The Norman Conquest of 1066
" The Bayeux Tapestry" illustrates the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings.
There was already a strong French influence in England before the conquest : pious Edward "The Confessor" (King between 1046-1066) was half Norman and offended many by fillling his court (la corte) with Norman friends. Perhaps the most visible legacy of his reign (reinado) is Westminster Cathedral. All monarchs since then have been crowned there. But a more immediate legacy was the mess the dithering king left behind (el embrollo que el indeciso rey dejó atrás ) by not resolving who would succeed him on the throne.
Following Edward's death Harold (Saxon) and William (Norman) battled out ( lucharon hasta el final)their rival claims to the throne near Hastings. The Normans demonstrated their superiority in military techniques , for they had the new heavy cavalry while the Anglo-Saxon still fought ( pasado de "fight" ) on foot, in the old Germanic style behind a wall of round shields (escudos) . The English lost the battle with Harold getting killed by a Norman arrow hitting him in the eye. William the Conqueror was then crowned King of England.
The Conquest had a profound influence on the English language .For some centuries French was the language of the governing classes so anybody who wanted to get on in the world (progresar en la vida) had to learn French .
When English became again the language of the whole country it had changed a lot under the influence of the language of the conquerors. Many of the French loan words ( palabras prestadas) reflect this cultural and political dominance : they are often words to do with titles of rank (sovereign, prince,duke, marquis, count, baron), with law ( justice, court,judge, prison, crime ), with ecclesiatical matters (religion, virgin, saint, abbey, sermon), with war (armour, castle) and with arts and fashion (dress, fashion, art, colour, music, poem, paint).
As Scott pointed out in Ivanhoe , the domestic animals kept their English names in the fields (calf,ox,swine,sheep) but were given French names when they appeared on the Norman lord's table ( veal, beef, pork, mutton).
Source: C.L Barber ,The History of Language .(London, 1972).
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