Consequences of the Battle of Hastings
for the English language
- French became the official language
Language of the church: Latin
Language of the state: French
- Until the 14th century English was only spoken and not written:
- a lot of conjugations were lost, a complex language changed into a relatively simple language
- many French words gradually entered the language. Now about 40% are loanwords from the French language
- Stories, romances, ballads from French origin were taken over in literature
Lesson duration is: 60 min
