Conquering a Language

If you can read this post, the Norman Invasion of 1066 has impacted your life. This conquest permanently and significantly altered the English language, bringing it from its German roots into the more Romantically influenced language we know today.

English has its roots in Anglo-Saxon, an offshoot of German. (In fact, this is where the term English comes from, "Angle-ish".) Old English is very close to Anglo-Saxon, and is indecipherable to the modern reader today, requiring translation in order to read Old English literature such as Beowulf.

Old English evolved on its own for many centuries, until in 1066 something drastically changed the course of the language. William the Conqueror took over, and imposed Norman rulership on the British Isles. For many years, English rulers were actually French, and French became the language associated with privilege. The aristocracy spoke French, while the common people spoke English. As lines blurred, and middle class people learned to speak both, there emerged a common language, a combination of the two. English had a structure and basic vocabulary rooted in German, but many new words came from French, and conventions began to change a little.

Over time, this cross-cultural contact has caused English to evolve into its present form. Foreign language students find Germanic and Romantic languages similar to English, and often find them easier to learn than other languages. This is due to the German roots and French influences that shaped English. Additonally, cross-cultural contact is the driving force behind many of our new words; borrowing from other languages is the source of many new terms.

Source: Lecture notes by Dr. Ashley Shannon and Dr. Kathryn Remlinger.

Beowulf andThe Epic of Gilgamesh

The fact that you're reading this blog post right now is a beautiful demonstration of the power of words. We use them for information in a variety of ways, and although their explicit communication is the most obvious, they also tell us about a group's personalities, their culture, and their history.

Stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are great sources of cultural capital. They are both among the few surviving works of literature from their respective cultures; Mesopotamia and Germanic Britain. Gilgamesh is regarded as the earliest piece of written literature that we have, and Beowulf is the first story we have recorded in what has become known as Old English, and both describe heros.

Gilgamesh shows us the chaos and unpredictability of life in ancient Mesopotamia because of the randomness of the flooding of the rivers. The Mesopotamians saw their lives as controlled by the whims of the gods, and had little hope for this life or the next.

Beowulf, on the other hand, reflects the relative stability of the time because it demonstrates the way the Germanic people took their future in their own hands. They valued honor, retribution, and the giving of gifts. Because they lived after the rise of empires and territorial sovereignty, also present is the national loyalty of the people in their battles and warriors.

Something else present in Beowulf but absent in Gilgamesh is a cultural conflict between the past and present. Beowulf was written after St. Augustine of Canterbury Christianized England, but retains many of the themes and traditions of their pagan days. A problem for the composers was how to honor their heroes and respect their bravery while instilling Christian values in their listeners. This was a crucial conflict to the Germanic people of the first millenium, so it is reflected in their writings.

Despite their superficial similarities, these two epics are very different in what they teach us about their cultures. Because we have so few surviving examples, it's hard to tell if The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are representative of the stories of their time, but they still offer valuable insight. What if all future archaeologists had of our writings were Twilight, The Audacity of Hope, or The DaVinci Code?

Sources:
Worlds of History by Kevin Reilly
Ways of the World by Robert W. Stayer
The Longman Anthology of British Literature