Since the Norman invasion of 1066, Anglo-Saxon had been displaced as the language of the court and the ruling classes of England, and was mainly spoken by the peasant classes. The English kings and queens spoke French for going on three hundred years. And very few high-ranking members of society spoke English. But a big shift was underway in the 14th century and English was back with a vengeance, in new and exciting ways! Freed from imposed rules and customs, it had taken on a life of its own, evolving 'underground' at its own pace and integrating elements from French especially. This vastly increased its scope, its vocabulary and idiom, and it was rapidly regaining respectability among the learned and the elites of the country. The tendancy was encouraged by the highly nationalistic outlook of the king, Edward III (1312-1377), who spoke English, and expressed pride in the language. When Henry IV claimed the throne in 1399, he did so in front of Parliament, in English. Nothing could stop it now.
This blog is open to anyone interested in literary culture. We live in a results-centred, utilitarian world, and unfortunately our educational systems are increasingly occupied with job-training and ‘skills’. Although exam results and jobs are essential, I believe strongly that teaching must be informed by the transmission of a love for the beauty and wisdom in our artistic creations. Without this, education withers and dies. 'You have been to school/ But kept your wisdom' (Kathleen Raine)
