Middle

Chapter 3 details how the Norman Conquest transformed English. The arrival of French-speaking Normans created a linguistic hierarchy, embedding thousands of French words into domains of power like the law and government. This resulted in English's unique ‘lexical layering’, where Germanic words remained for everyday concepts, and French-derived synonyms entered for formal or elite contexts. This duality enriched English, giving it an extensive and flexible vocabulary. Despite French political dominance after the Norman conquest, English re-emerged as the primary language by the late fourteenth century, having absorbed these influences while simplifying its grammar, and ultimately becoming a sophisticated language of literature and governance.