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The English name "Normans" comes from the French words Normans/Normanz, plural of Normant, [17] modern French normand, which is itself borrowed from Old Low Franconian Nortmann "Northman" [18] or directly from Old Norse Norðmaðr, Latinized variously as Nortmannus, Normannus, or Nordmannus (recorded in Medieval Latin, 9th century) to mean "Norseman, Viking".
Norman or Norman French (Normaund, French: Normand ⓘ, Guernésiais: Normand, Jèrriais: Nouormand) is a langue d'oïl. [6] [7] The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of Anglo-Norman and Law French used in England.
The Normans reacted little to the many political upheavals that characterised the 19th century. Overall, they warily accepted the changes of régime ( First French Empire , Bourbon Restoration , July Monarchy , French Second Republic , Second French Empire , French Third Republic ).
When the Normans conquered England, Anglo-Saxon literature had reached a very high level of development. The important Benedictine monasteries both wrote chronicles and guarded other works in Old English. However, with the arrival of the Normans, Anglo-Saxon literature came to an end and literature written in Britain was in Latin or Anglo-Norman.
Old Norman, also called Old Northern French or Old Norman French (Norman: Ancien Normaund), was one of many varieties of the langues d'oïl native to northern France. From the region of what is now called Normandy, the language spread into England, Southern Italy, Sicily and the Levant.
The Anglo-Normans (Norman: Anglo-Normaunds, Old English: Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in the Kingdom of England following the Norman Conquest. They were primarily a combination of Normans , Bretons , Flemings , Frenchmen , Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons .
The Normans introduced feudalism, which created stronger and multi-generational ties between lords and vassals and became the basis of English land law. William the Conqueror claimed ownership of all land in England, [ note 1 ] making all Englishmen directly or indirectly tenants of the Crown.
The formation of the Norman state also coincided with the creation of an origin myth for the Norman ducal family through Dudo, such as Rollo being compared to a "good pagan" like the Trojan hero Aeneas. Through this narrative, the Normans were assimilated closer to the Frankish core as they moved away from their pagan Scandinavian origins. [5] [6]