the language among the governing class and
English language became the language of the lower class of people. But shortly
after 1200 conditions changed. French gradually lost its influence and English
language once again became the dominant language in England. England lost an important part of its
possessions in France. A feeling of rivalry developed between the two
countries, accompanied by an antiforeign movement in England and culminating in
the Hundred Years’ War. In the fourteenth century English won its way back into
universal use, and in the fifteenth century French all but disappeared. We must
now examine in detail the steps by which this situation came about.
The Loss of Normandy
The first link in the chain binding
England to the continent was broken in 1204 when King John lost Normandy. John,
seeing the beautiful Isabel of Angouleme, fell violently in love with her and,
no doubt having certain political advantages in mind, married her in great
haste (1200), notwithstanding the fact that she was at the time formally
betrothed to Hugh of Lusignan, the head of a powerful and ambitious family. The
consequence of this marriage was that finally John lost his vast French
possessions in Normandy. But this loss of Normandy was wholly advantageous.
King and nobles were now forced to look upon England as their first concern.
Although England still retained large continental possessions, they were in the
south of France and had never been so intimately connected by ties of language,
blood, and property interests as had Normandy. It gradually became apparent
that the island kingdom had its own political and economic ends and that these were
not the same as those of France. England was on the way to becoming not merely
a geographical term but once more a nation.
Separation of the French and English
Nobility
The loss of the Normandy raised a question
of whether many of the nobility owed their allegiance to England or to France.
After the Norman Conquest a large number held lands in both countries. A kind of
interlocking aristocracy existed, so that it might be difficult for some of the
English nobility to say whether they belonged more to England or to the
continent. Some steps toward a separation of their interests had been taken
from time to time. The example of the Conqueror, who left Normandy to his son
Robert and England to William Rufus, was occasionally followed by his
companions.
But in 1204 the process of separation was
greatly accelerated, for by a decree of 1204–1205 the king of France announced
that he had confiscated the lands of several great barons, including the earls
of Warenne, Arundel, Leicester, and Clare, and of all those knights who had
their abode in England. For the most part the families that had estates on both
sides of the Channel were compelled to give up one or the other. Sometimes they
divided into branches and made separate terms; in other cases great nobles
preferred their larger holdings in England and gave up their Norman lands.
John’s efforts at retaliation came to the same
effect. It is true that the separation was by no means complete. In one
way or another some nobles succeeded in retaining their positions in both
countries. But double allegiance was generally felt to be awkward, and the
voluntary division of estates went on. The result of this separation was that after 1250 there was no reason for the
nobility of England to consider itself anything but English. The most valid
reason for its use of French was gone from England.
The Hundred Years’ War
In the course of the centuries following
the Norman Conquest the connection of England with the continent, as we have
seen, had been broken. It was succeeded by a conflict of interests and a
growing feeling of antagonism that culminated in a long period of open hostility
with France (1337–1453) ,which is known as the Hundred years war. During this long period of time it was impossible to forget that French
was the language of an enemy country, and the Hundred Years’ War is probably to
be reckoned as one of the causes contributing to the disuse of French. So, following
the 100 Years War, many people regarded French as the language of the enemy.
The status of English rose.
The Black Death and The Rise of the
Middle Class
The next event that helped English
re-establish itself is the Black Death and the rise of the Middle Class. During
the latter part of the Middle English period the condition of the laboring
classes was rapidly improving. Among the rural population villeinage was dying
out. Fixed money payments were gradually substituted for the days’ work due the
lord of the manor, and the status of the villein more nearly resembled that of the
free tenants. The latter class was itself increasing; there was more incentive
to individual effort and more opportunity for a person to reap the rewards of
enterprise. The process by which these changes were being brought about was
greatly accelerated by an event that occurred in the year 1349.
In the summer of 1348 there appeared the
plague the Black Death in the southwest of England. It spread rapidly over the
rest of the country, reaching its height in 1349 but continuing in the north
into the early months of 1350. Nearly one third of English people, most of whom
were from the lower class, died.
The effects of so great a calamity were
naturally serious, and in one direction at least are fully demonstrable. As in
most epidemics, the rich suffered less than the poor. The poor could not shut
themselves up in their castles or retreat to a secluded manor. The mortality
was accordingly greatest among the lower social orders, and the result was a serious
shortage of labor. This is evident in the immediate rise in wages, a rise which
the Statute of Laborers was insufficient to control or prevent. Nor was this
result merely temporary if we may judge from the thirteen reenactments of the
statute in the course of the next hundred years. Villeins frequently made their
escape, and many cotters left the land in search of the high wages commanded by
independent workers. Those who were left behind felt more acutely the burden of
their condition, and a general spirit of discontent arose, which culminated in
the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
By and large, the effect of the Black
Death was to increase the economic importance of the laboring class and with it
the importance of the English language which they spoke.
Thus, the above
mentioned factors helped English language got back its position during the
Middle Ages and the later Middle Ages.
Reference:
A
History of the English Language. Baugh, Albert C., and Thomas Cable. 4th ed. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993.
