The South Western group was a continuation of the OE Saxon dialects, not only West Saxon, but also East Saxon. The East Saxon dialect was not prominent in OE but became more important in Early ME, since it made the basis of the dialects of London in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. Among the dialect of this group we may mention the Gloucester dialect and the London dialect, which must have been an influential form of speech at all times.

The group of Midland (“Central”) dialects – corresponding to the OE Mercian dialect – is divided into West Midland and East Midland as two main areas, with further subdivisions within: South – East Midland and North – East Midland and North – West Midland.

In ME the Midland area became more diversified linguistically than the OE Mercian kingdom occupying approximately the same territory: from the Thames in the South to the Welsh speaking area in the West and up north to the river Humber.

The Northern dialects had developed from OE Northumbrian. In early ME the Northern dialects included several provincial dialects, e.g. Yorkshire and the Lancashire dialects and also what later became known as Scottish.

The earliest sign of the official recognition of English by the Norman kings was the famous Proclamation issued by Henry III in 1258 to the Councilors in Parliament. It was written in three languages: French, Latin and English affected English more than any other foreign influence before or after. The early French borrowings reflected accurately the spheres of Norman influence upon English life; later borrowings can be attributed to the continued cultural, economic and political contacts between the countries.

The French influence added new features to the regional and social differentiation of the language. New words, coming from French could not be adopted simultaneously by all the speakers of English, they were first used in some varieties of the language, namely in the regional dialects of Southern England and in the speech of the upper classes, but were unknown in the other varieties. This led to growing dialectal differences, regional and social. Later the new features adopted from French and extended to other varieties of the language.