The Norman Conquest, 1066 in Medieval English Literature
We typically think of England as being a fancy-pants font of high culture. After all, British people have those upmarket accents, Shakespeare, and the high-quality programming of the BBC. Not. Fair.
But the U.K. didn't always have it all together. (Which isn't to say this perception is true-to-life now, either.) If we get into the way-back machine, and travel back to the 10th century or before, we see that England had its beginnings as a sort of mongrel nation. It was made up of a variety of cultural and linguistic traditions.
So, when we talk about Medieval Literature, we're not dealing with the famed British Empire. In fact, Britain didn't even have an Empire at this time, but was instead the victim of many waves of attack and invasion.
First came the Romans (relatively civilized dudes), and then the barbarian invasions of the Germanic tribes (think of the guys we see in Beowulf). Next were the Vikings… who were essentially more tough, seagoing guys with impressive facial hair.
Finally, in 1066, we get to the Normans. Back then, there was a dispute over who had the best claim to the throne of England. This spurred William, Duke of Normandy—Normandy is a region in northern France, BTW—to sail on over to England and claim that throne all for himself.
And he did so without too much effort. He was all, "Time to defeat King Harold at the Battle of Hastings." And so it happened.
This French invasion changed Britain's formerly Anglo-Saxon culture and language to one that was much more like mainland Europe. And this invasion shaped the English language irrevocably; the new French influx pushed Old English down the path toward Middle English, a variety nearer to what people speak today.
Prior to the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Saxon language (a.k.a. Old English) wasn't considered appropriate for the high-falutin' realm of literature. Anything that was thought to be vaguely important or permanent was penned in Latin. Similarly, after the Norman Conquest, the language spoken at the English courts was always a form of French—a dialect called, unsurprisingly, "Anglo-Norman French."
This dialect started exerting an influence on Old English, and all that sexy language intermingling was what gave birth to Middle English. Writers like Geoffrey Chaucer then started showing people that this whole new English business could be used as a genuine literary language. That it could stand its ground against the "fancy" languages of French and Latin.
So, the Norman Conquest haunts many English texts of the medieval period in the very language they're written in. But the sort of step-sibling rivalry between England and France often emerges in the tensions of many of the time's tales, too. Like how Lancelot is the Bestest Knight Ever to Knight in many Arthurian romances. Hm. Clever.
Chew on This
Have you ever read the first few verses of Beowulf, as they were written in Old English? You probably had no trouble at all reading them, right? Wait, what? You did? Well, of course you did. The term "Old English" is a bit misleading because contemporary English speakers think that Ye Olde variety looks a lot like gibberish. Can you recognize any words? We'll give you a minute…
You're probably pretty comfortable with the language of The Canterbury Tales. Not at all like Beowulf in Old English, right? We here at Shmoop never condone warfare, but one good thing that came out of the Norman Conquest was that English got a whole lot easier.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic in Arthurian literature, which has some roots in the French Arthurian tradition. That tradition made Lancelot the main hero (well, duh), but Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ignores that tradition. This work makes Gawain the example of knightly excellence. Now, in the opening lines of the poem, you'll notice that the poet situates France far, far away from England. Like exes who can't bear to be in the same room with each other. Where else do you see of the bitter rivalry between France and England playing out in texts from this period?