Middle English
excerpts from the
works of
Dr. Micheal Crafton
Department of English
State University of West Georgia
Carrollton, Georgia
(Spring 2000)
NOTES ON
THE RISE AND FALL OF FRENCH IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
REASONS FOR THE RISE (1066-1250)
1. 1066 AND EXECUTIONER'S COMPETENCE OF WILLIAM I FROM 1066 TO 1100--COMPLETE DOMINATION; GAVE ENGLISH LANDS TO THE FRENCH NOBILITY.
You might want to have a look at the Bayeaux Tapestry reproduction to see how this event was recorded in its own time. Have a look the original at the following site: www.cablenet.net
2. THE PRESTIGE OF FRENCH AND THE CONTINENTAL TRADITION OF CULTURE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITIES PROVIDED EXTRA CACHE TO FRENCH.
3. THE CREATION OF AN EMPIRE BY HENRY I AND HENRY II IN 12TH CENTURY PROVIDED POLITICAL AND ECONMIC MOTIVATION TO BE FRENCH.
4. FRENCH LITERATURE OF 12TH AND 13TH CENTURY WAS THE BEST IN EUROPE.
5. LAWS AND ORDINANCES WERE WRITTEN IN FRENCH
IT WAS THE LANGUAGE OF COURT, CHURCH, AND POWER; ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER 1300 DESCRIPTION OF FRENCH AS THE LANGUAGE OF UPPER CLASS.
7. WITH HENRY III EVEN MORE FRENCH NOBILITY ENTERED THE COUNTRY SPEAKING FRENCH (1216-1272).
8. EVEN INTO THE 14TH AND 15TH CENTURIES FRENCH MAINTAINED A CERTAIN SNOB VALUE (CF. THE PRIORESSE IN CANTERBURY TALES).
9. IN 1422, HENRY V MARRIED KATHERINE OF FRANCE WHO COULD NOT SPEAK ENGLISH.
SOME
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DECLINE OF FRENCH
(1250-1350)
1. NATIONALISTIC PRIDE GROWING IN ENGLAND WITH THE LOSS OF NORMANDY IN 1204 BY KING JOHN TO KING PHILIP OF FRANCE.
2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 100-YEARS WAR WITH FRANCE 1337-1453.
3. RISE OF PREDOMINANTLY ENGLISH SPEAKING MIDDLE CLASS –
TOWNS—BY 1250, 200 NEW TOWNS DEVELOPED WITH POPULATIONS FROM 1000 TO 5000 PEOPLE; THESE WERE FREE OF FEUDAL CONTROL, SELF-GOVERNING.
PLAGUE AND REVOLT—AFTER THE PLAGUE OF 1348 THE VALUE OF THE LABORING CLASSES STEADILY ROSE; IN 1351 THE PARLIAMENT PASSED THE STATUES OF LABOR ATTEMPTING TO FIX WAGES; IN 1381 THE PEASANTS’ REVOLT REVEALED THE INCREASING POWER OF LABORING CLASSES.
4. FRENCH WAS BECOMING MORE DISTANT AND HARDER TO LEARN AS EVIDENCED BY MISTAKES IN THE BILLS WRITTEN BY SCRIBES IN FRENCH.
5. AFTER 1349 FRENCH STOPPED BEING USED IN THE SCHOOLS
6. AFTER 1362 DID NOT NEED FRENCH IN COURT OR IN PARLIAMENT
7. THE FRENCH SPOKEN WAS NOT CONSIDERED GOOD FRENCH ANYWAY.
8. THE LITERATURE OF GENIUS WAS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH 1360-1400; AND 14TH-CENTURY WRITERS IN GENERAL EXPRESS THEIR DESIRE TO WRITE IN ENGLISH
9. LAWS AND ORDINANC
ES AND COURTLY
CORRESPONDANCE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH 1415-1430 FF.
Dialect Areas
Note that the dialect areas
basically follow the old Anglo-Saxon dialect areas.
Northumberland becomes Northern
East Anglian becomes East Midland
Mercian becomes West Midland
Wessex becomes Southern
Jutish or Kentish remains Kentish
The London Standard arose in London,
obviously, but the scribes may well have important some West Midland and even
Northern accent features into what became known as Standard English.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF MIDDLE ENGLISH
|
OE |
ME |
EMODE |
|
|
GRAMMAR |
VERY FOREIGN |
FAMILIAR |
FAMILIAR |
|
SPELLING |
VERY FOREIGN |
FOREIGN |
FAMILIAR |
|
PRONUNCI |
VERY FOREIGN |
VERY FOREIGN |
FAMILIAR |
CHANGES IN ME SPELLING
CONSONANTS
1. THORN AND ETH à TH, but the older forms are maintained as well, especially outside London
2. WENà uu à w
3 OE YOGH, G OR H à G, H, Y, GH OR MIDDLE ENGLISH YOGH; YOGH AS [G] à AS G
|
OE LETTER |
OE SOUND |
ME LETTER |
ME SOUND |
|
G OR YOGH |
G |
G |
G |
|
G OR YOGH |
J (OR Y SOUND) |
Y/YOGH |
J (Y SOUND) |
|
G OR YOGH |
X (GERMAN CH) |
GH OR YOGH |
X (GERMAN CH) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
H |
H |
H |
H |
|
H |
X (GERMAN CH) |
GH OR YOGH |
X (GERMAN CH) |
4. INITIAL V (VOX, VIXEN) à F; LIKEWISE MEDIAL F HEAFON REWRITTEN AS V
5. C à CH
6. SC à SH
7. HW à WH
8. C à K (CNIHT-->KNIGHT)
9. S à C (IN FRENCH LOANS USUALLY BEFORE I OR E, AS IN "CHAUCER")
10. CW à QU OR QW (CWATH BECOMES QUOTH)
11. CG à DG (ECG BECOMES EDGE)
VOWELS
1. Æà A OR E: GENERALLY LONG ASH FELL TO E AND SHORT ASH TO A
2. DOUBLING TO INDICATE LENGTH: LONG O OR E à OO, EE; BUT CONFUSING
OE RADà ROOD à RODE
OE RODà ROOD à ROOD OR CROSS
ALSO, EE WAS REWRITTEN AS EA FOR [E] OR EI (OR IE) FOR [i] RESPECTIVELY.
3. UNSTRESSED E FOLLOWING SINGLE CONSONANT INDICATES LENGTH
BITE, CITE, ETE.
4. DOUBLE CONSONANTS INDICATE SHORT VOWELS
DINNER VERSUS DINER
5. IN SOME DIALECTS AN I FOLLOWING THE VOWEL INDICATED LENGTH
SUCH AS RAID, FROM TO RIDE, REID (LONG OF RED), NOW A NAME, AND SCOTS GUID (GOOD)
6. U
à U, OU, OR O: GENERALLY LONG U WAS REWRITTEN AS OU BUT SOUND REMAINED THE SAME (HUSà HOUSE; MUSà MOUSE); SHORT U WAS REWRITTEN AS O (OE, SUNU àSUN; SUNNEà SONNE; RUNà RONNE)7. Y à I
SOUND CHANGES
CONSONANTS
VOWELS
DIPHTHONGS
THE OE DIPHTHONGS UNDERWENT SMOOTHING TO EITHER E OR A
LONG EA BECAME OPEN E
SHORT EA BECAME A
LONG EO BECAME E
SHORT EO BECAME OPEN E
BUT ME ADDED NEW ONES
[ÆI, eI, aU, openO+U, openE+U, IU, openO+i, UI]
LENGTHENING AND SHORTENING OF VOWELS
1. LENGTHENING BEFORE CONSONANT CLUSTERS MB, ND, LD, RD, AND RÐ (E.G. CLIMBEN, BINDEN).
2. LENGTHENING OF A, E, AND O IN OPEN SYLLABLES (E.G. NAMA, STELAN)
3. SHORTENING OF ORIGINALLY LONG VOWELS FOLLOWED BY CONSONANT CLUSTERS (HYDDE
à HID)4. SHORTENING OF VOWELS IN UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES.
5. SHORTENING OF FIRST VOWEL IN TRISYLLABIC WORDS. (CHRISTENDOM VS. CHRIST; HOLIDAY VS. HOLY)
LEVELING OF UNSTRESSED VOWELS
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF ALL IS THE MERGING OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS IN UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES BECAUSE THIS SOUND CHANGE FOSTERED THE LOSS OF INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS.
|
THE PROCESS BY WHICH INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS WERE LOST |
||
|
SEQUENCE |
CHANGE |
TIME COMPLETE |
|
1 |
ALL M’S à N |
BY 1100 |
|
2 |
ALL N’S à DROP OFF |
BY 1200 |
|
3 |
A,O,U,E à E OR I (SCHWA) |
BY 1300 |
|
4 |
ALL E à NO SOUND |
BY 1400 |
|
|
|
|
LOSS OF SCHWA IN FINAL SYLLABLES
THE ISSUE OF WHETHER TO PRONOUNCE THE SCHWA IN FINAL POSITION HAS VEXED STUDIES OF MIDDLE ENGLISH PROSODY FOR SOME TIME; IN PARTICULAR, THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR READING CHAUCER ALOUD.
THE FINAL E WAS LOST IN THE NORTH BY THE 13TH CENTURY AND LATER IN THE MIDLANDS AND SOUTH. (CHAUCER WAS A SOUTHERN PERSON AND THUS MIGHT HAVE HELD ON TO FINAL E DURING HIS TIME.)
THE CONSENSUS IS THAT FINAL E’S WERE ADDED FOR POETIC REASONS (THE INORGANIC E) ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO LINGUISTIC JUSTIFICATION FOR IT, AND THE SCRIBAL E WHICH IS THE E ADDED FOR PURPOSES OF LOOKS, NO SOUND VALUE TO IT AT ALL.
Changes from OE to ME: Include changes in spelling and sounds.
The external history of this period, at least for our purposes, can be summed up in one phrase and date: The Norman Conquest, 1066. Middle English is a hybrid of Norman French and Late Anglo-Saxon, so the question that you have to ask is how did that come to be, and the answer is an invasion and total domination by the Norman French under the severe, cruel, but effective leadership of William the Conqueror. William not only conquered the lands, but also he removed the leadership, royalty, nobility, and clerical officials and replaced them with French appointees. This external historical event makes it clear why French became the official language of England from 1100 to 1300 or so, so easily. If you imagine that the entire upper class of England was replaced by another, French-speaking upper class, then the fact that the language of court and of that society became de facto French does not seem so surprising.
The second question that you have to ask is what brought an end to French domination. The answer to this question cannot be so simply put as the last one, but you might say in a phrase and date: The Hundred Years' War, 1337-1453. Like 1066, this event came about as a result of many factors, but in sum the English nobility found itself more and more at odds with their French partners, and in time it became clear that one could not claim dominion in both countries and therefore war. By the end of the fourteenth century, French was no longer necessary and in fact English was the preferred language by the best poets and by the most brilliant politicians.
The story in sum is that the Anglo-Norman scribes respelled Anglo-Saxon in such a way as to render the language more like the spelling of Modern English. The "sh" sound which Anglo-Saxon spellled "sc" is revised by the scribes of Middle English to "sh." This general point explains much of the spelling changes. Thorns were taken out and "th"'s were put in their place. The "ash" was taken out and either an "a" or an "e" went in its place.
Pronunciation did not change that much. Anglo-Saxon "a" changed to "o" and ash changed to "a" or "e" and the diphthongs are changed, but other than that not much, except, we should say, for the sounds in inflectional endings.
The real story of change is in the grammar. Middle English saw the near total disappearance of the famous inflectional endings. Some of the causes for the loss of endings are obscure and never to be known, but clearly one has to think that an effect of all the different languages in collision in England during this time -- Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Norman French, Latin -- has to be to focus on the roots or bases of words and less attention to the endings.
A. LOSS OF INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS
1.
All M’s become N’s-->0 BY 1100
2. All vowels become e
(pronounced schwa) BY 1200
3. ALL N’S DROP OFF BY 1300
4. THE SOUND OF FINAL E DIES BY 1400
B. LOSS OF GRAMMATICAL GENDER -- As the endings that indicate grammatical gender die out so dies the ability to maintain this distinction. At this point, therefore, the conditions are perfect for shifting to a reflection on and representation of natural gender. "Woman" ceases to be mail because of its root and becomes a feminine noun.
C. NOUNS:
1. MERGING OF REMAINING INFLECTIONS THROUGH ANALOGY
2. NOUN, GEN AND PLURAL -S; (stone à stone's stones.)
3. SOME MUTATED PLURALS (tooth, teeth), UNMARKED PLURAL (deer, fish)
4. AND LOADS OF "-EN" PLURALS REMAIN à In fact, for a time it seemed that the en plural might become the dominant form, beating out the "s" plural.
D. PRONOUNS
1. PRONOUNS:
LOSS OF DUAL,
REDUCTION OF OTHER FORMS
FEM. NOM. 3RD PERSON, HEO DIES OUT AND SHE COMES INTO EXISTENCE
2. PLURAL 3RD PERSON, THROUGH INFLUENCE OF OLD NORSE
A. THEY – FL. BY 1350
B. THEIR – FL. BY 1450
C. THEM – FL. BY 1500
3. DEMONSTRATIVES: REDUCTION TO THE, THAT, THIS, THESE, THOSE).
4. INTERROGATIVE AND RELATIVES: REDUCTION TO WHO, WHAT, WHOM, WHOSE, WHICH; LOSS OF Þe. (THAT TAKES THE PLACE OF A GOOD, ALL-PURPOSE RELATIVE PRONOUN
E. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
1. COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS: -RA BECOMES -ER, -OST AND -EST FALL TOGETHER TO -EST.
The external development of this period is not marked by a major cataclysmic event such as the coming of William the Conqueror, but it is a period marked by volcanic eruptions of linguistic virtuosity. This the period of the Renaissance, the period of Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare, the King James' Bible, the American colonies, and the Protestant Reformation.
The external events that set this epoch off from the preceding are, I suppose, the development of the printing press and England's rise as an independent nation state.
1476 is the year generally agreed upon for William Caxton's press in London. The spelling he adopted is the spelling of 14th century manuscripts; however, something happened to all the tense vowels in English during this period, no one knows quite why, but they all changed, so the spelling that became standard in this period does not capture the pronunciation that became standard, hence the mess of spelling we have today.
1485 is the date that Henry VII ending the War of Roses and united England under a single strong monarch, developing England's independence from Europe.
1534 is the date of Henry VIII's break with Rome and Catholicism, setting up the Church of England. This development furthered the break with Europe, southern Europe especially.
Perhaps these two historical causes of England's rise as a nation state helps to explain somewhat how the vowels of English developed in a way that European vowels did not, but we can only guess.
The recognition of English as the national language was an important development consistent with England's rise as power broker in Renaissance Europe and in order to be recognized as a worthwhile medium for such a powerful nation, competing with French and Latin, it needed a consistent orthography, a rich vocabulary, English translations of the most respected texts of the day (the classics and the Bible), and an enviable body of literature. So the following dates are important to establish those facts.
1553 Thomas Wilson's The Arte of Rhetorique is the first fully fleshed out translation Ciceronian rhetorical texts, thus the classics come to be translated.
1582 Richard Mulcaster's Elementarie "most extensive and most important treatise on English spelling in the sixteenth century" (Albert Baugh, A History of the English Language 205). This book pretty much set the standard for modern orthography.
1) rid of superflous letters
2) final e to indicate vowel length
3) ie v. y to indicate length of final sound
4) spelling analogously:: hear should be spelled like near and fear.
1611 King James Bible, built upon earlier translations, this bible became the standard for many year, still is for numerous Christian communities.
1623 First Folio of Shakespeare, the collection of Shakespeare's plays collected by Shakespeare's friends Hemmings and Condell shortly after the playwright's death. These plays have been every bit as influential on the English language as the bible, and for many they have been equally influential on spiritual and religious life.