The Norman Conquest. French Influence On English: Loanwords And Borrowings

Flashcards about the Norman Conquest and its influence on the English Language

Norman Conquest

The event in 1066 in the Battle of Hastings, where the Norman king William I defeated the Anglo-Saxons and won their land for Normandy

William the Conqueror

The Norman king who defeated the Anglo-Saxons in 1066 and became the King of England

Feudal System

A system established by William after the Norman Conquest, replacing Anglo-Saxon nobility with Normans and reinforcing the king's authority.

Domesday Book

A manuscript record of England and Wales completed in 1086 by William, providing detailed information on landholdings and resources.

Magna Carta

The first formal document insisting that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign.

Hundred Years’ War

A war that came up due to the question of succession to the French crown claimed by King Edward III of England against the house of Valois.

Loanwords

Words from another language used in its original form

Borrowings

Words, phrases, or ideas taken from another language and used in your own language

Middle-English period

The period that from a linguistic point of view runs from the beginning of the 12th century until the mid-15th century.

Governmental and administrative vocabulary influenced by French

cabinet, minister, government, parliament

Ecclesiastical vocabulary influenced by French

religion, virgin, confession

Legal vocabulary influenced by French

tribunal, court, jury, verdict

Military vocabulary influenced by French

military, army, commander

Vocabulary influenced by French related to animals and meals

beef, sardine, salmon, dinner, supper, boil

Vocabulary influenced by French related to art and learning

cathedral, art, chamber, paper, grammar

French prefixes borrowed by English

con-, de-, dis-, ex-, pre-, en-, pro-, trans-

French suffixes borrowed by English

-ee, -ance, -ant, -ation, -ment, -ism, -ity, -able, -al, -ous, -ize