Middle English
History
•Battle of Hastings (1066) Harold vs. William. Harold dies in battle.
•Bayeux Tapestry Narrates the battle of Hastings.
•Monasteries They were important. They wrote and copied books.
•Black death Church vs. State. Revolts against the Lords.
Kings
•Henry II the most powerful king of his time.
•Richard I “Lionheart” He spent little time in England, and spent much money in
the Crusades.
•John I “Lackland” Succeeded Richard. He increased taxes of Lords and Church,
and took away some rights of these and the merchants. He was unpopular. They
made him sign the “Magna Carta”, considered a symbol of freedom. He wanted
money because of the war with France. England lost, and the properties the
Lords had in France were lost to Normandy.
Charters of Freedom Justice was managed without the supervision of the King.
•Henry III Created the Parliament, only for the members of the Nobility.
•Edward I He included Commons and Merchants to the parliament because they
had money.
•Edward II
•Edward III The Hundred Years War contributed to the rupture between France
and England, and French wasn’t used as much as before.
•Henry IV First king to use English as a first language.
A triglossic society
•English Street (law, informal, speaking…)
•French Royal court (High, formal, writing)
•Latin Administration, religion, scholarship (High, formal, writing)
There was bilingualism, because of the need to communicate with other sectors of the
population. More and more people were starting to learn how to read and write. In the
12th and 13th centuries the first universities were created (Oxford 12th, Cambridge 13th).
•Celtic languages Welsh
•Anglo-Scandinavian Was H language, and became L language.
1
