![]() ![]() In the upper margin someone has added ‘Cest sauter en fraunceys est’ (This Psalter is in French) On line 4 of the page pictured below de Thaon confirms that he has written en franceise raisun (in the French language).Ī Psalter in Latin and Anglo-Norman French verse, England or France, 1175-1225: Harley MS 4070, f. The latter was dedicated to Adeliza of Louvain (d. One of the earliest surviving manuscripts in Anglo-Norman French contains two texts, the Computus and the Bestiary adapted from Latin works by the earliest named French author, Philippe de Thaon, in the 12th century. ![]() Such examples show how large numbers of French words were adopted during the Middle Ages, hugely enriching the vocabulary of English and changing the language fundamentally. The fact that French was widely used is evident in the quantity of word-pairs in modern English – where two words exist with same meaning, one derived from an Old English root word and the other from a French one (e.g., thoughtful/ pensive kingdom/ realm enough/ sufficient, walk/ march). Spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary were influenced by the Norman French spoken by William the Conqueror and his followers, and by the existing vernacular, Old English, still used by much of the local population.įrench was one of the languages of both spoken and written communication in England for an extended period from 1066 onwards and it was still used in some legal contexts up to the end of the 17th century. A separate dialect known as Anglo-Norman diverged from the French used in mainland France during this period. In the same vein, there are examples of French medieval commentators criticising the way French was spoken in England as it evolved from being the mother tongue of royalty and the nobles who crossed the Channel after the Norman Conquest to being an acquired status symbol, as it was for Chaucer’s prioress. An elegantly dressed nun playing a musical instrument in the Queen Mary Psalter, London or East Anglia, 1310–1320: Royal MS 2 B VII, f.
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