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The Norman ConquestFollowing the conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons, the country was again invaded by a foreign country, this time it was the Normans in the year 1066 AD.
The Norman invasion was due to Duke William II of Normandy, having claims to the throne of Britain because of familial relations with the British royal family. The Norman, French and Breton army, led by their leader William the Conqueror, invaded Britain from the South, while the Norwegian King, Harald Hardrada invaded Britain from the North. During the battles that ensured the Norwegian King, Harald Hardrada was killed by William the Conqueror's army. While Britain's King Harold was defeated and subsequently killed at the Battle of Hastings against William the Conqueror. The invasion gave rise to many Norman words finding their way into the language of Old English. The Normans gave us words for many of the terms in our legal system including: Judge, Jury, Justice, and Evidence. One of the more interesting terms that came from Norman conquest was the words for different meats, as the British farmers couldn't speak French so they used the English words for Cow, Sheep and Swine. While the Normans who only ever saw the animals in meat form used the words Beef, Mutton and Pork. This is why we use the word Beef, when we are referring to the meat of a cow. In the end the conquest gave English about 10,000 new words from the French, Normans and Bretons. |