The Literature of the Norman Period (12th - 13th centuries).

In the middle of the 1 l^lh century the internal feuds among the Anglo-Saxon earls invited a foreign conquest. The Normans did not miss their chance. In the year 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and defeated the English at Hastings in a great battle. Within five ears William the Conqueror became complete master of the whole England. William could not speak a word of English. He and his barons spoke the Norman dialect of the French language. During the following 200 years communication went on in three languages:

1) at the monasteries learning went on in Latin;

2) Norman-French was the language of the ruling class and was spoken at
court and in official institutions;

3) the common people held firmly to their mother tongue.

How the Language changed.

1)Many French words came into the language;

2) The spelling did not correspond to the pronunciation;

3) The use of French suffixes with words of Anglo-Saxon origin;

4) The French prefix dis- was used to make up words of negative meaning:
distrust, distaste;

5) The indefinite article was coming into use;

6) The struggle for supremacy between French and old English words went on;

7) There appeared a large store of synonyms.

The First Universities, Oxford and Cambridge.

Before the 12 century people thought that books and any kind of learning belonged to Church only. A group of professors were expelled. Followed by their students, they went over the Britain and in 1168 founded schools on the town of Oxford which formed the first university. A second university was formed in 1209 in Cambridge, to which a large group of students migrated from Oxford. The graduates were awarded degrees: Bachelor, Master and Doctor.

Towards the end of the 13^th century colleges where other subjects were studied appeared around the universities. It became the custom for students to go about from one university to another, learning what they could from the most famous teachers in each place.

The Romance, The Fable and the Fabliau.

Romances.

During the Anglo-Norman period feudal culture was at its height. Tales in verse and lyrical poems appeared praising the bravery and gallantry of noble knights, their heroic deeds and chivalrous attitude towards ladies. At first they were all in Norman-French. Many of the stories came from old French sources, the language of which was a Romantic dialect, and for that reason these works were called "romances". They were brought to England by medieval poets.

The Fable and the Fabliau.

In the literature of the townsfolk we find the fable and the fabliau. Fables were short stories with animals for characters and conveying a moral. Fabliaux were funny stories about cunning humbugs and the unfaithful wives of rich merchants. They were metrical tales brought from France. These stories were told in the dialects of Middle English. They were collected and written down much later. The literature of the towns did not idealize characters as the romances did. The fabliaux show a practical attitude to life.

England in 14 century.

In the first half of the 14^th century the Norman kings made London their residence. It became the most populous town in England. The London dialect was the central (midland) dialect, and could be understood throughout the country.

The war with France began in 1337 and is now called the Hundred Years War because it lasted over a hundred years. England was successful at the beginning of the war and won several important battles. But the ruin of France and famine brought about a terrible disease called the Plague.

As more money to the war was needed. Parliament voted for extra taxes. But nothing made the people so angry as the rich foreign bishops of the Catholic Church who carried on their policy with little regard for the sufferings of the people.